The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book/Invalid Cookery

The plants Hordeum Distichon and Hordeum Vulgare supply most of the barley used in this country. Barley has been used as a food from time out of mind. We find frequent mention of it in the Bible, and in old Latin and Greek books. According to Pliny, an ancient Roman writer, the gladiators were called Hordearii, or "barley eaters," because they were fed on this grain whilst training. These Hordearii were like our pugilists, except that they often fought to the death. Barley has been used from very ancient days for making an intoxicating drink. In Nubia, the liquor made from barley was called Bouzah, from which we get our English word "booze," meaning an intoxicating drink. The first intoxicant drink made in this country was ale, and it was made from barley. Hops were not used for beer or ale in those days. Barley is a good food, and was the chief food of our peasantry until the beginning of the nineteenth century. Barley contains about 7 per cent. of sugar, and its flesh-forming matter is in the form of casin the same as is found in cheese. This casin is not elastic like the gluten of wheat, so that one cannot make a light bread from barley. Here is the chemical composition of barley meal


 * —Flesh formers 7.5 Heat and force formers (carbon)[A] 76.0 Mineral matters 2.0 Water 14.5 - 100.0

[A] There is 2.5 per cent. of fat in barley, and 7 per cent. of sugar.

From this analysis we can judge that barley contains all the constituents of a good food. In it we find casin and albumen for our muscles; starch, sugar, and fat to keep us warm and give force; and there is a fair percentage of mineral matter for our bones and teeth.

Allinson's prepared barley may be eaten as porridge or pudding (see directions), and is much more nourishing than rice pudding; it is also good for adding to broth or soup, and to vegetable stews, and is most useful for making gruel and barley water. Barley water contains a great deal of nourishment, more than beef tea, and it can be drunk as a change from tea, coffee, and cocoa. During illness I advise and use barley water and milk, mixed in equal parts, and find this mixture invaluable.

Put 1 teaspoonful of Allinson's barley into a breakfast cup; mix this perfectly smooth with cold milk and cold water in equal parts, until the cup is full. Pour into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring all the time to prevent it getting lumpy.

Mix 1 large tablespoonful of Allinson's barley with a little cold water, add to this 1 pint of boiling milk and water, boil together a few minutes, take from the fire, let cool, then eat. A little nutmeg gives a pleasant flavour.

Use 3 teaspoonfuls of Allinson's barley to 1/2 pint of milk and water, and prepare as "Barley for Babies."

Wash, then steep, 6 oz. of pearl barley for 6 hours, pour 31/2 pints of boiling water upon it, stew it quickly in a covered jar in a hot oven till perfectly soft and the water absorbed. When half done, add 6 oz. of sugar and a few drops of essence of lemon. 21/2 hours is the correct time for stewing the barley, and it is then a better colour than if longer in preparation. Pour it into a mould to set.

Take 3 tablespoonfuls of Allinson's barley, mix smoothly with 1/2 pint of cold water, add 1/2 pint of boiling milk, and boil 5 to 10 minutes. Pour on shallow plates to cool, then eat with Allinson wholemeal bread, biscuits, rusks, or toast, or stewed fruits.

Take 2 tablespoonfuls of Allinson's barley, mix smoothly with a little milk, pour upon it the remainder of 1 pint of milk, flavour and sweeten to taste, boil 2 or 3 minutes, then add 2 eggs lightly beaten, pour into a pie-dish, and bake to a golden brown. Eat with stewed, fresh, or dried fruits.

Mix smoothly 2 tablespoonfuls of Allinson's barley with a little cold water, then add it to 1 quart of water in a saucepan, and bring to the boil. Pour into a jug, and when cool add the juice of 1 or 2 oranges or lemons. A little sugar may be added when permissible.

1 large tablespoonful of black currant jam, 1 pint boiling water. Stir well together, strain when cold, and serve with a little crushed ice if allowed.

Mix 1 oz. of bran with 1 pint of water, boil for 1/2 hour, strain, and drink cool. A little orange or lemon juice is a pleasant addition. When this is used as a drink at breakfast or tea, a little sugar may be added to it.

Take 1-1/2 or 2 teaspoonfuls of Brunak for each large cupful required, mix it with sufficient water, and boil for 2 or 3 minutes to get the full flavour, then strain and add hot milk and sugar to taste. Can be made in a coffee-pot, teapot, or jug if preferred. May be stood on the hob to draw; or if you have any left over from a previous meal it can be boiled up again and served as freshly made.

Put 1 teaspoonful of N.F. cocoa into a breakfast cup; make into a paste with a little cold milk. Fill the cup with milk and water in equal parts, pour into lined saucepan, and boil for 1 minute, stirring carefully. This is best without sugar, and should be given cool.

Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a Lemon into a tumbler of warm or cold water; add just sufficient sugar to take off the tartness. Or the lemon may be peeled first, then cut in slices, and boiling water poured over them; a little of the peel grated in, and sugar added to taste.

Most people, I think, may know how to make porridge; but it is useful to know that if you take 1 pint of water to each heaped-up breakfastcupful of Allinson breakfast oats, you have just the amount of water for a fairly firm porridge. When the water has boiled, and you have stirred in the oats, place the saucepan on the side of the stove on an asbestos mat. Only an occasional stirring will be required, and there is no fear of burning the porridge. If the porridge is preferred thinner, 1 even cupful to 1 pint of water will be found the proportion.

This is very useful in cases of illness, and is a most pleasant drink in hot weather, when it can be flavoured with lemon juice and sweetened a little. To 1 quart of water take 3 oz. of coarse oatmeal or Allinson breakfast oats. Let it simmer gently on the stove for about 2 hours. Then rub it through a fine sieve or gravy strainer; rub it well through, adding a little more hot water when rubbed dry, so as to get all the goodness out of the oatmeal. If it is thick when it has been rubbed through sufficiently, thin it down with water or hot milk—half oatmeal water and half milk is a good mixture. Nothing better can be given to adults or children in cases of colds or feverish attacks. It is nourishing and soothing, and in cases of diarrhoea remedial.

Wash the rice, put it into a pie-dish, cover with cold water, and bake until the rice is nearly soft throughout. Beat up 1 egg with milk, mix with this a little cinnamon or other flavouring, and pour it over the rice; add sugar to taste, and bake until set.

Sago, tapioca, semolina, and hominy puddings are made after the manner of rice pudding.