Barley-Gruel
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the pearl barley for several hours.
Cook and strain
Add the soaked barley to 1 pint of water and a pinch of salt.
Boil for 5 to 6 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 gelatinises during long boiling, thickening the water into a creamy porridge with body.
The step that matters
Keeping enough water during the long boil. Over 5 to 6 hours, water evaporates and the starch keeps thickening. If the pot runs low, the porridge can scorch on the base and set unevenly, 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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