Why it works: Nutmeg and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Barley Water
Ingredients
Directions
Wash a tea-cup full of pearl barley well.
Put it in a sauce pan with two quarts of water and a small cup full of raisins.
Boil it to a quart and strain it.
Add sugar, nutmeg, and lemon juice to your.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pearl barley (in the method)
- Gives the water body and a mild grain flavour as it simmers.
- Raisins (in the method)
- Add sweetness and fruity flavour to the water as they simmer.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweet, mild liquid.
- Nutmeg
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness to balance the lemon juice.
The step that matters
Boil it to a quart. Boiling reduces the liquid and concentrates the flavours from the barley and raisins. Stopping too early leaves the drink weak, while boiling too long over-concentrates it, so watch the volume as it reduces.
“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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