Barley sugar (or barley sugar candy) is a traditional variety of boiled sweet (hard candy), often yellow or orange in colour, which is usually made with an extract of barley, giving it a characteristic taste and colour. In Britain it is (or was) usually sold in the shape of twisted sticks. [1] Barley sugar is very similar to clear toy candy (which traditionally is made with pure water rather than barley water) [2] : 3 and to hard caramel candy in its texture and taste.
As noted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) there are at least two distinct methods of preparing confections which have been called "barley sugar". Heating sugar to 160 °C (320 °F) causes it to melt and then congeal, becoming opaque on the surface due to the formation of sugar crystals. Heating to a higher temperature (185 °C or 365 °F) produces a viscid liquid, which if suddenly cooled remains transparent. [3] The name "barley sugar" therefore does not imply one specific production method or type of candy. [4]
Candy maker Timberlake Candies further distinguishes between "barley sugar" made with cream of tartar, and "barley candy" made with corn syrup to produce a harder, clearer product. [5]
Some modern confectioners make "barley candy" without using barley as an ingredient, [6] preferring to use synthetic flavorings instead. [4] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discourages calling a product "barley sugar" or "barley candy" unless the product actually includes barley. [3]
Sugar was predominantly viewed as a medicine or spice before the 18th century. [7] The most traditional preparation of barley sugar is known as Sucre d'orge. [8] Elizabeth Pidoux, the first Mother Superior of the Benedictine nuns at the Prieuré Perpétuel de Notre-Dame des Anges in Moret-sur-Loing, France is credited with the first recipe for barley sugar. In 1638, she combined sugar and barley water while experimenting with medicinal remedies. [9] [10] [11] This 17th century barley sugar was made by boiling down refined cane sugar with barley water, and water. [12]
Barley sugar became a popular sweetmeat with the French nobility, and was an important source of revenue for the convent and the town until the French Revolution, when the abbey was closed. [9] The recipe was eventually passed on to a later Benedictine community that returned to Moret, the Sœurs de la Charité. [13] [9] Production began again in 1853, and continued until the dispersal of that religious community in the 1970s. [14]
In 1970, the recipe for Sucre d'orge des Religieuses de Moret was entrusted to confectioner Jean Rousseau by Sister Marie-André. [15] Rousseau and his family worked to maintain interest in its traditional production. [14] Le Musée du Sucre d'Orge, the only known barley sugar museum, was established as a family museum in 1995 to memorialize the history of barley sugar in Moret-sur-Loing. [14] Since 2012, it has been managed by the Municipal Council of Moret-on-Loing. [10] [11] [5] In 1997, the Rousseaus organized the Confrérie du Sucre d'Orge des Religieuses de Moret sur Loing, a non-religious society to support the making of the traditional candy. The Rousseau family continued to manufacture the candy until 2012. [10] [11] As of 2012, the right to manufacture Sucre d'Orge des Religieuses de Moret was transferred to Des Lis Chocolat of Nemours. [15]
Sucre d'Orge des Religieuses de Moret was often sold as boxes [16] of small tetrahedral berlingots [8] marked with a heart, cross and the letters "RM", for Religious of Moret. [16] This type of barley sugar was also made into small spiral sticks. [5] The name is therefore sometimes used for the Solomonic column in architecture, and twisted legs and spindles in furniture, stair bannisters and other uses. [17] [18]
The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by the rise of industrialization and the increasing use of sugar beets rather than sugar cane. France and England were in conflict not only militarily but also economically, as Napoleon supported the introduction of sugar beets and challenged Britain's dominance in sugar cane. [19] Scottish sugar-refiners were competing with those in England. [20] Sugar was culturally transformed from a luxury good to a ubiquitous ingredient. [21]
By the 1860s, national tastes in candy were changing. Henry Weatherley, author of A treatise on the art of boiling sugar, remarked that he found far fewer purveyors of boiled sugar sweets in Paris than he had seen thirty years before. In London, barley sugar had been "one of the oldest sweets made; this and acid drops were formerly the only boiled sweets that the old city houses made". Seeing barley sugar being made at Tringhams on Holborn-hill had once been a "great attraction", but the old favorites had lessened in popularity. [8] : 317 [22]
In England, traditional barley sugar was replaced by an array of new sugar candies using a wide variety of flavors. [8] : 317 [22] The term "barley sugar" become increasingly genericized and included many similar types of sugar candy. [23] Sugar candies were also popular in Germany, and recipes traveled to North America with English, Scottish and German settlers. [2] : 3
During the 18th century metal molds began to be used to create shaped candies, which became known both as barley sugar and as clear toy candy. [2] : 3–4 By the 19th century these molded candies were a popular Victorian Christmas treat in Germany, England, and some areas of North America. [5] [2] : 3–4 Pennsylvania, with a large population of German immigrants, became a center for the tradition in North America. [24] [2] : 6–14
Dorothy Timberlake Candies of Madison, New Hampshire, made molded barley candies with a variety of added flavorings from 1971 to 2009. [2] : 4–5 Their collection of antique candy molds included more than 13,000 shapes. [25]
The cooks and confectioners dictionary; or, The accomplish'd housewifes companion (1723) gives a recipe for barley sugar that includes barley as an ingredient. [26]
BOIL Barley in Water, strain it through a Hair Sieve, then put the Decoction into clarified Sugar brought to a Caramel height, or the last Degree of Boiling: Then take it off the Fire, and let the Boiling settle; then pour it upon a Marble-stone rubb'd with the Oil of Olives: When it cools, and begins to grow hard, cut it into Pieces, and roll it into Lengths as you please. [26]
By the 1800s, recipes for "barley-sugar" could be found in many confectionery cookbooks, but most of these recipes do not include barley as an ingredient. In 1829, the Italian Confectioner describes the making of "barley-sugar" twists, tablets and drops using sugar, lemon, vinegar or alum, and "any essence you choose". [27] An 1850 recipe uses sugar, water and lemon. [28] An 1880 recipe uses sugar, water, and egg white. [29] Isabella Beeton 's Book of Household Management (1861) uses egg white and suggests the addition of saffron for colouring. [30] A modern recipe uses sugar, water, lemon and cream of tartar. [9]
A cookbook published in Chicago in 1883 includes a recipe specifically for molded candy: "222. Candy for Christmas Toys, Etc." [31] An 1818 recipe for clear toy candy has been republished. [2] : 63
Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections. The occupation of confectioner encompasses the categories of cooking performed by both the French patissier and the confiseur.
Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called sugar confectionery, encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar candy. Vegetables, fruit, or nuts which have been glazed and coated with sugar are said to be candied.
Marshmallow is a confectionery made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. This sugar confection is inspired by a medicinal confection made from Althaea officinalis, the marsh-mallow plant.
A chocolate bar is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily breakable, chocolate bar is also called a tablet. In some varieties of English and food labeling standards, the term chocolate bar is reserved for bars of solid chocolate, with candy bar used for products with additional ingredients.
Rock candy or sugar candy, also called rock sugar, or crystal sugar, is a type of confection composed of relatively large sugar crystals. In some parts of the world, local variations are called Misri, nabat or navat.
The cuisine of Québec is a national cuisine in the Canadian province of Québec. It is also cooked by Franco-Ontarians.
Jaggery is a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central America, Pakistan, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of cane juice and often date or palm sap without separation of the molasses and crystals, and can vary from golden brown to dark brown in colour. It contains up to 50% sucrose, up to 20% invert sugars, and up to 20% moisture, with the remainder made up of other insoluble matter, such as wood ash, proteins, and bagasse fibres. Jaggery is very similar to muscovado, an important sweetener in Portuguese, British and French cuisine. The Kenyan Sukari ngutu/nguru has no fibre; it is dark and is made from sugarcane and also sometimes extracted from palm tree.
A macaroon is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, and now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam or chocolate or other flavorings.
Butterscotch is a type of confectionery whose primary ingredients are brown sugar and butter. Some recipes include corn syrup, cream, vanilla, and salt. The earliest known recipes, in mid-19th century Yorkshire, used treacle (molasses) in place of, or in addition to, sugar.
Moret-sur-Loing is a former commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is situated on the river Loing, close to its confluence with the Seine. Moret–Veneux-les-Sablons station has rail connections to Montargis, Melun, Montereau-Fault-Yonne, Laroche-Migennes and Paris.
Penuche is a fudge-like candy made from brown sugar, butter, and milk, using no flavorings except for vanilla. Penuche often has a tannish color, and is lighter than regular fudge. It is formed by the caramelization of brown sugar; thus, its flavor is said to be reminiscent of caramel. Nuts, especially pecans, are often added to penuche for texture, frequently in the making of penuche candies. It is primarily a regional food, found in New England and some places in the Southern United States, though in the latter it goes by different names, including creamy praline fudge, and brown sugar fudge candy.
Maple taffy is a sugar candy made by boiling maple sap past the point where it would form maple syrup, but not so long that it becomes maple butter or maple sugar. It is part of traditional culture in Quebec, Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and northern New England. In these regions, it is poured onto the snow, then lifted either with a small wooden stick, such as a popsicle stick, or a metal dinner fork.
Gofio is a sort of Canarian flour made from roasted grains or other starchy plants, some varieties containing a little added salt. Gofio has been an important ingredient in Canarian cooking for some time, and Canarian emigrants have spread its use to the Caribbean and the Western Sahara. There are various ways to use it, such as kneading, dissolving in soup, and baking. It can also be used as a thickener. It is also found in Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, where it is known as harina tostada and is employed in a wide variety of recipes. The gofio commercially available in the Canary Islands is always finely ground, like ordinary flour, despite the definition given in the Spanish Dictionary of the Royal Academy.
A Konditorei is a business that typically offers a wide variety of pastries and typically also serves as a café. Konditoreien (plural) are found in many countries including but not limited to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. In French-speaking countries, similar businesses are referred to as pâtisseries.
A hard candy, or boiled sweet, is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varieties are stick candy such as the candy cane, lollipops, rock, aniseed twists, and bêtises de Cambrai. "Boiled" is a misnomer, as sucrose melts fully at approximately 186 °C. Further heating breaks it into glucose and fructose molecules before it can vaporize.
Candy making or candymaking is the preparation and cookery of candies and sugar confections. Candy making includes the preparation of many various candies, such as hard candies, jelly beans, gumdrops, taffy, liquorice, cotton candy, chocolates and chocolate truffles, dragées, fudge, caramel candy, and toffee.
Shane Confectionery is an American candy shop and candy producer, located at 110 Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Currently owned by Ryan and Eric Berley, it is considered the longest-running confectionery business in the United States. The original confectionery business at the location opened in 1863. They are known for making traditional specialties including previous owner Edward Shane's buttercream chocolates and Pennsylvania clear toy candy.
Clear toy candy is a traditional confectionery that originated in Germany, England and Scotland. It is especially popular at Easter and Christmas. The hard candy is made in molds, in a multitude of fanciful shapes. The candy is tinted in bright colors, traditionally yellow, red and green. A stick is sometimes added before the candy completely cools to make a lollipop.
Sugar as food commodity | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | |||||||
| Sources | |||||||
| Products |
| ||||||
| Industry |
| ||||||
| History |
| ||||||
| Culture | |||||||
| Related | |||||||
| Research | |||||||
