In keeping with this month’s theme of “Soups”, this week’s “Tasty Tuesdays” featured recipe will be “Barley Soup”, and it is a “first” because it is the first recipe that I am featuring from “Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management: The 1861 Classic with Advice on Cooking, Cleaning, Childrearing, Entertaining, and More” by Isabella Beeton”.
Because I often write historical romances, especially those set during the Victorian era (my favourite historical time period), I purchased this book for research purposes — to make sure the small details in my stories were historically accurate. With my love of cookbooks, I was delighted to read (in the foreward by Sarah A. Chrisman) that this book (“Beeton’s work”) is primarily remembered as a cookbook”. Consequently, I thought it was a fitting addition to the main categories from which I choose these “Tasty Tuesdays” recipe posts.
And now, without further ado, here is Mrs. Beeton’s featured recipe:
Barley Soup
Ingredients
2 lbs. of shin of beef
1/4 lb. of pearl barley
a large bunch of parsley
4 onions
6 potatoes
salt and pepper
4 quarts of water
Mode — Put in all the ingredients, and simmer gently for 3 hours.
Time — 3 hours Average cost, 2-1/2d. per quart.
Seasonable all the year, but more suitable for winter.
Barley– This, in the order of cereal grasses, is, in Britain, the next plant to wheat in point of value, and exhibits several species and varieties. From what country it comes originally, is not known, but it was cultivated in the earliest ages of antiquity, as the Egyptians were afflicted with the loss of it in the ear, in the time of Moses. It was a favourite grain with the Athenians, but it was esteemed as an ignominious food by the Romans. Notwithstanding this, however, it was much used by them, as it was in former times by the English, and still is, in the Border counties, in Cornwall, and also in Wales. In other parts of England, it is used mostly for malting purposes. It is less nutritive than wheat; and in 100 parts, has of starch 79, gluten 6, saccharine matter 7, husk 8. It is, however, a lighter and less stimulating food than wheat, which renders a decoction of it well adapted for invalids whose digestion is weak.
So… There you have it: Mrs. Beeton’s recipe for Barley Soup as well as an interesting description of the history of barley! What I realized as I was transcribing the last part of the section about barley was that this was probably the first historical example of the “Nutrition Facts” that are found on virtually all modern-day processed food that I’ve ever see! In addition to Mrs. Beeton’s “nutrition facts” for this recipe, I also liked her inclusion of the “Average cost” with the recipe — though I have no idea what “2-1/2d” means! I know of schilling and pence, but not whatever begins with “d”, so if you’re more up on British currency, please enlighten me as to what kind of coin/currency Mrs. Beeton was referring to in this recipe.
By the way, if you don’t happen to have “shin of beef” in your freezer or refrigerator (or even know what kind of cut it is), you may substitute any of the following cuts for the “shin of beef”:
- oxtails (though, if you’re like me, you probably won’t have any of these, either),
- chuck,
- bottom round,
- skirt (or skirt steak, as I’ve heard this particular cut referred),
- braising steak, or
- beef shank.
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts about this recipe as well as any experience you might have with Mrs. Beeton. Looking forward to hearing from you.