The most interesting thing is that in nature there is no such cereal at all - barley. There is buckwheat, rice, oats, wheat, but no barley. Pearl barley is called whole grains of barley, peeled from the shell. This cereal is very ancient. And it was the ancient people who gave the grain such a name. Indeed, in shape and color, the grain resembles a river pearl - pearl. That is what pearls were called in Ancient Russia.
Barley porridge - general principles and methods of preparation
Except for lazy joke over barley porridge. As they just do not call it - and "fraction 16" and "tarpaulin" and "shrapnel". And if you ask a person if he loves barley porridge, most will answer no. It can be seen the cooks who cooked it, with their "ability" to cook, they completely repelled the love for this tasty and healthy food. It’s time to rehabilitate pearl barley porridge, especially since it is incredibly useful. It is rich in B vitamins, contains vitamins A, D, E, iron, calcium, iodine, copper and a lot of the essential amino acid - lysine. Which increases the absorption of calcium in the body, has an antiviral effect, especially on the herpes virus, and is involved in the formation of collagen. And barley is a champion among other cereals in the content of phosphorus. Therefore, it is necessary to make friends with it and include it in your diet. Although pearl barley is cooked a little longer than from other cereals, the result is worth the time spent. They are boiled sweet and not sweet - in water, broth, milk, with the addition of meat, mushrooms, vegetables, butter.
Barley porridge - preparation of products
In order for the cereal to boil well, it must first be soaked in water for 12 hours, it is better to do it at night. Pearl barley is soaked in water - based on a glass (250 ml) grains take 1 liter of water. And then the cereal is boiled like ordinary porridge. Sometimes grains are fried before cooking. If porridge is cooked on the stove, it takes about 40-50 minutes to cook. You can reduce the cooking time to 25-30 minutes, but then it will need to be wrapped in heat so that it "reaches". If it is languishing in a water bath, then it takes up to 6 hours to cook. But just cooked in a water bath, pearl barley porridge is especially tasty.
Barley porridge - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Pearl barley porridge with milk
They say that the porridge prepared in this way was very popular with Peter the Great. It is prepared without sugar and salt. The recipe, thanks to the great chef Pokhlebkin, has survived to this day.
Ingredients: 1 cup of barley, 1 liter of water, milk - 2.0 liters, butter - 50 g.
Cooking method
Rinse ordinary pearl barley, pour a liter of boiled cold water overnight. In the morning, drain the remaining water.
Bring the milk to a boil in a pan, add the soaked cereal and simmer for five minutes with a slight boil.
Prepare a "water bath". Fill a wide and large pan (so that the dishes in which porridge will be prepared fit there) fill a quarter with water and let it boil. Insert the dishes with milk and cereal inside and cover, under the pan, reduce the heat to a minimum. And let the porridge languish for 6 hours. From time to time, hot water will need to be added to the pan with the "bath", as she will start to boil. Porridge should taste like baked milk, and its color will turn creamy. In a bowl of cooked porridge, add oil and mix. And already in the plate you can add cream, sugar, honey, i.e. season to your taste.
If you have a slow cooker, the cooking process is easier. Soaked cereal should be poured with milk, brought to a boil, setting the mode of "baking", and cook for 6 hours in the mode of "stewing".
Recipe 2: Barley porridge with meat and mushrooms
Barley with mushrooms and meat - why not royal food? Not cooked, as in a catering - somehow, but cooked in accordance with all the rules and with an embedded soul. It will definitely turn out delicious. You can take any meat - pork, chicken, most importantly, not too old and tough.
Ingredients: barley - 1 cup, 1 onion, 200 g of meat and fresh mushrooms, butter - 50 g, vegetable - a couple of tables. spoons, spices, salt.
Cooking method
Soak the cereal overnight. In the morning, drain the excess liquid, rinse the barley. Pour boiling water into the dishes (a little more than 1 cup), add pearl barley, butter, salt. The oil will cover every grain and prevent them from sticking together. Cook under a lid over low heat until the cereal thickens, until all the liquid has evaporated. Next, the dishes with pearl barley should be wrapped in a blanket for 2 hours, so that the porridge is finished (has reached full readiness, has become soft). If it was cooked in an energy-saving saucepan, then you do not need to wrap it, it will reach it anyway.
At this time, fry finely chopped onions in another dish, add meat chopped into strips and continue to fry until crusted, then put mushrooms chopped in an arbitrary way. When the liquid boils, add pearl barley porridge, spices and simmer all the ingredients together for about 15 minutes. Porridge is ready.
Recipe 3: Barley Porridge
It seems that the pearl barley is the same, but cooked in different ways, it gives the porridge a completely different taste and texture. A cup prepared according to this recipe is fluffy and crumbly. Try it, you will like it. True, the cooking process is not fast, but the result will pay off. Soak pearl barley is not necessary, ordinary dry cereal is taken. Immediately you can boil a full teapot of water, and then only heat it and add water. Ready porridge can be eaten with milk, mix with stew, add fried liver with onions or even jam.
Ingredients: pearl barley, milk (or broth), salt.
Cooking method
Rinse dry barley and pour boiling water (boiling water) so that the liquid covers it for a couple of centimeters. Allow to boil, reduce heat and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water. It is convenient to use a colander. Again, pour the cereal with boiling water, boil for 4 minutes, drain the water. And so repeat 6-7 times. Each time, increase the amount of water per centimeter and the cooking time by half a minute. Here is such an interesting technology for making porridge. When the liquid is poured for the last time (already at the cereal level), then depending on what it is planned to use porridge with, you need to pour such liquid - milk or broth, add salt. Bring to a boil, turn off the stove.
Barley porridge - useful tips from experienced chefs
Try to make "glass" pearl barley porridge in clay pots according to the Estonian recipe. Krupu soak overnight. In the morning, put it in pots, pour boiling water (a couple of centimeters above the level of cereals) and place in the oven. Do not cover with lids. Do not forget that the pots are not immediately placed in a hot oven, only in a cold or warm one, otherwise they may burst. After 40 minutes, the porridge is ready. Time to count from the moment the oven is heated. Add butter to the finished porridge. If you want a sweet cereal - add honey or sugar, if usual, add salt. Porridge is cooked at t 200-220 C.
Comments
It turned out really crisp and tasty.
Thank you very much.
