barley!

[Bazza1234]

I have discovered barley!!! I knew a bit about barley - for example that my British forebears added it to soups. But that was about all I knew. But now I know that it can be used hot and cold, for breakfast lunch and dinner - as a savoury dish or as a sweet. It can also be used as a "stomach filler" to stop me form eating too much . I precook a cup or more of dry pearl barley and after about an hour of boiling it, I strain it and put it in the fridge for use over the next few days. The liquid that I strain from it is kept and drunk as "barley water" - add a bit of citrus to it, maybe a little honey? or cinnamon ?. This morning I added a half cup of cooked barley to some rolled oats porridge - it adds an extra dimension of texture and flavour to porridge. It can replace rice in any dish - hot or cold - savoury or sweet. Add it to a cold salad or a hot curry - whiz up some fruit and a little yogurt in a blender and mix it into some cold barley as a sweet dish - or an afternoon snack ( which will fill your stomach so much that you won't eat too much at dinner)

I could go on and on

[IndigoBlue61]

I've never done this but saw it on tv, a chef made a risotto with it 😊 Bought some the other week, you have just reminded me so thank you 😊

[Bazza1234 in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Lots of yummy uses for it goo.gl/j3kqyr

[Sailsalot in reply to Bazza1234]

That is a great link, thanks Bazza1234 . I will try using barley this week in something other than soup.

[bunty65]

Never heard of this before will be giving it a try thank you for posting

[Anne76]

Well done. I have tinned chick peas drained with some pepper and salt and a little curry powder as a snack with my drink, it is better than eating crisps etc

[BadHare]

Barley broth is good for easing sore throats as it's slightly slimy, & gives watery soups a bit of texture. I don't eat meat now, but a traditional soup as a child was cock-a-leekie. I make lentil-a-leekie, now.

I use it in veg & lentil or bean soups for combining amino acids for balancing protein. I'm not too good with starchy foods, so a handful per litre is enough for me. It expands A LOT, learned the hard way after I used a whole half pound packet in a soup! It's handy to have as a cupboard staple as it's dried. I have used it for risotto when I've forgotten to buy rice, though it takes a bit longer to cook. It would probably make a nice rice pudding, too, with cream & nutmeg.

Beware barley if you have coeliac! If you're not sure if you have coeliac or wheat intolerance, avoid gluten for >3months, then eat a little barley. If your symptoms return, the issue is gluten, if you're ok with the barley, the issue is with wheat.

nutritiondata.self.com/fact...

[jennyjolly]

Barley is great in soups but is a gluten grain

Only suitable for those not on GF eating plan

[jennyjolly]

Read up on Gluten grains as not good for anyone

Gluten free or not