Regarding Barley
According to von Bingen, barley (hordeum) is cold, colder than other grains such as oats, rye and wheat – this coldness also makes it weaker. Its powers are not as great as that of other kinds of grain.However, many recipes advise bathing in water in which barley grain or chaff has been boiled. Drinking of water in which barley has been boiled along with other grains and herbs was also recommended. (Troop, p12)
There are a number of medieval medical and culinary texts which extol the virtues of barley as a food suitable for the ill. In the 6th century, Anthimus stated that barley soup was good for both healthy people and for those suffering from a fever. He also referred to the use of barley in a polenta dish and small amounts of this polenta mixed with hot wine, to be drunk gradually to assist ‘enfeebled stomachs’, or for dysenteric people. Thinner solutions were used to treat patients with a fever (Grant, p71-73).
Used as the base for gruels or beverages (along the lines of that proposed by Anthimus), barley was one of the more widely prescribed foodstuffs in medical texts throughout the Middle Ages (Scully, 2010, p270). Recipes for barley based gruels are found in a number of 15th century European culinary texts, such as Taillevent, Sent Sovi, and Menagier du Paris, as well as 16th century texts (for example, Scappi included four different recipes for barley gruel and two different barley-based drinks in his ‘Opera’)
According to Platina, polenta and sweetened broths were better for sick people if they were made from barley rather than (wheat) bread (Milham, p121). When water is cooked with it, and either honey or licorice root added, it does much for those illness which occur due to too much heat within the body. Poultices made from barley were considered good for the chest. (Milham p307).
Click here for recipes for gruel and polenta from barley.
There are a number of medieval medical and culinary texts which extol the virtues of barley as a food suitable for the ill. In the 6th century, Anthimus stated that barley soup was good for both healthy people and for those suffering from a fever. He also referred to the use of barley in a polenta dish and small amounts of this polenta mixed with hot wine, to be drunk gradually to assist ‘enfeebled stomachs’, or for dysenteric people. Thinner solutions were used to treat patients with a fever (Grant, p71-73).
Used as the base for gruels or beverages (along the lines of that proposed by Anthimus), barley was one of the more widely prescribed foodstuffs in medical texts throughout the Middle Ages (Scully, 2010, p270). Recipes for barley based gruels are found in a number of 15th century European culinary texts, such as Taillevent, Sent Sovi, and Menagier du Paris, as well as 16th century texts (for example, Scappi included four different recipes for barley gruel and two different barley-based drinks in his ‘Opera’)
According to Platina, polenta and sweetened broths were better for sick people if they were made from barley rather than (wheat) bread (Milham, p121). When water is cooked with it, and either honey or licorice root added, it does much for those illness which occur due to too much heat within the body. Poultices made from barley were considered good for the chest. (Milham p307).
Click here for recipes for gruel and polenta from barley.