# BritDopers: Tell me about barley water **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687 "2008-06-12T14:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/1 "2008-06-12T14:07:42Z")
I’ve seen several references to barley water in books about the Royal Family. What is it, exactly? Is it something you mix yourself? Do you buy it in cans, like Coke or Pepsi? Is it still (or was it ever) a popular drink in Britain? What’s the stereotypical barley water quaffer? Do you drink it or like it? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/2 "2008-06-12T14:12:49Z")
Off the top of my head: It’s a sweetened fruit (usually citrus) drink that you dilute. It comes in a plastic bottle and you keep it on the shelf. The classic barley water is Robertson’s, and it appears to be a major sponsor of Wimbledon - the players are given it to rehydrate with. As for the stereotype, dunno. It seems a very old-fashioned drink to me. The kind of thing a kindly grandfather would offer his seven-year-old grandson on a hot day. Together with a Werther’s Original. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/3 "2008-06-12T14:18:01Z")
[Robinsons](http://www.buybritish.net/store/image.php?productid=18354), not Robertson’s. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/4 "2008-06-12T14:22:41Z")
So where does the actual barley enter into things? I’ll have to look for that stuff at the import shop. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/5 "2008-06-12T14:31:06Z")
[Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley_water) to the rescue! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/6 "2008-06-12T15:20:29Z")
Apparently, it’s very important that British nannies [not smell of it](http://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/m/marypoppinslyrics/theperfectnannylyrics.html). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/7 "2008-06-12T15:27:35Z")
Why, I wonder? That would be like asking that a Georgian nanny not smell of Coca-Cola. Any reason for this, Brit-Dopers? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/8 "2008-06-12T15:47:26Z")
Lemon barley water is probably not dissimilar to lemonade (as it is known to Americans - because I grew up with lemonade being the equivalent of 7-Up/Sprite). ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/9 "2008-06-12T15:51:34Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Apparently, it’s very important that British nannies [not smell of it](http://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/m/marypoppinslyrics/theperfectnannylyrics.html). [/QUOTE] > [@wiki](#): > > It may also be drunk hot, which tends to affect tooth enamel temporarily, giving an odd feeling that the teeth have become a little soft, though there is no permanent change What the hell? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/10 "2008-06-12T15:58:26Z")
[QUOTE=wolfman] What the hell? [/QUOTE] Ha! It actually makes your teeth feel a bit furry, like they haven’t been brushed for a while, probably because it’s loaded with sticky sugar On an uninteresting aside, I used to think that the umpire at Wimbledon shouting ‘deuce’ was his call for the players to sit down and have a glass of Barley Water. ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I WAS, LIKE, FIVE OR SOMETHING ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/11 "2008-06-12T16:19:19Z")
While we’re talking about Brits’ bizarre ways of consuming sugar – what are “boiled sweets”? Are they like hard candy or something? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/12 "2008-06-12T16:23:45Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] While we’re talking about Brits’ bizarre ways of consuming sugar – what are “boiled sweets”? Are they like hard candy or something? [/QUOTE] Synonymous. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/13 "2008-06-12T16:28:14Z")
Why are they called “boiled”? Is that how they are (still) made, or is this a vestigal term? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/14 "2008-06-12T16:37:50Z")
I don’t know about Brits, but my grandma certainly boiled her hard candy. Dissolve sugar in water, then boil until all the water is gone. Liquid sugar without burning(unless you wanted carmel, then a little bit of burning 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/15 "2008-06-12T16:40:44Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Why are they called “boiled”? Is that how they are (still) made, or is this a vestigal term? [/QUOTE] What wolfman said: sugar and water (with appropriate colouring and flavouring), boiled to a thick syrup and left to set hard. How did you think they were made? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/16 "2008-06-12T17:21:29Z")
I make candy myself, but the odd thing is that a lot of candy is boiled. Toffee, caramel, honeycomb candy, and soft fondant (like you get in a chocolate bonbon) is also boiled, so why are hard candies called boiled sweets when everything else is boiled too? (Well, maybe not gummi. I don’t know how to make gummi, but I bet boiling comes in somewhere.) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/17 "2008-06-12T23:59:01Z")
[QUOTE=dangermom] …so why are hard candies called boiled sweets when everything else is boiled too? [/QUOTE] Because that’s what they’re called. I expect it’s something to do with being one of the earliest kinds of sweets available to the public, and at that time being boiled was a more unique element. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/18 "2008-06-13T00:29:58Z")
I want to know what ratafia is --the Georgette Heyer characters are always drinking it. It seems to be some kind of substitute for liquer, but not a soft drink like lemonade. It is preferred by women of a certain age who don’t touch alcohol (fussy old maids). I take it that “fairy cakes” are our cupcakes, yes? And what is spag bol? Is it spaghetti bolognese? What the hell is that? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/19 "2008-06-13T00:38:18Z")
Fairy cakes are cupcakes, yes. And Spag Bol is indeed shorthand for Spaghetti Bolognese. What else would it be? ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687/20 "2008-06-13T00:41:41Z")
[QUOTE=eleanorigby] I want to know what ratafia is --the Georgette Heyer characters are always drinking it. It seems to be some kind of substitute for liquer, but not a soft drink like lemonade. It is preferred by women of a certain age who don’t touch alcohol (fussy old maids). I take it that “fairy cakes” are our cupcakes, yes?? [/QUOTE] Yep. Ratafia Sound like a good pairing on a hot afternoon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britdopers-tell-me-about-barley-water/452687.md?page=2)