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You are here: Home / Family Food / Recipes / Drink / Homemade lemon barley water

Homemade lemon barley water

April 27, 2020 By wendy

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bottle of homemade lemon barley water stood on a wooden railway girder with herbs and blossoms in the background

A traditional homemade lemon barley water recipe. The way grandma used to make it!

Our homemade lemon barley water recipe is delicious, refreshing and soothing.

This is the lemon barley water recipe that my grandma used to make when we were little children and poorly and just simmering it up and mixing everything together brings back lovely memories of her (not of being poorly obviously….)

It’s a fab little pick-me up drink if you’re under the weather and best of all it’s so simple to make and uses simple ingredients.

Homemade Lemon Barley Water Ingredients

ingredients for lemon barley water - sugar on a blue plate, bowl of barley, two lemons
  • 125g Pearl Barley
  • 50g Sugar
  • 2 Lemons
  • 1.2 litres boiling water

Lemon Barley Water Recipe

  • First put the barley into a colander or sieve and rinse under cold running water – then set to drain.
barley being rinsed under the tap in a green jospeh joesph colander
  • Grate the zest of the lemons
lemons being grated to get the zest
  • Put the barley, sugar and lemon zest into a saucepan.
  • Pour over 1.2 litres of boiling water – bring the pan to boil on the hob then reduce the heat to a low simmer and boil with the lid on for around 45 minutes to an hour (check your barley packet for exact cooking times)
le creuset black saucepan filled with barley, sugar and lemon zest
  • Once it’s cooked it should look like this – cloudy, milky water.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.
freshly boiled barley water in a black le creuset saucepan
  • Squeeze the juice from the two lemons
lemons being juiced on a glass lemon squeezer
  • Then pour the cooled lemon barley water through a sieve into a jug. Discard the barley.
  • Pour the lemon juice into the barley water and stir through gently to mix.
homemade lemon barley water poured into a jug with lemon juice stirred through
  • Pour the lemon barley water into a clean sterilised bottle and chill in the fridge.
  • Store the lemon barley water in the fridge and use within 2 days as it contains no preservative.
bottle of homemade lemon barley water stood on a wooden railway girder with herbs and blossoms in the background

How to make the drink with your own twist

  • Add in zest and juice of oranges instead or as well as lemons.
  • Add some warmth and finely grate in some fresh root ginger.
  • Infuse the lemon barley water with spices like clove, fennel or juniper.

How to serve

bottle of homemade lemon barley water and two smaller drinking bottles filled with lemon barley water with black and yellow striped reusable straws
  • As a refreshing alternative to tea or coffee, it’s especially nice in the summer served garnished with mint.
  • It’s soothing to sip when you’re under the weather and need to keep fluids up.
  • With ice on hot days – add ice (or even herby little ice cubes) add lemon slices and a straw.

Health benefits of drinking lemon barley water 

My grandma used to make this for us when we were children and under the weather – especially if we had a UTI she swore by it’s soothing properties.  

She used to make it in exactly the same way she’d be taught when she was younger, so it was a traditional pick-me-up.

For more health benefits of drinking lemon barley water check out Healthline here. 

Get more delicious fresh juice recipes here

Yield: Approx 1 litre

Lemon Barley Water Recipe

Soothing, refreshing traditional homemade lemon barley water

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 125g pearl barley
  • 50g caster sugar 
  • 2 lemons
  • 1.2 litres boiling water 

Instructions

  1. Rinse the barley in a sieve under cold running water
  2. Zest the lemons
  3. Put the barley, sugar and lemon zest into a saucepan
  4. Pour over 1.2 litres of boiling water - bring the pan to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer, put the lid on and cook for 45-60 minutes (check barley packet for exact cooking times)
  5. Once cooked - remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool down.
  6. Juice the lemons
  7. Then pour the barley water through a sieve into a jug
  8. Stir in the lemon juice and then pour into a clean, sterilised bottle and store in the fridge
  9. Use within 2 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

5

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 79Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 11mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g

Nutritional content will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use and how careful you are with measuring - this nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate - you should always calculate your own nutritional information especially if you have specific dietary requirements.

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© wendy
Category: Drink

Get more drink recipes here

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  • Watermelon Lemonade – refreshing burst of watermelon fizz that’s perfect for summer days.

Get all our wellbeing tips and ideas for busy moms here

bottle of homemade lemon barley water stood on a wooden railway girder with herbs and blossoms in the background . Text "homemade lemon barley water recipe - www.daisiesandpie.co.uk"

If you make it don’t forget to tag us your creations on Twitter @daisiesandpieUK or Instagram @daisiesandpie and let us know how it went!

Get more delicious meal ideas and easy recipes here

Filed Under: Drink, Family Food, Wellbeing Tagged With: Juice Recipes

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Family food and housework are part of life and we’ve got all the tips, cheats and timesaving ideas to make it all so much easier. We’ll show you how you can create tasty family recipes and have a clean and organised home the easy way. Read More…

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