Barley is a multi-use cereal grain with a rich nutty flavor and an appealing chewy consistency. Barley resembles wheat berries, although it is slightly lighter in color. Barley can be found as whole barley, hulled barley, pearled barley and barley flakes. Barley is most commonly used in soups and stews. But when fermented, barley can be used as an ingredient in beer and other alcoholic beverages.
Pearled Barley is similar to hulled barley, in that it has it's hull removed. However, Pearled Barley has it’s germ and much of the bran around the endosperm removed. This is where many of the vitamins and minerals are found and because of this, it’s nutritional qualities are 25%-33% less than that which is found in hulled barley. However, Pearled Barley is a popular choice because it cooks in much less time than Hulled Barley, about 15 minutes.
Barley is a multi-use cereal grain with a rich nutty flavor and an appealing chewy consistency. Barley resembles wheat berries, although it is slightly lighter in color. Barley can be found as whole barley, hulled barley, pearled barley and barley flakes. Barley is most commonly used in soups and stews. But when fermented, barley can be used as an ingredient in beer and other alcoholic beverages.