Old Fashioned Barley Water Recipe (With Lemon)
Barley water is a delicious and nutritious drink, especially during the summer! Here’s a simple recipe.
Barley Water Across the World
Barley water isn’t something that is specific to any one region of the world. It is a traditional drink with versions of it in Latin and Central America, Asia, and Greece! Our recipe that we are using is inspired by a traditional British recipe for barley water.
Interestingly, for over eighty years, barley water was served as a hydrating refreshment at Wimbledon to all the tennis players. If it’s good enough to keep a tennis pro performing their best, it’s certainly good enough for me!
Health Benefits of Barley Water
Barley water has multiple health benefits in addition to tasting light and refreshing.
Barley can help soothe internal inflammation, think if you have an upset stomach or Urinary Tract Infections (UTI). Along the UTI route, it also stimulates urination which helps flush out a UTI more quickly. This recipe includes honey and lemon, which can be great for a sore throat.
Additionally, this drink offers valuable vitamins and minerals. Per cup of barley water, it provides approximately 35% of your daily vitamin C needs. 11% of your iron intake requirements. 17% of Manganese, and 14% selenium.
According to Mayo Clinic Connect, “There is some evidence that barley water might help with lowering cholesterol, controlling blood sugar, weight loss, improving digestion and may help reduce the risk of cancer.”
They also caution that drinking an excess of it can cause issues. Barley is very fibrous and drinking too much of it can cause constipation or diarrhea. This recipe also includes sweetener, which drinking an excess of sweetened drinks is never a good idea.
How to Make Barley Water
This is a very simple recipe for barley water, very similar to making a simple tea. It doesn’t require any special equipment, although the barley itself might need to be purchased at health food stores or online. Check with your local grocery store or you can grab it here on Amazon.
Ingredients
- 2/3 Cup Uncooked, Hulled Barley (Pearl barley will also work though it does have less nutrition)
- 4 Cups Boiling Water
- 1 Lemon
- 1 Tbsp Sugar, Honey, or other Sweetener
Supplies
- Quart Jar with lid
- Strainer
- Spoon for Stirring
- Large pot or heat safe bowl
Step-By-Step Instructions to Make Homemade Barley Water
First, wash the barley and set aside.
Next,peel the yellow skin from the lemon and put the lemon peel in your bowl or large pot. Avoid as much of the white pith as possible as that will make the barley drink a little more bitter.
Juice the lemon, then add the lemon juice onto the lemon peels.
Now is the time to add in your sweetener. I like to use honey, but you can certainly use sugar or another sweetener of your choice.
Pour the 2/3 cup barley grains onto the rest of the ingredients.
Next, pour four cups of boiling or near boiling water over the whole mixture. Stir with a spoon.
Allow it to sit at room temperature until it cools completely. After it is room temperature, your lemon barley water is ready to drink! Simply strain out the solids and serve it over ice. I personally like to add a wedge of lemon to it as well.
You’ll find barley water tastes like a mild, earthy sort of lemonade.
Store the barley water in the fridge and drink it within a couple of days.
Using the Leftover Barley
If you used the hulled variety, it is unlikely that you have cooked barley ready to use. You can, however, take the strained barley and boil it in broth or lightly sautee it in a pan to cook it all the way through. You can use it in salads, soups, etc. I once made a barley vegetable soup but put in way too much barley so it turned more into a barley hot dish!
If you used pearled barley, it may well be cooked enough that you can use it as is in whatever recipe you like.
Lastly, barley makes a nutritious snack for chickens so you can at the very least toss some to your birds.
Ways to Spruce Up Your Barley Water Recipe
You can certainly add different flavors to make your own barley water unique and special. Try adding a dash of orange juice to the glass for more flavor and an extra vitamin C boost. You can also swap out oranges for the lemons if you like. The important thing is to use an acidic fruit in the mix, as it is key in breaking down the structure of the barley grains and allowing that important fiber to be released.
You could also add a few sprigs of lavender to the mixture for a bit of floral essence. The sky is the limit on how you personalize your barley water recipe!
