Pearl barley

Do not like barley? In vain, because this porridge is very useful and is considered a pearl among other cereals. She is called pearl-barley from the word pearl - an outdated name for pearls. Spoiled by the culinary masterpieces of fast foods, we completely forgot about cereals and their benefits. Today, not even everyone knows where the barley is growing. What cereal pearl barley? How to cook it?

Memory barley dedicated

Until recently, barley porridge was one of the main dishes of the army menu. Today, this cereal is unfairly anathematized and replaced by buckwheat. And although buckwheat is also quite useful, we still decided to defend the barley and restore the status quo it lost.

And you need to start with the fact that today few people know from which cereal pearl barley is made. If everything is clear with buckwheat, hardly anyone has heard of pearl barley culture, and even more so about its plantations. Yes, such cereal does not exist, but there is pearl barley.

So from what grain are pearls made? In fact, it is obtained from barley. Pearl barley is obtained from grain that has not been subjected to abrasion.

Barley Production Technology

They produce a pearl product at a cereal plant, where ungraded barley grain is fed. Perlovka has various sizes of grains, which are distributed among five dimensional numbers:

• No. 1 and No. 2 - elongated croup with rounded edges;
• №3, №4, №5 - grains of round shape of different sizes.

The production technology of pearl barley provides for triple sequential cleaning of barley grain from weed impurities. Cleaning is done in special separators. Purified raw materials are loaded into grinding machines, where barley is flaked in three to four passes. After each pass, the raw material is swept in an aspirator to remove the husk.

Upon completion of the peeling, the grain is ground and polished. As a result of this, after weaning, the finished pearl barley is obtained. Then it is sorted by numbers, once again swept, driven through a magnetic separator and sent to the finished goods warehouse.

Pearl barley, which has undergone high-quality processing, acquires a light gray color and resembles freshwater pearls in appearance.

The benefits and harm of barley porridge

After we figured out from which cereal pearl barley is mined, you need to find out what this product is so good about. We need to start with the fact that the less barley has undergone processing, the more vegetable fibers, fiber, remain in pearl barley. It plays a very important role for our body:

• stimulates the bowels and improves digestion;
• lowers blood cholesterol;
• helps to stabilize blood pressure;
• normalizes the level of sugar.

Naturally, the properties of barley are determined by the characteristics of the grain from which it is made. Barley contains the following elements and nutrients:

• proteins: nutritional component - 10 g per 100 g of product;
• carbohydrates: energy component - 50 g;
• fiber - 17 g;
• vegetable fats - 2.5 g;
• vitamins A, B, C, E, K;
• macronutrients K, Ca, Mg, Na, P;
• trace elements Fe, Mn, Cu, Cn, Se;
• nutritional value of barley - 330 Kcal.

Separately, it should be noted that pearl barley is a source of lysine, an essential amino acid. It is not produced in our body, but we really need to build protein structures, such as collagen, which is responsible for the elasticity of blood vessels and skin condition. In general, the shortest way to beauty and youth preservation is the daily breakfast with barley porridge.

If we talk about whether porridge made from pearl barley is harmful, it is rather necessary to say about the undesirability of its use to people who suffer from flatulence or increased gastric acidity. All because the barley contains a large amount of gluten, fiber. For the same reason, it is not recommended for use during pregnancy, as it can cause intestinal upset. Children can safely give such porridge from the age of three.

Also, nutritionists warn about the dangers of overeating barley porridge, because it is a heavy meal and in large quantities can cause indigestion. Allergies are extremely rare in people with hypersensitivity to cereal allergens.

How to make barley tasty?

You still have not changed your attitude to the barley and consider it a cheap and tasteless food? Then get ready - now you will learn about the culinary masterpiece from this cereal. And we will tell about the dish from the Italian cuisine. It is called Orzotto, which in Italian means barley.

Composition:

• White cheese - 200-250 g;
• pearl barley - 300 g;
• two bulbs;
• 3-4 cloves of garlic;
• 2 celery stalks;
• butter - 40-50 g;
• olive oil - 100-150 ml;
• tomato puree - 0.3 l;
• 1 tsp. paprika;
• ¼ tsp red pepper;
• lemon peel - 3 g;
• cumin - 25 g;
• thyme, 2-3 g;
• ¼ tsp oregano;
• greenery.

Cooking:

1. Pearl barley washed with several waters to wash off the starch. Then we throw it in a colander for 15 minutes so that it swells.
2. Cooking vegetable broth. For 2 liters of water lay 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 garlic, 1 celery, bay leaf, pepper, salt.
3. Cheese cut into small cubes, pour half of olive oil and add the cumin, stir and let it brew.
4. Paste chopped vegetables in a skillet with butter and vegetable oil. Fry until onion is transparent.
5. Add pearl barley, tomato puree, vegetable broth, spices to the stew-pan. Mix and set on medium heat. You must constantly stir, so that the barley is not burnt.
6. Add salt to taste, bring to a boil and cook for 25-30 minutes.
7. In a portion of the finished Orzotto lay out a few cubes of cheese and garnish with greens.

Hopefully, barley in this form will have to your taste. Eat right and stay healthy!