English Lemon Barley Water with Garden Mint and Wildflower Honey

Rinse the pearl barley in a sieve under cold running water until the water runs clear, working the grains with your fingers. Rinsing away the loose starch is what keeps the finished drink refreshing rather than gluey.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pearl barley
• 8 cups water, divided
• Zest of 3 unwaxed lemons, in wide strips
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
• 1/3 cup wildflower honey, or to taste
• 1 large handful fresh garden mint, plus sprigs for serving
• 1 lemon, sliced into wheels
• Plenty of ice

Instructions

1. Rinse the pearl barley in a sieve under cold running water until the water runs clear, working the grains with your fingers. Rinsing away the loose starch is what keeps the finished drink refreshing rather than gluey.
2. Put the barley in a saucepan with 2 cups of the water, bring to a boil, then drain and discard that first water. This quick parboil removes the raw, cereal-heavy note.
3. Return the barley to the pan with the remaining 6 cups of water and the strips of lemon zest. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook, partly covered, for 30 minutes.
4. Take the pan off the heat, add the handful of mint, cover, and let everything steep for 20 minutes as it cools.
5. Strain through a fine sieve into a pitcher, pressing lightly on the solids. The liquid will be cloudy and pale — that opacity is correct and characteristic.
6. While still warm, stir in the honey until dissolved, then add the lemon juice. Adding the juice off the heat protects its fresh brightness.
7. Taste and adjust: barley water should be tart and only lightly sweet, closer to a refreshing tonic than a lemonade.
8. Chill for at least 3 hours. Serve over plenty of ice with lemon wheels and a fresh mint sprig in each glass, stirring the pitcher before pouring since it settles as it stands.
9. Lemon barley water is a genuinely old English drink, prescribed by physicians in the seventeenth century as a restorative and later adopted as the household summer cordial. Its most famous modern association is Wimbledon, where it has been the players' drink since the 1930s and remains part of the tournament's furniture. The cooked barley gives a soft, faintly nutty body that plain lemonade lacks, which is exactly why it satisfies on a hot afternoon in a way sugar water does not. Do not throw out the strained barley — dressed with olive oil, lemon and herbs, it makes an excellent salad the following day.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 128 kcal
• Protein: 2g
• Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 31g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 18g
• Sodium: 8mg