Cookbook:Barley

Barley
Category	Cereals

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Barley is a cereal grain used as a staple food.

Characteristics

When cooked, barley has a somewhat springy or chewy texture and a "nutty" flavor.

Barley is not considered gluten-free. Whilst it does not have the same form of gluten as wheat does, it has a protein called hordein that is equally harmful to people sensitive to gluten, including those with coeliac disease.

Varieties

Hulled barley has had the inedible hull removed, leaving the bran behind—this is typically considered a whole grain. Pearl barley has had the bran removed, and it is somewhat analogous to white rice. Barley groats can also be flattened like rolled oats.

Selection and storage

Barley will keep for a long time in an airtight container. Hulled barley may have a slightly shorter shelf life due to its bran, whose higher oil content can go rancid.

Uses

It is often used in soups, stews, and pilafs as in its hulled or peal forms. It can be malted and crushed for making beer and other malt products. It can also be ground to flour in its raw and malted forms for use in baking, where it primarily contributes flavor—barley breads tend to be flat and dense, and they stale faster.

Gallery

• Barley images
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  Barley grains, with husks (left) and without (right)
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  Malted barley
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  Barley groats

Recipes

Barley flour recipes

Beef and Barley Stew

Boiled Chicken with Broth

Ciceri e Tria (Brothy Pasta with Chickpeas)

Herring Soup

Lentil, Barley, and Tomato Soup

Maitorieska (Finnish Barley Flatbread)

Mushroom Barley Bean Soup

Rassolnik (Russian Barley and Kidney Soup)

Stovetop Barley