Barley

What is barley?
Barley is a grain with short, stubby kernels and a hull that is difficult to remove.  It is often used in soups or stews as a filler and to add some extra chewiness.  It is a good source of fiber and niacin, and is also low in fat with no saturated fat or cholesterol. 

Types of barley
Similar to rice, there are two types of barley, a refined (white) variety and a "whole grain" variety.  The most common is the white, highly processed "pearl" barley that has had most of its bran and germ removed along with its hull.  It is the least nutritious form of barley.  The second variety is called "pot" or "hulled" barley and it has been subjected to the same milling process as pearled, but with fewer trips through the polisher.  Because of this, it retains more of the nutritious germ and bran.

What type should we store?
Since pearl barley is so highly processed (similar to white rice), it has a much longer shelf life than pot barley.  If you enjoy barley and plan to store a fair amount of it, then definitely store mostly pearl barley.  However, if you are going to be using it a lot and rotating through it on a regular basis, it would be beneficial to store at least some of it in the pot barley variety in order to have the benefit of additional nutrients.

Where do we buy barley?
I find bags of pearl barley at the grocery store near the beans and rice.  You can also purchase boxes of Quaker Quick Barley, which is found in the same section and typically easier to find than the bags.


I often add barley to vegetable beef soup or other similar soups.

*Info from FoodStorageMadeEasy