Previous | Next

Pearl Barley is the most common form of barley available in stores today.

It is processed one step further than Hulled Barley. Hulled Barley has the husk removed, as is necessary to make it edible for humans. Pearl is further processed so that the bran is removed as well, and then the kernel inside is polished. It looks like a small, ivory pearl.

Because of the bran being removed, we are likely immediately to think Pearl Barley has only downsides; but in fact, it has a few upsides as well.

• The cooking time required is reduced by almost one-third;
• Many nutrients do still remain, especially the beta-glucans, which are evenly distributed through the barley grain;
• Storage is made easier. Without the bran, which will go rancid in heat or long-storage, Pearl Barley can be stored at normal room temperatures for longer periods. This was an advantage up until the mid nineteen hundreds, when refrigerators became common -- but even now, with large North American fridges, not everyone has the fridge room to start storing dry-goods in them.

Nutrition
Pearl Barley contains about 80 per cent starch and about 6 per cent proteins and cellulose.

Because more of the kernel is exposed in Pearl Barley than in other forms of barley, it is useful in making barley water as more of its good can leach into the water. Barley water is an old-fashioned restorative for people who are ill, and a healthy drink for children.

Equivalents
1 pound Pearl Barley, uncooked = 450g = 2 cups, uncooked

Literature & Lore
Sometimes also called "Pearled Barley".

Also called:

Other entries for:

Barley
Barley Flakes, Barley Flour, Barley Grits, Beremeal, Black Barley, Hulled Barley, Malted Barley, Pearl Barley, Pot Barley, Quick-Cooking Barley, Sprouting Barley

Other entries for:

Grains
Amaranth, Buckwheat, Cereals, Corn, Flax, Kamut, Millet, Oats, Quinoa, Red River Cereal, Rice, Rye, Semolina, Sorghum, Spelt, Teff, Triticale, Wheat