CULINARY INFO Barley

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Native to Iran Mesopotopia, where it was milled to make bread and fermented to make a type of beer. Barley is probably the world's oldest domesticated GRAIN crop, having been cultivated in Egypt as early as 6000 BC. It is a grass of the family Gramineae, generally classified in three types, six-row, two-row, and hull-less. The two- and six-row types--referring to the arrangement of the grains in the head--commercially are the most important. Barley can be grown under a greater variety of climatic conditions than any other grain, and--although it produces less abundantly then in regions where it can grow for at least three months--is planted even where the growing season is extremely short, as in Lapland or the Himalayas or where heat and lack of moisture prevent the growth of other cereals. The normal height of the plant is 76 cm (30 in), with grain heads forming at the tops of the stems. Like most cereal grains, it is composed of 8-10% protein, 62-65% starch, 1-3% fat, and 2-3% mineral matter. It can be harvested by a combine, or cut and windrowed in swaths to dry. The kernels require careful threshing to avoid the skinning or breaking that will harm germination, if they are to be used for seed. Barley is the fourth most important cereal crop, after wheat, rice, and corn. Total annual world production in the mid-1980s was 185 million metric tons (204 U.S. tons), with the USSR producing by far the largest crop--almost four times as much as Canada and the United States, the next most important producers.

Malted barley is used in Scotland in the production of whisky, gin and beer. In countries where barley and rye crops flourish, you will find barley porridge and bread. The husked, polished berry is pearl barley, that is added to soups.

Approximately 60% of all barley produced is ground or rolled and mixed with other ingredients to produce formulated animal feeds. The ground meal is often pelleted. The major food use of barley is in the production of MALT for the brewing of BEER. The grain is eaten in soups and porridge, and is used in making flour for flat breads. Pearled barley is produced by subjecting the kernel to abrasion to remove the hull and outer bran


Two types of barley, Hordeum vulgare, are two-row barley (center), a European and Australian crop, and six-row barley (right), grown in the United States, the Middle East and India. The number designations indicate how the grains are arranged (see cross section at top right).