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Barley Sugar
1159. Dissolve a pound and a half of lump sugar in half a pint of water, with the white of half an egg; when it is at candy height (see Economical Housekeeper) add a tea-spoonful of strained lemon-juice, and boil it quickly till it recovers its previous condition. Pour it over a marble slab, and when it becomes stiff cut it into strips, and twist it. TO PREPARE FRUIT FOR CHILDREN IN A MORE WHOLESOME WAY
A two-ingredient boiled sugar with a lemon note, made in the days before reliable thermometers. The whole thing hangs on temperature, so a candy thermometer replaces the cross-reference the original relies on.
- The temperature that matters"candy height" is generally taken to mean the hard-crack range, somewhere around 300-310F (150-155C), though the book itself simply refers the reader elsewhere. Boil hard and uncovered; too low and the strips stay tacky and slump, too high and the sugar begins to colour and taste scorched.
- Quantities in modern termsA pound and a half of lump sugar is about 680 g, or roughly 3 1/2 cups of granulated; half a pint in a British book is 10 fl oz, about 285 ml. Granulated sugar behaves much the same as the old loaf sugar once dissolved.
- The egg whiteHalf an egg white is a clarifying agent, not a structural one. Whisked into the cold syrup, it brings scum to the surface as the pan comes up to the boil; skim that off thoroughly and discard it before the syrup gets anywhere near candy heat. Modern refined sugar carries almost no impurity, so this step can simply be left out.
- Why the lemon juice goes in lateThe acid inverts a portion of the sucrose, which helps keep the finished sticks glassy rather than grainy; adding it at the end limits how much inversion happens, and the syrup is then boiled quickly back up to temperature. Strain it, as the original directs, so no pips or pulp go into the pan.
- Guard against grainingWash any sugar crystals off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush while the syrup heats, and do not stir once it boils. A single stray crystal will turn the batch cloudy and short.
- The marble slabOil the marble lightly with a neutral oil, or use a silicone mat on a heatproof surface. A cold slab sets the sheet fast; work with oiled scissors or a heavy knife and cut and twist while the mass is still pliable, which gives you perhaps a minute or two.
- WeatherBoiled sugar draws moisture from the air. On a humid day the twists go sticky within hours. Wrap them individually in waxed paper or cellophane and keep them airtight.
- YieldAbout 1 1/2 lb (680 g) of finished sweets, roughly thirty to forty twisted sticks depending on how thin the strips are cut.
Barley sugar takes its name literally: the older French sucre d'orge and its English equivalent were made by boiling sugar in a decoction of pearl barley rather than plain water, the barley water being thought soothing to the chest and throat. Over time the barley dropped out of many recipes, leaving the name attached to any clear amber sugar boiled hard and twisted into sticks. It was valued as a remedy for coughs as much as a sweet, which may be why it appears in general cookery books rather than only among the confectionery.