Barley Water
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the barley
Wash the pearl barley in cold water until the water is clear.
Boil the barley in ½ pint of water for 5 minutes.
Drain the water, then place the barley in 2 quarts of clean water.
Make the barley water
Boil the mixture down to 1 quart.
Cool the barley water.
Strain the barley water.
Serve
Use the barley water.
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 as it cooks, thickening the liquid and giving the drink its body and mild flavour.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture down to 1 quart. Boiling concentrates the liquid as water evaporates, so the barley water thickens and flavours properly. Boiling too briefly leaves it thin and weak, while over-reducing makes it too thick and strong.
“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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