Barley Sugar
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Barley sugar is a type of sugar candy prepared by boiling sugar with water until a high temperature is reached, resulting in caramelization and partial inversion. Despite its name, it has nothing to do with barley and was historically used as a remedy for coughs and hoarseness.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
BARLEY SUGAR (Saccharum Hordei), sugar caramel prepared by boiling sugar with a small amount of water until reaching a boiling point of 145°. Due to the beginning caramelization and partial inversion, barley sugar contains an admixture of colored and reducing substances and possesses a distinctive taste and odor. It has nothing in common with barley. It was used as a remedy against cough and hoarseness. At the present time, it is not produced by the industry of the USSR; it is sometimes found in artisanal production in the form of stretched and twisted grayish-colored sticks.
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“Barley Sugar.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/barley-sugar/