Joe Rogan Experience #2556 - Siddharth Kara · Aired Sep 22, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Sugar was not present in Europe until the Crusades because it does not grow in that climate.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Sugarcane was in Europe well before the Crusades. Muslim expansion carried the crop into Spain and across North Africa, and it was planted in Cyprus, Crete and Sicily by the early 800s, roughly three centuries before the First Crusade in 1096. Sicily had a strong sugar-growing period from about 800 to 1050, so it did grow in parts of southern Europe. The Crusades did widen European familiarity with sugar and expand the trade, but they were not the first contact.
Read the supporting source · www.worldhistory.org ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Sugar was not present in Europe until the Crusades because it does not grow in that climate?
No, not as stated. Sugarcane was in Europe well before the Crusades. Muslim expansion carried the crop into Spain and across North Africa, and it was planted in Cyprus, Crete and Sicily by the early 800s, roughly three centuries before the First Crusade in 1096. Siddharth Kara said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2556 - Siddharth Kara, aired Sep 22, 2026, at 51:34. The supporting source is worldhistory.org, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
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