Emoliente
By Carmen DongoPublished on November 21, 2022
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Roasted unhulled barley kernels (sometimes known as toasted barley) is what gives this beverage its distinctive caramel hue and nutty flavor; do not substitute pearl barley. Dried horsetail and cat's claw bark can be purchased at specialty tea shops, health stores, or online.
Instructions
- Bring barley, flaxseeds, horsetail, cat's claw, and water to simmer in large saucepan and cook until liquid is reduced by half, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into heat-safe bowl, then return to now-empty saucepan. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice and honey. Season with extra to taste. (Emoliente can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; mixture will thicken once chilled but loosen again after reheating. To make a single portion, bring 1 cup emoliente to simmer in small saucepan, then stir in 2 teaspoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon honey.)
Yield
Serves 4Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted to re-create a classic emoliente that would give us the healthful benefits of barley and flaxseeds in a delicious drink. We found several common denominators to emoliente: toasted barley, flaxseeds, horsetail, and cat's claw. Cat's claw is a bitter-tasting, woody vine found in the tropical jungles of South and Central America, while horsetail is a grassy-tasting fern. Toasted barley is chock-full of nutrients and minerals and it gives a nutty flavor when brewed. Flaxseeds gave texture to our beverage and served as a powerhouse of fiber. To meld these flavors together, we introduced lemon juice and honey, which brought a hint of acidity and sweetness that made the final drink taste like warm, sweet-tart lemons with nutty notes, and gave it a thick, soothing texture. Keeping the drink at a simmer for half an hour allowed for proper extraction of the thickening qualities of flaxseeds and for adequate reduction and concentration of flavor.
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