Description of pearl barley, how it is made. Caloric content and vitamin and mineral composition, effect on the body. Cooking Uses, History and Non-Food Uses.
Pearl barley is a processed barley seed of a glassy and glassy variety, without a grain shell and awn. The structure is crumbly, from individual grains with a smooth surface; color - light, creamy, slightly yellowish or grayish. The smell is absent, the taste is raw flour, with a slight nutty. Used for food purposes, produced on an industrial scale. The main beneficial qualities are considered to be high nutritional value and the possibility of long-term storage.
How is pearl barley made?
Not only city children, but even adults, when traveling to the village, inspecting the ears of rye and wheat, are interested in where the pearl barley grows. If they knew how and from what pearl barley is made, such a question would not be asked.
The agricultural crop that is planted in the fields is barley, and only then it is processed and barley is made. The technological process is multi-stage. The grains are cleaned of bran, weed impurities and household contaminants on grain-cleaning separators with built-in sieves with holes of 1, 6 to 2 mm in diameter. The coarse fraction is sent to oat-picking machines, the small fraction to the puppeteers, where the seeds of weeds are sifted out - bindweed, cockle, buckwheat, and so on. Devices-stone separators help to remove mineral impurities.
They are husked on a production line assembled from several machines - peeling and exfoliating. Abrasive fine-grained grinding wheels are used as polishing tools.
Samples are removed after each process - the intermediate product is screened on special aspirators, the husk, particles of the grain film are separated, and passed through a sieve system.
The finished pearl barley is sifted again and sorted by numbers, again passed through the magnetic control, and then poured into bunkers, after which it is sent for pre-sale preparation. Additional drying may be required.
The final product is produced in 3 grades:
- Pearl barley … The common name is "shrapnel". Barley is cleaned only from the bran casing. Retains the greatest amount of nutrients of the original product. It boils relatively slowly.
- Yachka … It is made from barley by crushing and grinding. It boils down faster, the finished structure is soft and homogeneous.
- Dutch woman … The barley is rolled and polished, giving each particle the shape of a bead. Such processing speeds up cooking.
You can buy pearl barley in Russia at a price of 15 rubles per 1 kg, and in Ukraine - from 9 hryvnia. It is very easy to choose high-quality pearl barley. The product should be dry, have a golden hue and be odorless, only a light warm flour aroma is allowed.
GOST of pearl barley, supplied to the stores of the former CIS - 5784. But the size of the grains may differ. Groats with a diameter of 3, 5 or 3 mm are marketed under the numbers 1 and 2, respectively. Small grains are marked as No. 3, 4 and 5 and have sizes from 2.5 to 1.5 mm.
Pearl barley should be stored in a sealed package, away from moisture. Useful properties are retained for 1 year from the date of production.
The composition and calorie content of pearl barley
In the photo pearl barley
On the territory of Russia, genetically modified barley is not sown, therefore, the processed grain does not contain GMOs. Despite the high amount of carbohydrates in the grain mass (the content can reach 77%), the energy value of the finished product is low.
The calorie content of pearl barley is 315 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 9.3 g;
- Fat - 1.1 g;
- Carbohydrates - 66.9 g;
- Dietary fiber - 7.8 g;
- Water - 14 g.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Vitamin A - 1 μg;
- Beta Carotene - 0.013 mg;
- Vitamin B1, thiamine - 0.12 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 0.06 mg;
- Vitamin B4, choline - 37.8 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 0.5 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 0.36 mg;
- Vitamin B9, folate - 24 mcg;
- Vitamin E, alpha tocopherol - 1.1 mg;
- Vitamin K, phylloquinone - 2.2 mcg;
- Vitamin PP - 3.7 mg;
- Niacin - 2 mg
Macronutrients per 100 g:
- Potassium, K - 172 mg;
- Calcium, Ca - 38 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg - 40 mg;
- Sodium, Na - 10 mg;
- Sulfur, S - 77 mg;
- Phosphorus, P - 323 mg.
Microelements per 100 g:
- Iron, Fe - 1.8 mg;
- Cobalt, Co - 1.8 μg;
- Manganese, Mn - 0.65 mg;
- Copper, Cu - 280 μg;
- Molybdenum, Mo - 12.7 μg;
- Nickel, Ni - 20 μg;
- Selenium, Se - 37.7 μg;
- Titanium, Ti - 16.7 μg;
- Fluorine, F - 60 μg;
- Chromium, Cr - 12.5 μg;
- Zinc, Zn - 0.92 mg.
Pearl barley contains 12 essential amino acids with a predominance of the phenylalanine + tyrosine complex and leucine and 8 nonessential ones - most of all glutamic acid.
Fats per 100 g:
- Saturated - 0.3 g;
- Monounsaturated - 0.1 g;
- Polyunsaturated - 0.4 g.
The glycemic index of pearl barley is only 20 units, absorption is long-term, which creates a long-lasting feeling of satiety. The product can be included in a low-calorie diet and introduced into the diet of patients with diabetes mellitus. There is no sharp increase in blood glucose, no fatty layer is formed and, which is very important, cellulite does not appear. When losing weight, muscle volume does not decrease.
Useful properties of pearl barley
The vitamins contained in the composition of the product partially decompose during heat treatment, but the mineral and amino acid composition is slightly depleted. Due to this property, the body's defenses do not decrease during the season of epidemics and when switching to a low-calorie diet, the immunity is stable.
The use of pearl barley for women, when consumed 2-3 times a week, is manifested in an increase in collagen production, slowing down age-related changes, improving the quality of the skin and increasing tone.
For men, pearl barley dishes help not only build muscle mass, but also increase potency. After 1-2 months, the strength of the erection increases, and the duration of intercourse also increases. The potency is enhanced by using curry, ginger, cinnamon, olive oil, or fresh garlic dressing as a flavor enhancer.
Useful properties of pearl barley:
- Antioxidant action, stops tissue oxidation by free radicals, slows down the development of breast and colon cancer.
- Normalizes digestive processes, creates favorable conditions for increasing the activity of lacto- and bifidobacteria, colonizing the small intestine and improving the absorption of nutrients.
- Improves the functioning of the visual system, stops lens degeneration.
- Regulates brain activity, improves calcium absorption, stabilizes the distribution of energy throughout the body.
- Helps the liver to cope with overloads caused by alcohol intoxication, accelerates the removal of toxins and toxins.
- Reduces blood cholesterol and stress on the pancreas.
- Stimulates the dissolution of lime stones in the gallbladder.
- Improves the work of the cardiovascular system.
- Reduces the permeability of the gastrointestinal mucosa, helps to resist the aggressive effects of food juices.
Not only cereal porridge has a healing effect, but also a decoction. It is recommended to be introduced into the diet of patients with exacerbation of chronic gastritis with high acidity or peptic ulcer disease. The protective film formed on the surface of the mucous membrane lining the organs accelerates epithelialization and stimulates the regenerative functions of the body. It is recommended to add the broth to the daily menu of patients recovering from abdominal surgery. Regardless of what liquid is used for cooking - milk, water or broth, the medicinal properties are not reduced.
Women who are in preservation in antenatal clinics often complain about the "outdated diet", in which yak porridge is introduced on a mandatory basis. Meanwhile, pearl barley dishes are the optimal addition to the daily menu of pregnant women. They contain all the vitamins and minerals necessary for the organisms of the expectant mother and the developing fetus. A high amount of phosphorus improves metabolic processes and stabilizes blood flow in the placental circulation, calcium strengthens the bones of the mother and fetus, potassium prevents the development of tachycardia in a woman who has to cope with a double load. In addition, the high amount of iron prevents the development of iron deficiency anemia.
