Barley Water
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the barley
Wash the barley with cold water to remove any foreign matter.
Boil the barley in ½ pint of water for a few minutes, then discard the water.
Make the barley water
Add the remaining boiling water to the barley.
Boil it down to 2 pints.
Strain the mixture.
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 flavour into the water, giving the drink its body and mild, grainy taste.
The step that matters
Boil it down to 2 pints. Reducing the liquid concentrates the dissolved starch and flavour. Boiling too long makes the drink thick and strong, while stopping too early leaves it thin and weak.
“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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