Cook delicious pearl barley porridge recipe. How to cook pearl barley porridge in water correctly. An ancient recipe for making pearl barley porridge

We often refuse pearl barley, and the reasons for refusal can be different: misconception about its calorie content, lack of knowledge about its incredible benefits, too long a cooking process... And this is wrong! There is no way to exclude army porridge, as people are accustomed to calling it.

Few housewives can boast of having a container of barley in their kitchen. And if he is present, then, as a rule, he is waiting in the wings to end up in a pickle. While many tasty dishes, and most importantly, healthy ones, can be prepared from this product.

In fact, properly prepared cereal has only 120 calories per 100 grams, while it has a whole range of vitamins, amino acids, protein and essential plant
fat

But you can cook pearl barley in different ways, and, contrary to the misconceptions of many people, there are quite a lot of ways to quickly prepare it.

It is important to maintain certain proportions. To obtain a crumbly mass, a ratio of 1 cup of grains per 1.5 liters of liquid is required. For a more viscous substance – 1 to 1000 ml. Before cooking barley grains, they must be soaked.

There are two types of soaking.

Long-term soaking is characterized by primary processing before. Rinse the cereal thoroughly in cold water until the liquid becomes completely clear. Leave for 6-7 hours or overnight. After this, we rinse the barley again, fill it with water and put it on the stove. After boiling, drain the water and add boiling water. After this treatment, the cereal should be cooked very carefully; after 20 minutes, constantly remove one grain at a time and test for doneness.
A short soaking helps us get crumbly pearl barley porridge. By analogy with the previous method, wash the cereal, then leave for 4 hours. After this soaking, you need to cook for 50 minutes.

Is it possible, and most importantly, how to cook pearl barley without soaking? We thoroughly wash the grains - this will remove all small particles and flour that contribute to the formation of mucus after cooking the cereal. After washing, fill a glass of cereal with 1.5 liters of water and cook the cereal for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water and add fresh water in the same ratio. Wait for it to boil and then cook over low heat for 50-60 minutes. Ready.

Cooking methods

On the water. We will not dwell on this method, because... We examined it above in the processes of soaking cereals. The only thing you still need to know about this method is that if you want crumbly cereal, you need more water, if it’s viscous, you need a liter of water for one glass of pearl barley. It is also necessary to take into account that if the cereal has been stored for a long time, soaking is indispensable, and it must be washed thoroughly. It is this method that also talks about how to cook pearl barley for fishing. Our product is actively used when fishing for crucian carp.
With milk. Fill the pre-washed and soaked cereal with water and boil for 10-15 minutes. Drain the water and pour 4 cups of milk per cup of pearl barley into the pan. And cook until done. Add butter. Delicious porridge with milk is ready.
To Redmond. Before cooking, we use the long-term soaking method. Drain the water and place the mixture in. Add water and oil again - the liquid should cover by 1.5-2 cm. We set the device to “stewing” or “cooking” mode and cook for a little less than one hour.
In the oven. By analogy with all previous methods, we prepare cereals for cooking. Place in pots and fill with water in the same way as in the previous method. Place in an unheated oven and cook for 40 minutes at maximum temperature. There is no need to cover the pots with a lid. Add salt, butter and other ingredients to the prepared porridge.
IN . Boil the pre-soaked product on the stove for 3 minutes in two liters of water. Then we put it in a heat-resistant container in the microwave. Cook for 5 minutes at maximum temperature, then reduce the power by one or two notches and cook for 30 minutes. This is one of the fastest ways to cook pearl barley in water quickly.
In a steamer. Perhaps the ideal way to prepare delicious crumbly porridge while preserving all the beneficial components of this product. The only negative is that steaming will take quite a long time, on average an hour and a half. Place the long-soaked cereal into a container for steaming. And set the timer for 40 minutes. You need 2.5 liters of water per 1 cup of pearl barley. After the time has passed, add salt and add 1 glass of water or milk and leave for another 40-50 minutes. Let's try.
How to cook pearl barley in bags? Pearl barley is now sold in bags in stores - it is much more expensive, but it takes 20 minutes to prepare such grain. This cereal has already been pre-processed, but this does not mean that it has lost its beneficial properties. Barley belongs to the category of products that, as a result of heat and other treatments, lose excess calories, releasing other useful compounds, such as fiber. The following instructions are always written on the boxes: put a bag in a saucepan with water or milk, cook for 20 minutes on maximum heat, when ready, put the contents of the bag on a plate, add butter.

Barley is a dietary product and therefore is perfect for breakfast in the form of regular porridge with butter, and will also serve as a side dish for almost any dish.

Let's look at the most popular recipes and, using their analogy, try to understand which methods of cooking pearl barley are best suited in certain cases.

One of the most popular soups in Russian cuisine, along with cabbage soup and borscht, is prepared according to the following recipe.

It is necessary to cook pearl barley for pickle until half cooked, or after a long soaking. Place 300 grams of beef in a 3-liter saucepan, add water, salt and cook for an hour. We take out the beef and cut it into cubes. Place cereals into the broth, chopped potatoes - 250 g. Fry carrots and onions.

Then cut 100 g of pickled or pickled cucumbers into small shavings and simmer them in beef broth for several minutes. Mix with carrots and onions. Add beef, onions, carrots and cucumbers to the broth with barley and potatoes. Add one glass of brine.

After boiling, let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes, add salt and spices. Let it brew for a while and sprinkle generously with herbs. The soup is ready, you can add sour cream and eat.

Of course, you need to cook some other kind of barley soup, for which you have enough imagination and ingredients, by analogy with this recipe.

Delicious pilaf is not only made from rice. It turns out that this dish can also be prepared from pearl barley. We will need:

First of all, boil the bacon (you can stew it). Fry finely chopped onions and carrots, add pieces of bacon. After frying the bacon a little, spread the tomato paste previously made from tomatoes. Salt, pepper and pour in the broth remaining after cooking the bacon.

The following methods are suitable for preparing pearl barley: in water, in a slow cooker and in a double boiler. Place the prepared cereal in a saucepan or cauldron. Close the lid and, similar to standard pilaf, let the water boil away. Add butter. You can eat.

How to cook pearl barley as a side dish?

It is in this form that it goes well with many main courses and is much healthier, as we have already mentioned, than pasta or rice. In fact, all of the above methods are suitable here, except perhaps “with milk”.

If you are a complete beginner cook and are still at your best with kitchen utensils, then you can watch a video on how to cook cereal with milk or make pearl barley porridge with stewed meat. There are plenty of such videos on the global network.

In reality, pearl barley is peeled barley grains. This cereal was used as food by ancient people, who gave it its name. It comes from the word pearl - a river pearl, reminiscent of a grain of this cereal. Do you know how to cook pearl barley? If not, be sure to study the recommendations and recipes with the photos below.

How long to cook

One of the main conditions for how to cook pearl barley correctly is not only the ratio of ingredients, but also time. It depends on what the porridge is prepared with. The cooking time is also affected by the type and age of the cereal. For this reason, it is important to pay attention to the production date and expiration date of the product. In addition to regular packaging, cereals are available in portioned bags.How long does it take to cook pearl barley?? In this case, cooking will take about 45 minutes. Simple cereals are cooked for 50 minutes. up to 1.5 hours. You can speed up the process by pre-soaking the pearl barley for 2-3 hours.

With milk

What does a healthy breakfast look like? This is milk porridge, but not necessarily oatmeal. It can be prepared in different ways. Steam in a thermos, cook in water or milk. In the latter case, it turns out more tasty and appetizing. Just preparing pearl barley porridge takes a lot of time. The long stage is simmering in a water bath. In general, the instructionsincludes the following steps:

Soak 1 cup of pearl barley in a liter of boiled water overnight and drain it in the morning.
Pour 2 liters of milk into a saucepan and boil. Add soaked cereal, cook for about 5 minutes.
Take a larger pan and fill it a quarter with water. Place a container of milk porridge inside.
Simmer the dish in such a “water bath” for 6 hours, periodically adding boiling water.
When finished, add butter and sugar or honey to taste.

On the water

Using water, such cereals can also be prepared according to a recipe with a water bath. The porridge turns out no less appetizing. Although there is an easier way. It is as follows:

Rinse a glass of cereal and soak in cold water for 2-3 hours.
When the grains swell, drain the liquid and transfer the rest to the pan.
Add boiling water in proportion to the cereal 1:3.
Cook over low heat for 50 minutes.

No soaking

Without the soaking step, the cereal will have to be cooked much longer, approximately like beef, i.e. about 1.5 hours. Which option to choose is up to you. You can do without soaking if you buy cereal in bags. The product in them has already been processed, so it cooks faster and is suitable for other dishes - soup or side dishes.

For pickle

To cook the pickle, it is also recommended to soak the cereal in advance, for about 2 hours. At this time, you can still prepare the beef for the soup. This stage will take about an hour. Prepare the broth. Then the meat is removed from the broth, and cereal is added instead. You need to cook it in the soup for half an hour, and then a few more minutes after seasoning with vegetables and beef, which should be cooked. The total time is equal to 1 hour. This is how much grain is cooked in pickle. These are the basic tipshow to cook pearl barley for soup.

How to cook pearl barley

The cereal is left in water for 12 hours beforehand. It is convenient to do this in the evening if you are going to prepare something in the morning. For every glass of grain, 1 liter of water is required. After this, you can prepare porridge or a side dish. To give it a special taste, it is often fried before cooking. Options for how to cook pearl barley and prepare various dishes from it are presented in detailed recipes with photos.

Barley porridge

Number of servings: 3 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 110 kcal

Purpose: for breakfast or lunch

Cuisine: Russian

Difficulty: easy

If you like fluffy and crumbly porridge, then be sure to check out this recipe. It features special technology. No soaking required. It is convenient to use a kettle with water, which needs to be heated periodically. Once prepared, the porridge can be eaten simply with milk. It will be even tastier with fried liver and onions, stewed meat or even jam. Try it and the instructions will help you.

Ingredients:

broth or milk - 2 l;
salt - to your taste;
pearl barley – 1 tbsp.

Cooking method:

Pour boiling water into the dry grains so that its level is a couple of cm higher.
After boiling, drain the water using a colander. Pour boiling water again, cook for 4 minutes.
Drain the water again. Repeat this cycle 6 or 7 more times, increasing the cooking time by half a minute.
The last time you need to pour the cereal with broth or milk, after which you need to add salt.
Let the liquid boil, then turn off the heat and leave the porridge to steep for a couple of minutes.

Barley in a slow cooker

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Number of servings: 2 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 157 kcal

Purpose: for breakfast

Cuisine: Russian

Difficulty: easy

Today, household appliances make it much easier to prepare a wide variety of dishes, including regular porridge. A great example of this is a pressure cooker, microwave, or just a slow cooker. They have special modes for cooking porridge, which are called that way. Although other multicooker programs are also suitable for this purpose, for example, “Stewing” or “Cooking”. You can use any of these modes. Instructions with photos will help you with this..

Ingredients:

pearl barley – 1 tbsp.;
water or yogurt – 1 l;
boiling water - 500 ml;
butter - a piece.

Cooking method:

Rinse the grains, then add yogurt or water and leave for 10-12 hours.
After this time, drain the liquid, rinse the grains again and place them on the bottom of the multicooker bowl.
Pour boiling water into it, then turn on the “Cooking” or “Stew” mode, and set the timer for half an hour.
Then try the porridge, add another 15-20 minutes if necessary.
Add oil at the end.

On the side

Cooking time: 120 minutes

Number of servings: 4 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 280 kcal

Purpose: for lunch

Cuisine: Russian

Barley is considered a good side dish, as it goes well with meat, vegetables and mushrooms. With these ingredients you get a complete second course, which is suitable for a hearty lunch or dinner. In addition to enjoying the taste, you get a dose of vitamins, protein and fiber.How to cook delicious barley as a side dish? This needs to be done delicately, like rice for pilaf, because there is a lot of gluten in the cereal. To ensure that the result is not meat, but crumbly porridge with meat, use a step-by-step recipe.

Ingredients:

chicken, pork or beef – 0.5 kg;
onion – 1 pc.;
allspice, salt - to your taste;
carrots – 1 pc.;
water – 3 tbsp.;
pearl barley – 1 tbsp.;
fresh greens – 1 bunch;
bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
vegetable oil – 3 tbsp.

Cooking method:

Soak the cereals in advance, spending about 10-12 hours on this process.
Next, fill it with water, put on low heat, and cook for 40-50 minutes.
At this time, take care of the meat - rinse, cut into small slices, fry in oil until golden brown.
Wash the carrots and onions and chop finely. Send the vegetables to the meat, pour water over everything so that it covers all the ingredients.
Simmer for about an hour on very low heat.
Next add pearl barley. Cook the dish for another quarter of an hour.
When serving, sprinkle with finely chopped fresh herbs.

How to quickly cook pearl barley

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Number of servings: 1 person

Calorie content of the dish: 110 kcal

Purpose: for breakfast

Cuisine: Russian

Simpler recipes include the methodhow to quickly cook pearl barley. If you have a microwave in your kitchen, then you can use this option. The only condition is that you have to buy the cereal in bags. In this form it is a little more expensive, but you really save your time. This is a quick and tasty option for preparing pearl barley for porridge or as a side dish. If you are in a hurry somewhere, then this method will definitely suit you.

Ingredients:

pearl barley bag – 1 pc.;
cold water – 250 ml;
salt - to your taste.

Cooking method:

Place a bag of cereal in a microwave-safe glass bowl.
Pour cold water in there.
Place the container in the microwave. Turn on the device for 15 minutes, selecting maximum power.
Next, leave the dish in the microwave for another 5 minutes. Only the power should be lower so that the porridge is simply cooked.

Rassolnik with pearl barley

Cooking time: 150 minutes

Number of servings: 6 persons

Calorie content of the dish: 260 kcal

Purpose: for lunch

Cuisine: Russian

One of the traditional dishes of Russian cuisine is rassolnik soup. Methods of preparing it differ in the type of broth and ingredients for dressing. The classic version uses beef, pickles and always pearl barley. Cooking will not be difficult if you follow all the steps step by step.How to cook pickle with barley? All ingredients need to be washed, vegetables and meat should be cut and placed in a certain order in the pan. It's very simple - try it yourself.

Ingredients:

boneless beef;
olive or sunflower oil – 2 tbsp;
pearl barley – 50 g;
carrots – 150 g;
potatoes – 250 g;
onion – 1 pc.;
peppercorns, salt - to your taste;
pickled cucumbers – 100 g;
cucumber pickle – 0.5 tbsp.;
bay leaf – 3 pcs.

Cooking method:

Place the pearl barley to soak in advance by filling it with cold water. This must be done at least 2 hours before cooking the soup.
Take a 3-liter saucepan and place the pre-washed beef in it. Pour in water and boil the meat until done.
After the specified amount of time, remove the beef from the pan, let it cool slightly, and then cut into small pieces. Send the meat back, adding barley to it. Cook the soup for half an hour.
At this time, take care of the vegetables - rinse them, peel them. Cut the potatoes into cubes and immediately add them to the meat. Finely chop the onion, chop the carrots using a grater, then fry them in oil until tender.
Cut the cucumbers into thin strips. Send them to fry in a separate frying pan, adding a little broth.
Next, add all the fried vegetables to the soup. Pour cucumber pickle in there.
Wait for the next boil, then season with salt, spices and bay leaf.
Sprinkle the finished soup in a plate with finely chopped herbs, and serve sour cream in a separate container.

Barley dishes - cooking secrets

Every recipe has its secrets. There are many different options with pearl barley. For example, “glass” porridge according to the Estonian recipe. Here the cereal is simmered in pots in the oven, without closing the lid. The result is a more flavorful dish with low nutritional value, but great benefits. If you want something more satisfying, prepare mushroom porridge. Those with a sweet tooth should season it with honey or jam.

There are rules and technology features for working with this grain. Soaking is considered a mandatory step, but sometimes you can do without it, especially in cases with grains in a bag. Here are some more simple tips:

Before cooking, you should rinse the grains several times using a colander.
The pickle will be much more flavorful if you use more pickles and their brine. If you slightly overdo it with these ingredients, then simply add water or meat broth to the pan.
Determine the readiness of the cereal by its type - the grains should be swollen, soft, and not turn into mush.
If you need bait for fishing, then cook the cereal for only 15-20 minutes, seasoning it with sugar and salt. Then add the same amount of millet, then simmer the porridge for another 40 minutes.
If pearl barley grains are needed for attaching to a hook, then cook them for 45 minutes, stirring constantly.
If you use a slow cooker, do not add too much cereal, otherwise the porridge will “run away”. The optimal amount is 1 glass of grains with 3 liters of water.
After finishing the multi-cooker program, you can turn it on to the heating mode by adding a piece of butter. This will make the porridge more flavorful.

Video:

Barley is a very nutritious and healthy cereal; it is not for nothing that pearl barley porridge is part of the menu for the military, hospitals, schools and kindergartens, since at a low cost we get a tasty, satisfying product filled with useful substances. New technologies are moving forward, and a huge number of kitchen devices have appeared that help housewives in preparing food. In addition to simply boiling barley porridge in a saucepan on the stove, we will look at several more options for preparing barley using modern kitchen appliances: a multicooker, a steamer, a rice cooker, a pressure cooker, a microwave and an oven.

How long to cook pearl barley

Depending on the method of cooking and preliminary preparation of the cereal, pearl barley takes different times to cook. Taking into account pre-soaking the cereal for 1-2 hours, the cooking time will be:
In a slow cooker – 1 hour;
In a saucepan - 50 minutes;
Microwave – 25-30 minutes;
Steamed and in a double boiler – 40-50 minutes;
In a rice cooker – 1 hour;
In a pressure cooker - 15 minutes.

Preparing pearl barley for cooking
It is imperative to rinse the grain well, preferably in a large amount of running water, in order to wash away the excess that has accumulated on the surface of the grain (after processing, transportation, packaging).

To ensure a better cooking result and to speed up the cooking process of the cereal, after washing it should be soaked to swell. There are several options: water, kefir, yogurt, or steam it in a thermos and let it brew. If the grains are not pre-soaked, it will take more time to cook (you will have to cook longer).

Since the taste of cereal is universal, the finished porridge can be made salty or sweet, to taste. We also recommend that you read the cooking instructions on the packaging (if there are any) - perhaps the manufacturer gives his recommendations for preparing a specific cereal.
The container for cooking should also be selected accordingly, since when soaked, the cereal doubles in size, and when heat treated, at least four times, this must be taken into account.

How to cook pearl barley in water

1. Pre-prepare the cereal and let it brew for a couple of hours.

2. Drain, rinse and place in a cooking container.

3. Add water at the rate of 1 cup of cereal to 3 cups of water.
4. Place over medium heat and cook for about 50 minutes.
5. Be sure to try, when the pearl barley becomes soft, it’s ready.

6. If desired, you can add a little sunflower, olive or any other vegetable or butter. Salt and spices to taste.

How to cook pearl barley with milk

1. You will need 1 glass of pearl barley and 4 glasses of milk.
2. Rinse and soak the cereal in water for 2 hours.
3. Drain, rinse and place in a cooking container.
4. Pour a small amount of water over the cereal, let it simmer for about 15 minutes, drain the water.
5. Pour hot milk and cook until done.
6. Add butter. Salt, sugar and spices to taste.

Barley in a slow cooker

1. Rinse the pearl barley well and soak in water for at least 1 hour.
2. Drain the water, rinse the cereal and place it in the multicooker bowl.
3. Add water at the rate of 1 cup of cereal 2.5-3 cups of water.
4. It is necessary to cook in the “Milk porridge” mode; if there is no such mode, then select it individually. The approximate cooking time should be about 1 hour; select the mode for your multicooker model based on this time.
5. After cooking, the porridge is seasoned with oil or topped with gravy.

You can also cook pearl barley porridge with meat in a slow cooker (after cutting it into small pieces). Salt and spices to taste.
You can cook pearl barley porridge with milk in a multicooker - the recipe is the same, only pour milk into the multicooker bowl instead of water.
The undoubted advantage of multicookers is the “delayed start” function; you can set a timer and, without making much effort, get fresh porridge for breakfast, or enjoy it when returning from work, again using the timer correctly.

How to cook pearl barley in the microwave

Since a microwave is not the main kitchen appliance for cooking, this method must be approached with great responsibility and, first of all, you need to understand the technical characteristics. The more powerful the equipment, the less time it will take to prepare. The cooking utensils must be special, for microwaves (it is not recommended to place and heat metal containers and containers with metallized elements), the bowl must be heat-resistant glass or plastic.
1. Rinse the cereal and soak in water for 1 hour. Drain, rinse and place in a cooking container.
2. The ratio of cereal and water is 1 part to 3 parts.
3. Place the container in the microwave and cook at full power for 10 minutes, then take out the porridge, add salt and spices to taste, and put it in the microwave again.
4. Next, cook at full power, periodically removing the bowl and stirring - for more even cooking of the cereal. It is convenient to choose 10-minute intervals to fully control the process and monitor the degree of readiness of the cereal. Cook until done.

If you cook pearl barley in the microwave with milk, then pour hot milk over the porridge and do not cover the bowl with a lid during cooking. You also need to be careful not to overheat the container with liquid so that the milk does not overflow beyond the bowl.

How to boil pearl barley in meat or vegetable broth

1. Wash the cereal, soak in water for 1-2 hours. Drain, rinse and place in a cooking container.
2. Add broth based on volume - 1 cup of cereal 3 cups of broth. The broth should be unsalted, as the amount of liquid will decrease significantly during cooking.
3. Cook over medium heat for about 40-50 minutes. Salt and spices to taste.

How to steam barley

In a steamer
1. Soak the washed cereal in water for 12 hours (leave overnight).
2. Drain, rinse and place in a porridge container in a steamer.
3. Add water at the rate of 1 cup of cereal 2 cups of water.
4. Set the cooking timer for 30 minutes, after this time, add salt and stir the porridge, put it on cooking for another 20-30 minutes, until ready.
5. Salt and spices to taste. The texture of the finished porridge from a steamer is particularly tender and does not require additional components (you don’t need to add oil). Due to the wide variety of steamers, you need to take into account the features of different models and power; perhaps the cooking time will be reduced or increased.

Steamed in a pan
Prepare: a saucepan with a lid, a sieve the size of the saucepan. Rinse the cereal first and soak it in water for 12 hours. Drain, rinse and place the pearl barley in a sieve to cook.

Pour a small amount of water into the pan, place a sieve on top, but the water level should not come into contact with the sieve. Cover with a lid and cook until the pearl barley is ready, about 40-50 minutes. It is important that the water does not boil away! Salt and spices to taste.

Other methods for preparing pearl barley

In the rice cooker
Pre-prepare the cereal and let it sit in water for at least 1 hour. If the cereal is not pre-soaked in water, the cooking time will increase at least twice. Drain, rinse and place in rice cooker container. Cooking time – 1 hour. The proportions remain the same - for 1 glass of cereal you need 3 glasses of water. After the allotted time, you can add salt and spices to taste. If you have free time, it is advisable to leave the porridge warm for 10-20 minutes (directly in the rice cooker).

Barley in a pressure cooker
Soak the cereal in water for at least 1 hour. Drain, rinse and place in a cooking container. With the lid open, the cereal should boil, salt and spices to taste are added immediately, only after that the lid is closed and the porridge is cooked until tender. The cooking mode is selected according to the instructions, but the cooking time takes about 15 minutes. The unique cooking system of the pressure cooker makes the process lightning fast compared to other kitchen appliances.

Methods for cooking pearl barley in the oven

This method of cooking goes back to ancient times, when the oven (Russian stove) was the main method for preparing hot dishes. Nowadays it is very important to resort to ancient recipes and technologies, especially since this method also preserves as much as possible the beneficial composition of any products that are cooked in the oven. The utensils in which the dish will be prepared are also important - it can be one large saucepan with a lid, a large heat-resistant pot or a set of portioned pots (the utensils should not have plastic elements and be heat-resistant).
Make a preliminary preparation of the cereal and let it steep in water for 12 hours. Drain, rinse and place in a cooking container. You can cook porridge in the oven using water, milk or broth; salt and spices are added at the beginning of cooking, since the dish is cooked under the lid, all the vapors should remain inside and fill the dish with flavor. With this method of cooking, “in a pot,” you can immediately add meat. All ingredients will be ready at the same time, resulting in a balanced and very tasty dish.

When choosing the method and type of preparation, the dish for which the pearl barley is prepared plays an important role. Pearl barley, like many others, is a universal grain, thanks to which it can serve as both the main ingredient of a dish and an additional one.

Barley soup

Since pearl barley takes quite a long time to cook, for first courses it is recommended to boil it separately until fully cooked or until half cooked. To do this, you need to sort out the pearl barley, rinse it in running water (until the water becomes clear) and soak it for several hours or leave it overnight (do not forget that when soaked, the barley swells, enlarges and absorbs water, so you need to choose a voluminous container). For first courses, it is recommended to cook pearl barley in water or steam, without adding oil. If cereal is added directly when preparing soup, then you must be sure of its quality. Stale pearl barley will take much longer to cook than fresh barley, but in any case, the barley needs to be soaked before cooking.

I would like to pay special attention to such a dish as Rassolnik with pearl barley. This dish has a long history and is very loved in our country. In addition to cucumbers, barley also plays an important role in the soup. We propose to consider the three most common methods of preparing pearl barley for this dish; they are also suitable for preparing other soups with barley.
In all cases, before cooking, the cereal must be sorted and washed in plenty of water until the water becomes clear.
1. 100 grams of pearl barley and 300-500 milliliters of water.
Pour 300 milliliters of cold water and leave overnight. In the morning, drain the remaining water, rinse again, add fresh water, and cook over medium heat until tender.
2. 100 grams of pearl barley and 400 milliliters of water.
Pour in hot water and bring to a boil. Drain the boiling water, add hot water again and cook over low heat until tender. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse.
3. 100 grams of pearl barley and 500 milliliters of water.
Add cold water and leave to steep for at least 30 minutes or 1 hour. After the time has passed, drain the remaining water, rinse, add hot water and cook over medium heat until the cereal is ready.
I would like to clarify that ready-made pearl barley can be added to soup, both hot and cold. That is, you can prepare pearl barley in advance and use it as needed. If you wish, you can even freeze it in portions and not spend extra time boiling the pearl barley if you need to quickly prepare Rassolnik.

Appetizers and salads with pearl barley

Almost any salad or appetizer can be made into a more satisfying dish thanks to pearl barley. But in order for the dish to look presentable and appetizing, the cereal must be cooked correctly. For salads and snacks, cereals should be boiled in water, avoiding complete boiling. If the barley is cooked and ready, but the water has not evaporated, drain off the excess, cover the pan with a lid and let the barley brew in a warm place for about 15 minutes. After cooking, do not add oil. Barley goes well with fresh vegetables, mushrooms, meat and cheese. To dress salads you can use: yogurt, sour cream dressing, homemade mayonnaise, vegetable oils.

Chicken breast salad
Chicken breast – 1 piece
Blue onion – 1 piece
Cucumber – 1 piece
Lettuce leaves – 5 pieces
Yogurt (unsweetened) for dressing

Salt and pepper to taste.
Boil the chicken breast until cooked. Boil pearl barley in chicken broth. Disassemble the boiled meat into fibers, cut the onion and cucumber into arbitrary pieces. Tear lettuce leaves into a wide dish with your hands, place chicken breast, cucumbers and onions on top. Drizzle with unsweetened yogurt.

Beet salad.
Beets – 1 piece
Beans – 1 handful
Sauerkraut – 5 tablespoons
Onions – 1/2 pieces
Vegetable oil
Pearl barley prepared in the salad method – 4 tablespoons
Salt and pepper to taste.
Boil beets and beans until tender. Cut beets and onions into small cubes, add beans, cabbage and pearl barley, season with aromatic vegetable oil.

Main courses with pearl barley

Methods and options for preparing pearl barley as an independent dish were mentioned earlier in the article. Now let's talk in more detail about the combination of pearl barley with other products for preparing second courses.
Delicious side dish It’s easy to make from regular pearl barley.
First you need to boil the pearl barley itself until tender in any way suitable for you. In another bowl, make the base - fry the onions and carrots, add tomatoes, a little water or broth if necessary, simmer over low heat, add the prepared pearl barley, stir and heat for a few minutes.
There are many options for supplementing this basic idea: you can add zucchini, eggplant, fresh corn, green peas, boiled beans or other legumes to tomatoes. Instead of fresh tomatoes, you can use tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes. You can prepare the mushroom base in the same way. To do this, first boil the mushrooms and then fry them, adding onions, carrots, celery root or parsley, add water or broth and heat well. At the end of cooking, add the prepared pearl barley, mix all the ingredients and simmer over low heat.

You can also diversify the main courses by adding cereals to stuffed dishes. Barley is not inferior in taste to any other cereal, but many do not dare to replace, for example, rice in cabbage rolls or meatballs. You need to improve the long-familiar taste of dishes and experiment. Stuffed cabbage rolls, meatballs, meatballs, stuffed vegetables and any other dishes that we are accustomed to in the classic version can easily be enriched with a new taste simply by replacing the usual cereal with pearl barley. The main thing is to prepare the cereal correctly so that it does not lose its attractive shape during the cooking process. For dishes that will subsequently be subjected to long-term heat treatment, the cereal must be cooked until half cooked, for example, cabbage rolls are stewed for half an hour, so the pearl barley must initially be undercooked so that it does not lose its shape during stewing.
A striking representative of second courses made from pearl barley is Perlotto or Orzotto (from the Italian orzo brillato, perlato), meaning the preparation of the famous Italian Risotto using pearl barley. If the type of rice plays the main role in preparing Risotto, then with pearl barley everything is simpler; it initially has a structure that is ideal for preparing a very refined dish using Italian technology.

Orsotto (perlotto)
Pearl barley – 100 grams
Vegetable broth – 600-800 milliliters
Onion – 1 piece
Garlic – 2 cloves
Wine – 100 milliliters (white semi-dry)
Preparing the dish begins with preparing the cereal, which must be washed well and soaked in water for at least 1 hour, then drain the water and rinse the cereal again. It is also necessary to prepare the broth in advance; it can be meat, vegetable or seafood, and it must also remain hot. Chop the onion and garlic and sauté in a small amount of olive or vegetable oil. Add pearl barley, pour in wine, let the alcohol evaporate. Add broth little by little and simmer the cereal over low heat; the liquid gradually evaporates and needs to be replenished by adding broth. In this way, bring the dish to readiness, the pearl barley should not turn into porridge, the shape should be preserved, but the structure will become creamy and the grain will become soft. There is no need to rush and add a lot of liquid, the process should proceed gradually. In the middle of cooking, after about 15-20 minutes, you can add additional components that will decorate and diversify the taste, for example, sun-dried tomatoes, or seafood, mushrooms or something to your taste. A very tasty and original dish is ready, serve hot.
A very common and tasty dish is pilaf, which can also be prepared from pearl barley. The cooking technology is completely preserved, only pearl barley is used instead of rice.

How to make dessert with pearl barley

Pearl barley, like many other cereals, has a neutral taste, so it can be either salty or sweet. The process of preparing barley for dessert begins in the standard way: rinse the barley, soak in water (milk or curdled milk) for at least a couple of hours or overnight. The boiling process depends on the characteristics of the desserts. For puddings, casseroles, and baked goods with the addition of cereals, barley needs to be boiled to destroy the grain structure and give it a more sticky consistency. To prepare sweet porridge, pearl barley does not have to be digested, it is a matter of taste. Sweet pearl barley porridge is perfectly complemented by any fruit, dried fruit and berries.

Barley dessert with dried fruits.
Pearl barley – 1/2 cup
Water – 1 glass
Fruit juice – 1 glass
Dried fruits
Jam
Sugar, vanilla, cinnamon - to taste
Wash and pre-soak (1 hour) cereal, add 1 glass of water and cook over medium heat; when the amount of liquid reduces, add juice and cook until tender. At the end of cooking, add dried fruits, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon to taste and a pinch of salt. Before serving, pour over jam.
Pearl barley porridge is an excellent sweet breakfast. To do this, you need to prepare the porridge with milk, season with butter, add sugar, vanilla and a little cinnamon. Serve with jam or condensed milk.

What should you pay attention to when choosing and purchasing cereals?
The regions where this crop grows are different, so pearl barley has differences. The appearance of pearl barley can range from light, even whitish in color and round in shape, to oblong in appearance and gray in color. The age of the cereal also plays an important role; if the crop is harvested recently and the grain is fresh, the cooking time is reduced, but if the cereal has been stored for a long time, then it will take much more time to prepare. Therefore, when buying cereal, it is imperative to check the production date and expiration date, since this product can be stored for up to 1.5 years; unscrupulous suppliers may not take this into account.

Interesting Facts
Pearl barley is made from a grain crop called barley. Cereals are undestroyed grains that have undergone external processing (cleaning and grinding), that is, a greater amount of useful microelements is retained. This processing method brings pearl barley to one of the first places among cereals.

Many people disparage pearl barley, calling it “shrapnel” or “kirzukha”. But in fact, the name pearl barley comes from the word “pearl” - that is, pearl. Take a closer look; pearl barley looks like small pearls. But it’s not a shame to serve properly prepared pearl barley porridge even to guests. This recipe for pearl barley porridge will teach housewives how to deliciously prepare crumbly (with a minimum of mucus) pearl barley porridge in water, which is good as a side dish with meat, mushrooms, fish and even just vegetables.

Ingredients:

Pearl barley -350 gr;

Salt – 1 tsp;

Butter (I use homemade) – 80 gr.

How to cook pearl barley porridge in water

To prepare delicious pearl barley porridge, I usually try to choose the most beautiful cereal in the store, which has fewer spoiled grains and litter. Even if the pearl barley you have chosen looks clean and beautiful, we still pour it onto a cutting board or table and sort through it.

Then pour the sorted barley grains into a saucepan, fill with cold water and let the grains swell for two hours.

After the required time, the croup increases in size, which can be seen even in the photo below.

Drain the water from the pearl barley and rinse it several times with running water.

Then, fill the cereal again with water so that the pearl barley is covered by two fingers and put it on the fire to boil.

As soon as the water boils, reduce the heat and simmer the cereal over medium heat for five minutes. After this, place the pearl barley in a colander and drain the water. The cereals need to be thoroughly rinsed again under the tap, and the pan must be cleaned of pearl mucus.

After this, we send our pearl barley for repeated “water procedures”. We repeat everything as described above.

At the next stage, we will finally finish cooking the pearl barley. To do this, pour 0.7 liters of cereal. water, salt and bring to a boil.

We do it on low heat, cover the pan with a lid and cook the barley until cooked for 30-40 minutes.

If you cook pearl barley porridge in water, strictly following my recipe, look what a beautiful and tasty porridge you get - real pearls.

Add butter to the prepared pearl barley porridge, mix and serve with meat or whatever you like.

In my family, in addition to barley, I sometimes serve fresh pork cracklings.

Pearl barley contains a lot of useful substances that are difficult to find among other grains. Pearl barley is made from barley grain. Porridge is not so popular in our cuisine. Not all housewives know how to cook pearl barley in water, what dishes it can be added to, and what nuances exist for preparing crumbly, aromatic pearl barley porridge.

For six servings of a side dish, it is enough to take the following quantities of food:

pearl barley - 1 cup;
oil drain - 1 table. l.;
salt - ¾ tsp;
water - 3 cups.

During the production and packaging of cereals, particles of dust and small debris often fall along with the grains. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is rinse the pearl barley through a sieve under running water.

Bring the barley to a boil, uncovered, and cook for about five minutes. Then turn the heat to the lowest setting, cover with a lid and continue cooking for 45-50 minutes.

During cooking, all the water should be absorbed. Now you can put a piece of butter, let it melt a little and stir. Leave for half an hour, serve with chopped herbs.

On a note. The side dish perfectly complements meat and fish dishes, goes well with vegetables and various types of cheese. Those with a sweet tooth will appreciate the taste of porridge in combination with honey, jam, and condensed milk.

Approximate proportions

The proportions of porridge and water depend on what kind of side dish you want to get in the end:

crumbly pearl barley: measure 1 part porridge to 2.5 parts water;
For thick, boiled, sticky porridge, use 1 part porridge to 4 parts water.

On a note. Soaked cereal cooks faster and is softer than raw cereal that has only been washed under water.

How long does it take to cook?

To the question “How long to cook pearl barley?” It is impossible to answer unequivocally. It all depends on several factors: the method of preparation, the time of pre-soaking or without soaking. The time frame for cooking pearl barley porridge is from 40 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes.

Pearl barley as a side dish in a slow cooker

Delicious pearl barley as a side dish is made in a slow cooker. The kitchen assistant will make the porridge crumbly, soft, and aromatic.

We offer a recipe for a very tasty side dish of pearl barley:

pearl barley - 2 cups;
onion - 1 unit;
chicken broth - half a liter;
vegetable oil - a couple of table. spoon;
hard cheese - 50 g;
salt, pepper - ½ tsp each;
fresh dill - 50 gr.

Use pre-soaked pearl barley.

Next, pearl barley is prepared in a slow cooker as follows:

Chop the onion and fry in oil heated in a multicooker on the “Baking” program for 8 minutes.
Then add the pearl barley, stirring, cook for about seven minutes, add broth, salt and pepper. Close the lid and set the cooking time to a quarter of an hour.
In the meantime, prepare the remaining ingredients: three cheeses, finely chop the herbs.
When the timer notifies you that cooking is complete, add cheese to the side dish, stir, select the “Warming” program and time 50 minutes. When finished, add the greens, mix and leave for another 10 minutes.

The consistency of the side dish is viscous, and the taste is very delicate. It complements various meat and fish dishes well.

Classic rassolnik with pearl barley on water

filtered water - 2-2.5 l;
medium potatoes - 4-5 units;
pickles - 2 units;
carrots and onions - 1 unit each;
brine - ½ cup;
pearl barley - ½ cup;
bay leaf - 1 leaf;
allspice - 4 peas.

First, rinse the pearl barley under running water. Boil water and pour it over the cereal for forty minutes. Then bring it to a boil.

For now, let's prepare the vegetables: peel, rinse, divide the potatoes into cubes, grate the carrots, and chop the onion. First, fry the onion until lightly yellow, and then add the carrots and simmer for about ten minutes. If the vegetables’ own juice is not enough, pour in a couple of tablespoons of water, perhaps from barley. Add potatoes to cereal and cook for 15 minutes.

Place the roast in the pickle pan. Cut the cucumber into circles and send it there. Cook for another five minutes. Leave to brew under the lid for a quarter of an hour, without heat.

On a note. Cucumbers are added to the pickle last, as their characteristic sourness may interfere with the preparation of other products. You can add fried mushrooms for a richer dish.

How to steam cereal in a thermos?

Steaming pearl barley using a thermos significantly speeds up its preparation. The method of soaking in a thermos is perfect when the side dish needs to be prepared quickly. To do this, pour 1 ½ liters of boiling water into a glass of cereal and leave for half an hour. Afterwards, the pearl barley can be prepared in any way you like.

Barley for fishing

Pearl barley is an excellent bait for catching various fish.

How to cook pearl barley for fishing for crucian carp, carp, bream and other fish:

water - 1 ½ l;
sugar and salt - 5 g each;
pearl barley and millet - one glass;
vegetable oil - table. spoon.

First of all, set the barley to cook. From the moment it boils, it should cook for a third of an hour. Afterwards you can add millet, salt and sweeten. Make the fire low and cover with a lid. Continue cooking for another 40 minutes, then add oil, stir and set aside for the bait to cool.

Pearl barley also makes excellent bait:

water - 1 l.;
pearl barley - a glass;
semolina - table. l.;
honey - 1 tsp.

Boil the cereal for half an hour over low heat, then reduce the temperature at the end. Place the finished porridge on a dish, sprinkle with semolina, add honey. Mix well, compact into a thick layer, and cool.