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Drink

Rice and Barley Waters

A chilled beverage made by boiling rice or barley in water, then straining, sweetening, and flavoring.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Rice and Barley Waters

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash the rice or barley thoroughly in cold water.

  2. Place the grain in a pot with 2 quarts of fresh cold water.

Cook and strain

  1. Boil the mixture until the water is reduced by half.

  2. Strain the liquid.

Cool and flavor

  1. Cool the liquid.

  2. Sweeten to taste.

  3. Flavor to taste.

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

Rice or barley
Starch and flavor from the grain dissolve into the water, giving the drink body and a mild grain taste.
Sweetener
Adds sweetness to balance the mild, starchy flavor of the grain water.
Flavoring
Adds aroma and taste to the otherwise plain grain water.

The step that matters

Boil until the water is reduced by half. Boiling draws starch and flavor from the grain into the water, and reducing concentrates them. Stopping too early leaves the drink weak, while reducing too far makes it thick and strong, so the level of reduction sets the final strength.

“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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