Not for the belly

| 3 comments

So, Mormons can't drink coffee. Or tea. Nowadays, there's solutions to this conundrum (diet coke for the pep, herbal tea for the cold, Pero for the fun creamers, and so on). However, pioneers weren't so lucky. They had to be more...creative. I guess they were desperate times, but did they really need to try soaking and then drinking every conceivable plant and grain?

From a website I was scouring for ideas for the Utah Party that I may or may not be having: Barley Coffee (roasted then ground), Barley Water (just boiled and strained), Rice Water (ditto), Sage Tea, and Toast Tea (burn bread, crumble, cover in hot water).

I'm disturbed by these ideas. Also, doesn't it seem sort of wasteful to use grains for making a drink? Didn't these people have to eat flowers for a whole winter or something?

Though, if all that was waiting for you on a cold winter's night in Utah was a steaming cup of rice water, I can maybe understand why all the pioneers look so grumpy in photographs.

3 comments:

daine said...

I've done the roasted, ground barley thing. It's not quite as good as Pero, but since it's really hard to find Pero where I am, it's worth the effort of grinding my own roasted barley.

alea said...

And, yes, Daine, there is something wrong with you. (Do you have a coffee grinder?)

annie (the annilygreen one) said...

who needs pero? my family just puts creamers in our cereal milk. yum.

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