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Plain Barley

Plain Barley is a simple boiled barley dish cooked in water until the grains absorb the liquid.

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

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Place the pearl barley in a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid.

  2. Add enough cold water to cover the barley.

  3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.

  4. Continue adding water as the barley swells.

  5. Cook for two hours or more until all the water is absorbed.

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

Pearl barley
Forms the main body of the dish, becoming tender and chewy as its starch softens in water.

The step that matters

Continue adding water as the barley swells. Barley absorbs large amounts of water as it cooks. If it runs dry before the grains are tender, they can scorch on the bottom of the pan and cook unevenly.

“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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