Barley Water
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the barley
Put the barley in a pot with cold water.
Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Drain the water and rinse the barley with cold water.
Simmer
Return the barley to the pot and add 1 quart of water.
Bring to a boil and simmer until reduced by half.
Finish
Sweeten and flavor if desired.
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 and grainy flavor into the water, giving the drink body as it simmers.
The step that matters
Simmer until reduced by half. Reduction concentrates the starch and flavor released from the barley, so the drink's strength depends on how far the liquid has cooked down. Watch the volume rather than relying only on the clock, since over-reducing makes it thick and too strong, while stopping early leaves it thin.
“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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