Barley sugar has been sold under that name for around 400 years, and for most of that time it's contained little to no actual barley.
A 17th-century sweet with a mistranslated name
Barley sugar dates back to roughly the 1600s, arriving as white sugar became affordable to more people in England and France. One long-standing theory for its name is a cross-Channel mix-up: the French brought over "sucre brule" (burnt sugar), which the English misheard and rendered as "barley sugar" - a name the French then borrowed back as "sucre d'orge," which translates literally as barley sugar.
How it was traditionally made
The traditional method used hulled pearl barley, simmered in water for up to five hours to flavour and colour the liquid, which was then strained and the barley discarded. Sugar was added to that barley water and boiled until it reached the hard-crack stage - around 150C - at which point it sets into the glass-like, amber-clear sweet, traditionally pulled and twisted into the sweet's signature stick shape while still warm.
Where the barley actually went
By the 1850s, many recipes had already dropped the barley altogether - Mrs Beeton's own barley sugar recipe from 1861 didn't call for any. What survived was the name, the amber colour, and the twisted-stick shape, all still recognisable in the boiled sweets sold as barley sugar today. It sits alongside other traditional boiled sweets in our retro sweets collection.
Frequently asked questions
Does barley sugar actually contain barley?
Traditionally, yes - barley water was used to make the syrup. Most modern barley sugar is simply boiled sugar with no barley involved.
Where does the name "barley sugar" come from?
One theory is that it's a mistranslation of the French "sucre brule" (burnt sugar), misheard as "barley sugar" and then reborrowed into French as "sucre d'orge."
When was barley sugar first made?
Around the early 1600s, as white sugar became more widely affordable in England and France.