I found very little information on this product other than activated barley powders and a few basic recipes. There were a couple of pearl barley drinks which looked quite good but I have yet to give these recipes a try.

I watched an interesting video on YouTube made by an herbalist where he made barley milk live, explaining the process as he went along. He detailed the benefits. It was so easy to make. Quantities did not seem to be an issue. If you are interested in watching this video this is the link.

This is a brief description of the process – apologies if I missed something out, but I typed this in as he was describing the process.

First and foremost, soak barley grain overnight, alternative to soy and rice milk and of course dairy milk, put into blender including water, add guar gum, (or agar agar) about 1 teaspoon, he used end of an ordinary knife. Use distilled water. Start blender on low, increase heat to high, when it becomes gelatinous, start to slowly add water. The barley will break down and start to stabilise. You can sweeten with honey, add to blender, from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon. Add a little cinnamon. Decant into jar, cover with waxed paper, seal with lid. You can make this milk as thick, or thin, as you want. Chill – and store – in fridge.

After searching for the ready made product I did come across an idea put forward on a forum for a young woman who fed her child barley milk – a Scientology thing – she said all her children were healthy.

This is the description in verbatim

“HOW TO MAKE barley (or oat, or any other grain and most nut) milk: Soak the grain, oat groats, rice, raw cashews, or raw almonds overnight in a bowl of water in the refrigerator (to avoid fermentation). Blend the soaked grain with some of the water in a powerful blender (not a food processor; use a Vita-Mix if you have one) until all the grittiness is gone. Strain through a silk cloth, well-washed cotton hanky, or several layers of cheesecloth. Add sugar, vanilla, a pinch of salt, extra water to taste… do NOT use honey for babies”.

Here in Spain we have a different version of horchata made with chufas or tiger nuts which originated in Valencia, though initially it was either made with barley or rice, opinions differ on this one.. It is delicious. I did have a recipe somewhere for the original version, but as with many others, this appears to have gone missing.

To end, Barley milk is:-

• Difficult to source any ready made product
• Barley milk is not gluten free
• Probably more palatable with added spices i.e. cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg