Barley Gruel
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the pearl barley for several hours.
Cook and strain
In a pot, add the soaked barley, water, and salt.
Boil for five to six hours, adding water as necessary.
Strain the mixture through muslin.
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
- Its starch thickens the water as it cooks, giving the gruel its body.
The step that matters
Boiling for five to six hours with added water. Barley needs a long, gentle boil to soften fully and release starch. If the pot boils dry, the barley can scorch and the gruel becomes thick and uneven, so water must be added as needed.
“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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