Barley Water
Ingredients
Directions
Parboil the barley
Put the barley in a pot with cold water.
Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Drain the water.
Rinse the barley with cold water.
Simmer and finish
Return the barley to the pot, add 1 quart of water, and bring to a boil.
Simmer until reduced by half.
Sweeten to taste if desired.
Flavor to taste if desired.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Pearl barley
- Releases starch and flavor into the water, giving the liquid a mild taste and light body as it simmers.
The step that matters
Simmer until reduced by half. Evaporation concentrates the flavor and the dissolved starch from the barley. Stopping too early leaves the drink thin and weak, while reducing too far makes it strong and thick, so watch the volume as it cooks.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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