History
The etymology is uncertain, but it is said to be that during various French/English wars "burnt sugar" (sucre brûlé) was brought by the French to England, and mistranslated as "barley sugar"; the name was then reimported to France as sucre d'orge as the literal translation (orge meaning "barley"). So both French and the English speakers call it barley sugar although its content of barley (in the form of barley water) is trivial.
Barley sugar was made in the 17th century by boiling down refined cane sugar with barley water, cream of tartar, and water. A recipe was created in 1638 by the Benedictine monks of Moret-sur-Loing, France, and there is a "Barley Sugar Museum" (Le Musée du Sucre d'Orge) in the town.
During the 18th century metal molds were used to create the shapes known as Barley Sugar Clear Toys, a popular Victorian Christmas treat. Many modern confectioners make barley candy without barley allowing the name to become a euphemistic term. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discourages calling a product "barley sugar" or "barley candy" unless the product actually includes barley.
Barley sugar was often made into small spiral sticks, and the name is therefore sometimes used for the Solomonic column in architecture, and twisted legs and spindles in furniture, stair bannisters and other uses.
Read more about this topic: Barley Sugar
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps the underground aquifers flowing; it is the liquid voice that can wear through stone.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
“No cause is left but the most ancient of all, the one, in fact, that from the beginning of our history has determined the very existence of politics, the cause of freedom versus tyranny.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)