Barley Water
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the barley
Wash and pick 1 ounce of pearl barley.
Pour 1 cup of water over the barley.
Boil for 10 minutes.
Drain the barley.
Make the barley water
Add 3 cups of boiling water.
Boil the mixture down by half.
Strain through a fine sieve or muslin.
If desired, dissolve gum arabic in the liquid.
Sweeten to taste.
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
- Provides the starch and body that give the finished drink its mild, thickened flavour and texture.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture down by half. Reducing the liquid concentrates the barley flavour and starch, so stopping too early gives a thin, weak drink while over-reducing makes it too strong and sweet to dilute cleanly.
“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.
More barley water recipes
You might also like
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipes
Blackberry Cordial129 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.