Barley Water
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the barley
Wash the pearl barley with water to remove any foreign matter.
Add ½ pint of water to the washed barley.
Boil the barley for a short time.
Discard the liquid.
Cook the barley
Pour 4 pints of boiling water over the barley.
Boil the mixture for a while until the barley is soft.
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 soluble compounds into the water, giving the drink its body and mild flavour.
The step that matters
Discarding the first liquid. The short first boil loosens dust, surface debris and some bitter material from the grain. Pouring it off and starting with fresh boiling water keeps the final drink cleaner-tasting.
“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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