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To Cook Barley

A simple method for boiling barley until tender, served like rice.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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To Cook Barley

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash the barley well.

  2. Put the barley in a pot with warm water.

  3. Let it boil for a few minutes, then pour off the water.

Cook and serve

  1. Add fresh water and cook slowly for at least three hours, or longer if needed.

  2. Serve the barley like rice.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Barley
Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender and chewy as its starches gelatinize during long cooking.
Water
Hydrates the grain and carries heat, softening the hull and starch so the barley cooks through.

The step that matters

Cooking slowly for at least three hours. Barley has a tough outer hull and dense starch, so low, steady heat with enough water is needed to soften the grain fully. Cooking too fast can leave it hard in the center or scorch the bottom before it is tender.

“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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