Storing This Food
Store barley in air- and moisture-proof containers in a cool, dark, dry cabinet. Well protected,
it will keep for several months with no loss of nutrients.
Preparing This Food
Pick over the barley and discard any damaged or darkened grains.
What Happens When You Cook This Food
Starch consists of molecules of the complex carbohydrates amylose and amylopectin packed
into a starch granule. When you cook barley in water, its starch granules absorb water mol-
ecules, swell, and soften. When the temperature of the liquid reaches approximately 140°F,
the amylose and amylopectin molecules inside the granules relax and unfold, breaking some
of their internal bonds (bonds between atoms on the same molecule) and forming new
bonds between atoms on different molecules. The result is a network that traps and holds
water molecules. The starch granules swell and the barley becomes soft and bulky. If you
continue to cook the barley, the starch granules will rupture, releasing some of the amylose
and amylopectin molecules inside. These molecules will attract and immobilize some of the
water molecules in the liquid, which is why a little barley added to a soup or stew will make
the soup or stew thicker.
The B vitamins in barley are water-soluble. You can save them by serving the barley
with the liquid in which it was cooked.
How Other Kinds of Processing Affect This Food
Pearling. Pearled barley is barley from which the outer layer has been removed. Milling,
the process by which barley is turned into flour, also removes the outer coating (bran) of the
grain. Since most of the B vitamins and fiber are concentrated in the bran, both pearled and
milled barley are lower in nutrients and fiber than whole barley.
Malting. After barley is harvested, the grain may be left to germinate, a natural chemical
process during which complex carbohydrates in the grain (starches and beta-glucans) change
into sugar. The grain, now called malted barley, is used as the base for several fermented and
distilled alcohol beverages, including beer and whiskey.
Medical Uses and/or Benefits
To reduce cholesterol levels. The soluble gums and pectins in barley appear to lower the
amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood. There are currently two theories to explain
how this might work. The first theory is that the pectins form a gel in your stomach that
sops up fats and keeps them from being absorbed by your body. The second is that bacteria
living in your gut may feed on the beta-glucans in the barley to produce short-chain fatty
Barley