Scottish Barley Pudding
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Similar to rice pudding, the distinctive flavor of barley shines through in this traditional Scottish dish of barley pudding flavored with currants and lemon. A thoroughly authentic Scottish Barley Pudding recipe that enjoyed for either breakfast or dessert!
Traditional Scottish Barley Pudding
During the seven years I lived in England, our family would visit Scotland almost every Summer, spending some time in Edinburgh and then traveling far and wide throughout the Scottish countryside. As I’ve been doing more genealogy work and tracing some ancestral lines many centuries back into Scotland, my appreciation of Scottish culture and its rich heritage has increased and we look forward to a return visit next Summer. During each visit we never grew tired of Scotland’s beauty and always enjoyed our stops at the local Scottish pubs for comforting home-style food. This Barley Pudding is a very simple and traditional Scottish dish you are sure to enjoy.
Along with oats, Barley has been the most prolific grains in Scotland for centuries. Roughly 78 percent of Scotland’s land area is dedicated to growing cereal grains and barley accounts for nearly three-quarters of that. The Scottish climate and landscape – damp and sun-deprived – is particularly suited to growing barley, more so than any other country in Europe and most anywhere else in the world, so barley has been readily available among poor and wealthy alike throughout Scotland’s history.
Here is an age-old traditional Scottish dish that has been enjoyed for many generations and features the delicious and nutritious barley grain. If you like rice pudding this is a variation you have to try.
Scottish Barley Pudding is traditionally cooked without sugar and the sugar is then added afterwards along with cream when served. Not overly sweet, this isn’t a typical dessert, in fact it’s more often eaten for breakfast. But add a little extra sugar and cream and you’ll have a satisfying and comforting dessert with the distinctive and delicious flavor of barley.
For convenience I stir the sugar and cream into the whole batch at the end of cooking and then make extra sugar and cream available at the table.
This dish is easy to make, will stick nicely to your ribs, and will satisfy your tummy and soul.
Scottish Barley Pudding Recipe
Let’s get started!
Place the barley in a medium pot with the salt and lemon zest. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 60 minutes. Remove the lemon zest. Add the currants and simmer for another 15 minutes, adding a little more water if needed, until the barley is soft.
Stir in the sugar and cream.
Serve immediately with some extra sugar and cream at the table.
Enjoy!
For more Scottish recipes be sure to try my:
- Scotch Broth
- Scotch Eggs
- Chicken Tikka Masala (yes, this was invented in Glasgow! :)
- Fish and Chips
- Bangers and Mash
- Cullen Skink
- Dundee Cake
- Scottish Shortbread
- Millionaire Shortbread
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Scottish Barley Pudding
Ingredients
- 1 cup barley (see Note)
- 4 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 strips lemon zest (not traditionally used but a delicious touch)
- 1/2 cup currants (can substitute raisins)
- 1/3 cup cane sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Extra sugar and heavy cream for serving as desired
Instructions
- Place the barley in a medium pot with the salt and lemon zest. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 60 minutes. Remove the lemon zest. Add the currants and simmer for another 15 minutes, adding a little more water if needed, until the barley is soft. Stir in the sugar and cream.
- Serve immediately with some extra sugar and cream on the side if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet November 6, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Great staple for a gluten free diet.
This is so good! Just what I was looking for. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you, Laura, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Can I substitute Instant Barley?
Hi Linda, yes you can.
Was happy to see this recipe. I LOVE barley — it is my favorite grain. When my daughter was a baby I fed her a homemade barley formula as I couldn’t keep up my own milk production to feed her voracious appetite. ; )). When the barley was done cooking, she got the liquid end in her formula and I got to eat the yummy whole barley with cream and sweetener. Kept up both happy and fed! DidI mention how yummy it is?! ha ha ha haaaa… Seeing your recipe reminded me of this so I am going to make yours as I can already taste it! Happiness…
Thank you for sharing the memories, Sally! I hope you enjoy this Scottish pudding :)
As is I give it a 3 star but I made some changes.First I added 1 tsp of cinnamon to barley when cooking, when I added the raisins I also added 1 diced apple nd a couple drops of vanilla extract. The last 5 minutes of cooking I added about an 1/8-1/4 cup of brown sugar (I didn”t measure). I ended up adding more cream than called for because it seemed too thick for my taste but it was delicious. This was the first time I have made anything with barley and I loved it. Will definitely make again.
What a simple ingredient list! I am going to have to try this one out!
This looks so warm and comforting, and it’s awesome that you can trace your roots back like that!
What a creative dish! It looks delicious!
I am going to have to try it out soon! It looks good!
Looks so warm and comforting! Perfect for fall and winter!
I love the idea of using barley in a pudding!!