Pearl barley porridge how much water for 1 glass. How to properly cook pearl barley porridge in water. Step-by-step instructions for cooking pearl barley without soaking

12 months ago

Pearl barley is far from the most popular, since most people do not like its specific taste. In addition, it takes quite a long time to prepare and requires a lot of preparatory manipulations. However, if you still had to work with it, it’s worth finding out how long to cook the pearl barley so that it turns out soft but crumbly. What do you need to know when trying to cook this grain?

Previously, this cereal was cooked for hours, but the modern one is steamed, so it cooks much faster, although it is still inferior to rice, buckwheat, and most other cereals. How long to cook pearl barley depends on the chosen method of work, as well as the dish in which it will be used: the time varies about t 20 minutes to 1.5 hours. The indicated 20 minutes are just cooking, without preparatory steps, as well as the use of a special pressure cooker. You won’t be able to complete the task so quickly on the stove.

As for the main methods (stovetop, slow cooker, double boiler, microwave, oven), we can immediately say that it will take much longer to cook pearl barley without soaking than with soaking. In the latter case, it swells and cooks faster, although it will still be difficult to reach the notorious 20 minutes specified for a pressure cooker. It is important to consider a few more points:

  • How long to cook pearl barley with or without soaking is influenced by the “age” of the grain: the longer it has been sitting, the longer it will take to cook.
  • The exact time is always determined by eye, if you have taken pearl barley from a new manufacturer, especially not steamed one: you will have to first try to cook it separately from other dishes (do not throw it into soup, etc.), checking how much time it takes to become soft.

Since most housewives cook cereals on the stove, the first thing you should consider is this method of working with pearl barley:

  1. Rinse the grain thoroughly several times.
  2. Fill with cold water, kefir or yogurt and leave covered overnight. The optimal soaking time is 5-8 hours, and it is advisable to keep the cereal in a thermos. If you fill it with water, take warm boiled water. There is no need to heat kefir or yogurt. At the same time, keep in mind that there should be 2 times more liquid than cereal, otherwise there is no point in this stage.
  3. Afterwards, rinse the cereal again, especially if it was soaked in kefir/yogurt, and transfer it to a saucepan. Fill with water, the volume of which is 3 times greater than the volume of the cereal (calculated by weight).
  4. Let it boil, add salt and cook over medium heat, covered with a lid, for 50-60 minutes.
  5. Please note that these times are approximate. In some cases it is reduced to 35-40 minutes. Be sure to check the condition of the cereal during cooking: the cooking process ends when it becomes soft and easily bites. As for how long to cook pearl barley without soaking according to this scheme, the period increases to 1.5 hours.

Alternative methods of cooking pearl barley

In addition to the traditional method, you can cook pearl barley in a microwave oven, double boiler, or slow cooker. Here, too, it is advisable to steam it first, but the time for each method will vary. If you are using a multicooker, the procedure is as follows:

  1. Pour the washed cereal with water directly into the multi-cooker bowl and leave for 2 hours.
  2. Rinse and place again in the same bowl. Pour in water, following the same liquid-cereal ratio of 3:1.
  3. Lower the lid, set the “milk porridge” mode and cook for exactly one hour. Afterwards, let the pearl barley stand under the lid for another 10 minutes.

The duration of cooking pearl barley in a multicooker is the same as on the stove, but the soaking is short: this is due to the special operating principle of the device. Products in a multicooker are steamed due to high humidity, so even hard grains are cooked quite quickly. In powerful multicookers, the time can be reduced to 45 minutes, but even so, it is advisable to infuse the barley without lifting the lid after the appliance has finished operating.

With a microwave, it is most difficult to guess how long to cook pearl barley, since models differ in power. Often, if you have soaked the cereal (4 hours to be on the safe side), you can reduce this period to 40 minutes, however, they need to be divided into several intervals. You pour the cereal into cold water (the proportion is the same, 1:3), cover the glass pan with a lid and put it in the microwave for 5 minutes at maximum power. When the time is up, the cereal needs to be mixed and sent again for 5 minutes. With such short “approaches” it will cook until soft. And even when you find out exactly how much time is needed when working with your microwave, cook the barley in intervals, but increasing them to 7-10 minutes. And when cooking porridge with milk, you cannot lower the lid on the saucepan.

The last option for cooking pearl barley is steaming. This makes the cereal more crumbly and healthy, since all the valuable substances are preserved in it. At the same time, the cooking time, if it has been pre-soaked (3-4 hours), is the same as for the stove. However, intervals are also needed here: first, it is boiled for half an hour, while only 2 glasses of water are taken per glass of barley. After the half-cooked cereal is mixed, add some salt and steam for another 20 minutes.

Pearl barley is one of the most unusual, but very useful. Its use in nutrition is due to the presence of a large number of useful microelements and vitamins necessary for the proper functioning of the body.

Among the most significant and valuable are:

  • vitamin B6;
  • potassium;
  • magnesium;
  • selenium;
  • phosphorus;
  • fiber;
  • amino acid lysine.

Due to its high nutritional properties, pearl barley is used both for everyday and dietary nutrition, as it can reduce appetite. Its use starts the process of collagen formation, which has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and hair. Boiled pearl barley will help in the following cases:

  • when you need to reduce or stabilize weight;
  • improve stomach function and reduce the load on the gastrointestinal tract;
  • get rid of the problem of constipation;
  • prevent fungal diseases;
  • remove toxins and harmful substances accumulated in the body.

Pearl barley also strengthens the immune system, which is why it is used to fight or prevent colds. That is why the ability to cook this product is an important skill that every housewife should have.

Basic Rules

In order to properly cook pearl barley, you need to take into account several rules. Important conditions for success are to take into account that the cereal is cooked for a long time, the cooking process varies slightly depending on what kind of dish you plan to prepare. You should also take into account your own wishes, since indicators such as friability or viscosity of the finished product depend on this.

If you need to prepare a crumbly version, then cooking will be done as follows:

  1. You will need to take 1 cup of pearl barley and 2.5 cups of water;
  2. Place on medium heat;

Cooking time - 60 minutes.

Calorie content (100 g of pearl barley porridge) – 109 kcal.

To prepare porridge with a viscous consistency, you need to take 200 g of cereal and 1 liter of water. Cooking time increases to 90 minutes. A feature that can change the cooking time is the selected cookware. If it has a thick bottom, it will take more time. You can reduce it by pre-soaking the cereal in water (20-30 minutes before the main cooking).

How long does barley cook without soaking?

If you don’t have time to soak pearl barley, then the optimal cooking time is on average 75 minutes. It is difficult to calculate it accurately, since this indicator can be influenced by the type of cereal, its age and size, and the selected dishes.

Determining the readiness of the cereal is easy - the grains should be swollen, increased in volume, soft, but not boiled. The cooking method will be as follows:

  1. Pearl barley must be sorted before cooking, then rinsed well 1-2 times;
  2. Pour water (2-3 glasses) into a container and place on medium heat;
  3. Wait until the water boils, then add 200-250 g of pearl barley;
  4. Boil the contents of the container over high heat for no more than 3 minutes;
  5. Remove from the stove, drain the existing liquid, add clean water in the same amount (2-3 cups);
  6. Wait for the water to boil, reduce heat to medium, cook until tender (50 minutes).

After cooking, cover the container with a lid, adding oil if desired. Leave to steep for another 10 minutes before serving.

How long does it take to cook cereal with soaking?

In order to cook pearl barley until fully cooked with soaking, it will take about 50 minutes. Sometimes (if the grains are large or a container with a thick bottom is used) the time can be increased to 60-65 minutes.

The cooking process is practically no different from that without soaking, except that the cereal is exposed to water before the first heat treatment.

How long does barley cook in soup and pickle?

Pearl barley is often used to prepare first courses - various soups, including rassolnik. It is important to remember here that for proper preparation you need to take into account what kind of soup you are planning to cook, since the cooking time for barley directly depends on this.

So, in a regular soup, the cereal will need to be cooked for at least 1 hour (as for porridge). It must be remembered that for first courses, the process of pre-soaking barley is necessary. It takes 2-3 hours.

How to cook pearl barley in a slow cooker, double boiler, microwave and thermos

For a modern housewife, many cooking concerns can be solved with technical devices such as a microwave oven, a multicooker or a double boiler. It is convenient to cook pearl barley in them. A thermos can be used for the same purpose. The cooking process will look like this:

  1. In a multicooker - pour the cereal into a bowl, add water, salt (ratio 1:2), put on the “Cooking” or “Cereals” program for 50-70 minutes;
  2. In a double boiler - in a ratio of 1:2, the cooking process continues 2 times for 30 minutes (it is recommended to soak the cereal first, leaving it for 10 hours);
  3. In the microwave - use soaked cereal for this purpose (it should swell for 2-3 hours), then the power is set in a 1:2 ratio to 400 W, the time will take 20 minutes;
  4. In a thermos - hot water is used for this purpose. It is important to remember that the amount of cereal should be equal to 1/3 of the capacity of the existing vessel, then the cooking process will be of high quality. The time it will take to do this is 1 hour.

It is important to remember that cooking times may vary, so it is important to regularly check the grains for doneness.

In order for the pearl barley to be tasty and soft, it is recommended to pre-rinse it several times.

It is best to use warm water for soaking, then the process can be reduced to 1-2 hours.

Barley is often associated with the army or places not so remote - the stereotype about it as a cheap food and intended for segments of the population not spoiled with delicacies has developed so firmly. Meanwhile, it is known for certain that Peter I loved pearl barley, although what to expect from him: he was a martinet from birth. But our last General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, they say, simply adores pearl barley. And all because dishes made from cereals have a high nutritional value, and pearl barley porridge itself is very tasty. The main thing is to cook it correctly, but without knowing how long pearl barley takes to cook, this is not so easy to do.

How to cook pearl barley deliciously while preserving the benefits

Pearl barley and barley are “sisters”, as they are made from the same type of grain: barley. However, if the cell is crushed, the pearl barley grains are left whole. So the benefits remain in them, but it is difficult to cook the grains to a pleasant edible state.

How long it takes to cook pearl barley depends on what dish it is needed for and whether the grain has been prepared for cooking.

On a note! The average cooking time for pearl barley is from 50 to 120 minutes.

Barley can be cooked perfectly tasty and crumbly if you first soak the barley in cold water for at least a couple of hours, or better yet, overnight. Then you can treat yourself to crumbly and healthy porridge in the morning: the pearl barley will boil faster than usual. After about an hour, the porridge is ready.

If there is no time for soaking, you can rinse the cereal in several cold waters and cook. But you’ll have to wait: saving time on soaking, you can’t do this on cooking. The porridge will be ready in about two hours.

It turns out very tasty if you cook pearl barley in a water bath, under a tightly closed lid. But you will have to be patient: the cooking process will take about 6 hours! But it's worth it!

Elementary: how to cook pearl barley in water

Perhaps the most important thing to learn in this “barley” business is how to cook pearl barley in water.

The first thing you need to do is rinse the cereal well, fill it with cold water, and let it brew longer. Then drain the old water, add new hot water in a ratio of 1:3 and cook over low heat. How long pearl barley is cooked depends on the volume of cereal and water; on average, the porridge is ready in an hour.

You don’t have to soak pearl barley if you know how to cook pearl barley in water without soaking. To do this, rinse the dry cereal well and add water (3 cups of water per glass of pearl barley) and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce the heat to minimum and cook the barley under a tight lid for about 2 hours. Periodically you need to stir and add water if it boils away to avoid burning. You need to salt the barley closer to the end of cooking, add oil to taste to the finished porridge. Then it would be good to wrap the pan with a towel and simmer the pearl barley porridge for half an hour.

This pearl barley is an excellent side dish for any meat or poultry, fish or mushrooms. It’s also an excellent base for cabbage rolls or pilaf.

Pearl cabbage rolls

Ingredients:

  • ready-made crumbly pearl barley – 1.5 cups;
  • minced pork and beef – 300g;
  • onion and one carrot;
  • garlic – 3 cloves;
  • fresh favorite greens;
  • cabbage leaves from 2 medium heads of cabbage;
  • full-fat sour cream and ketchup - 3 tablespoons each;
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste;
  • a pinch of flour dried in a frying pan.
  1. Chop the onion and grate the carrots, sauté in oil until tender, stir in the chopped garlic. Add vegetables to the boiled pearl barley, add minced meat, salt and pepper and mix well. Next, prepare the cabbage rolls as standard: put minced meat (about 2 tablespoons each) into cabbage leaves doused with boiling water and wrap in an envelope.
  2. For the sauce, in another bowl, mix sour cream with ketchup and flour, add salt to taste, pour in a glass of water and stir until smooth. Pour the sauce over the cabbage rolls and simmer for half an hour after boiling.

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Pearl pilaf

Pearl barley pilaf is an original and tasty dish. How long does it take to cook pearl barley for pilaf? In general, as usual, however, cooking consists of several stages.

Ingredients:

  • meat (pulp of pork or beef, lamb) – 0.5 kg;
  • pearl barley – 400g;
  • onions and carrots - 1 piece each;
  • a little tomato paste (1-2 tablespoons);
  • butter – 1 pack (200g);
  • favorite spices and salt;
  • water as needed.
  1. To cook pearl barley pilaf, start cooking by frying the meat. The meat, pre-cut into portions, is fried until golden brown in any convenient container. Add tomato paste and spices to the meat, fry everything together.
  2. While the meat is frying, boil the pearl barley, pre-soaked in water, for about 15 minutes; water is taken in relation to cereal 3:2.
  3. Distribute the semi-finished pearl barley evenly over the meat and fill it with water or broth 2 fingers above the level of the cereal. Cook everything over low heat until the water evaporates. After this, the pilaf in a container with a tight lid is placed in a preheated oven (up to 200 degrees) for half an hour.

Pearl barley porridge a la army

Ingredients:

  • pearl barley - a glass;
  • water – 1 liter;
  • pork or beef stew – 1 can (250g);
  • garlic – clove;
  • a spoonful of ketchup or thick tomato paste;
  • salt to taste.
  1. Cook the pearl barley in water until tender; add salt towards the end of cooking.
  2. Heat the stew in a frying pan, add tomato paste and garlic pressed through a crusher. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Then mix the stew from the frying pan with pearl barley and let the “army” porridge simmer for at least half an hour (you can put it in a warm oven).

Milk pearl barley porridge

But not only semolina, rice or millet can be cooked in milk. The pearl barley turns out delicious too! To prepare, pre-soaked pearl barley should be poured with boiling water at the rate of 1.5 cups of water per glass of barley. When the porridge boils, cook it until the water almost completely disappears, then pour in hot milk (2 cups) and cook, stirring, until tender, adding salt and sugar to taste; you can add butter to the finished milk barley.

The big disadvantage of cooking pearl barley in milk is that you have to stand at the stove for a very long time, because milk is also one of those things that like to “escape.” In this case, it’s good to use a water bath, but you should know how long it takes to cook barley using this method, and be patient: the cooking time is about 6 hours!

How to cook pearl barley for soups

Pickle soup is delicious with barley, and fish soup is good with barley! You can simply cook cereal soup. There is no particular hassle in preparing pearl barley soups.
How long to cook pearl barley for pickle? If the soup is prepared with meat broth, pre-soaked pearl barley is added about an hour after the meat starts cooking. In this case, the cereal is boiled for at least 30 minutes before adding potatoes and other vegetables.

Delicious pearl barley pickle

Ingredients for soup for a 3-liter saucepan:

  • beef pulp – 250-300g;
  • pearl barley – 1/3 cup;
  • peeled potatoes - about 200g;
  • medium-sized pickled cucumber;
  • cucumber brine – 1/3 cup;
  • bulb;
  • medium carrot - 1 piece;
  • bay leaf, pepper, salt - to taste;
  • vegetable oil for sautéing vegetables – 2-3 tablespoons.
  1. Cook the meat for about an hour, remove it and cool. Pour soaked barley into the broth (how long it takes to cook barley is mentioned above), cook for half an hour, add diced potatoes.
  2. Tip: you can boil pearl barley for soups until half cooked separately, then add it to the soup, then its color will be more pleasant and the grayish tint of the broth will not appear.
  3. Cut the onion into cubes and sauté in oil with grated carrots. In a separate bowl, simmer grated or diced cucumber in 3-4 tablespoons of soup broth.
  4. Place the sauteed cucumber and cucumber into the soup, pour in the brine, add salt and cook after boiling for a couple of minutes.
  5. It is best to serve pickle soup with fresh sour cream and chopped herbs.

How to cook pearl barley as a side dish in a slow cooker

There is nothing easier than preparing pearl barley as a side dish if you have a slow cooker in the kitchen! This little helper cooks deliciously and saves her owner a lot of time. How to cook delicious barley as a side dish in a slow cooker?

Pour the pre-soaked cereal into a multi-cooker bowl and add water (1:3), add salt to taste and set to “buckwheat” (or “porridge”) mode. Depending on the type and quality of the cereal, cook from 50 minutes to an hour and a half.

A simple side dish of pearl barley in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

  • a glass of pearl barley;
  • 3 glasses of water;
  • vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons;
  • butter – 1 tablespoon;
  • carrots, tomatoes and onions - 1 piece each;
  • salt to taste.

Cook pearl barley in a multicooker, separately in a frying pan in vegetable oil, sauté diced onion, after a couple of minutes add grated carrots, after another 5 minutes add finely diced tomato. Stir the vegetables while sautéing; ready - add to the barley, mix and simmer for about 5 minutes all together.

Barley casserole with mushrooms

Ingredients:

  • ready-made pearl barley (from a glass of raw cereal);
  • onion head;
  • 300 g of mushrooms (champignons, honey mushrooms, white mushrooms, etc.);
  • a raw egg;
  • cheese - about 100g;
  • 200 ml cream.
  1. Chop the onion and fry in a frying pan until golden brown, add prepared (washed and chopped, and, if necessary, pre-boiled mushrooms). Fry for a couple of minutes, add 3 tablespoons of water and simmer until the mushrooms are cooked. Transfer the finished pearl barley (half) from the multicooker into a baking dish, the bottom of which is greased with vegetable or butter. Mushrooms are placed on top of pearl barley, and pearl barley is added on top.
  2. Beat the cream and egg, pour the mixture over the future pearl barley casserole and sprinkle grated cheese on top. In a preheated oven (200 degrees), place the baking sheet for 20 minutes until the casserole is browned on top.

How to quickly cook pearl barley? Thermos to the rescue!

If you don’t just soak the pearl barley in water overnight, but do it in a thermos, then the next morning you can be pleasantly surprised at how much faster the barley cooks than usual!

The washed cereal should be placed in a thermos and pour boiling water: per glass of cereal - 3-4 cups of boiling water. The next morning, transfer the cereal to a saucepan, add hot water (twice as much water as the steamed cereal), cook until tender for about 20 minutes, add salt at the end of cooking.

Hearty barley salad

  1. Wash the tomatoes, cut into slices (if small) or cubes. Finely chop the onion, chop the celery stalk, chop the herbs and chop the garlic. Fry the garlic until it becomes more aromatic, add the squid to it and fry until done.
  2. Add greens and celery, tomatoes, squid to the pearl barley and season with lemon juice, mix well. Add salt to taste.

A few “pearl” facts

  1. Pearl barley is one of the cheapest.
  2. When cooked, the volume of pearl barley increases almost fivefold from the original quantity - you need a spacious pan!
  3. You need to salt the pearl barley at the end of cooking: this way the grains will boil better.
  4. Barley is good for a diet: its calorie content, of course, is not so low (320 kcal per 100g), but it contains a lot of fiber and little starch.
  5. Pearl barley contains a lot of vitamin E - the most important vitamin of “youth”.
  6. There are also a lot of B vitamins in cereals - hair and skin are “friends” with them; with a lack of these vitamins, the hair becomes dull and split, and the skin dries and flakes.

As you can see, gray and inconspicuous cereals, which we are accustomed to treating with disdain, can be very tasty in simple dishes. After all, people don’t like pearl barley, mainly because they don’t know how to cook it properly: either the porridge will burn, or it won’t be cooked enough, or it will even turn into a sticky mass on the plate. If you know how to cook it properly and how long it takes to cook pearl barley, you can create real culinary masterpieces.

Pearl barley is a cereal that contains many important vitamins and nutrients. Therefore, pearl barley porridge always comes first in the diet of military personnel, hospitals, and educational institutions. For a fairly low price you can get delicious, satisfying dishes that are filled with vitamins. Many housewives are interested in how long to cook pearl barley in soup.

One significant disadvantage of pearl barley is that it requires cooking for quite a long time and you need to be able to do it correctly. In addition to the usual method of cooking pearl barley on the stove, there are other options. This is the use of modern technology: multicookers, steamers, rice cookers, pressure cookers, microwaves and ovens.

Cooking pearl barley

It all depends on the preparation of the product and the type of cooking. First, you need to carefully study the packaging; it may say about the cooking time. If nothing is written about the time and method, then you need to navigate yourself.

Step-by-step instructions on how long to cook pearl barley and how to do it correctly.

  • We wash the pearl barley and fill it with water.
  • Let the soaked cereal sit for several hours.
  • Drain the water and place the product in a cooking container.
  • Pour 1:3 water into the container.
  • Place the container on low heat and cook for about an hour.

TIP: To make the finished porridge soft, add a little butter or sunflower oil.

How to cook delicious pearl barley in a slow cooker?

    1. Wash the cereal thoroughly so that the water is clean and fill it with water for 3 hours.
  • After 3 hours, drain the water and send the cereal to the multicooker, the bowl of which must be greased with butter in advance.
  • Add water, for 1 multi-glass of pearl barley add three glasses of water.
  • Turn on the desired mode, close the lid and cook for an hour.
  • Then select the “heat” mode for 10 minutes, add a little butter. This will give the dish a rich aroma and pleasant taste.

In general, cooking pearl barley in a slow cooker is not difficult, the main thing is to strictly follow all the tips and recommendations.

Preparing grains for soup

    • If you pre-wash and soak it, then you need to cook it for soup for about an hour, but you can add already boiled cereal to the soup, then you only need to cook it for 15 minutes.
  • Barley for pickle needs to be cooked for as long as it is prepared for regular soup.
  • If you decide to cook pearl barley without soaking, then the time increases to 1.5 - 2 hours.

Cooking cereals in a double boiler.

    • First, we rinse the product, then fill it with water 1:2 and place it in a cold place for 6-12 hours.
    • When the cereal swells, transfer it to a colander and wash it again.
  • Then transfer to a steamer container, pour in 1 cup of boiling water and cook for 30 minutes.
  • Then stir again and continue cooking for another 30 minutes until soft.

TIP: Since pearl barley porridge is universal, it can be supplemented with salt or sugar.

Barley is often cooked in the microwave.

    1. step. Wash the cereal and soak for 1 hour. Drain the water, rinse again and transfer to a container for cooking step 2. Proportions: 1:3.
  • step. We put the dish in the microwave and turn on maximum power for 10 minutes, then take out the dish, season it with spices and put everything back.
  • step. It is recommended to stir occasionally during cooking. This is necessary for uniform cooking of the food.

TIP: If you use milk instead of water, then the cereal is filled with hot milk and the container is not closed with a lid during the cooking process.

The oldest method of preparing this cereal, which dates back to ancient times, is to cook it in the oven. Only the place of the oven was used by a Russian stove. This method allows you to preserve the greatest amount of useful elements and vitamins. If you use earthenware for cooking, then there is a chance to get that unique taste of childhood.

First, wash the cereal and fill it with water for 12 hours. Then drain the water, rinse and transfer to a container. Instead of water, you can use milk or broth. Add salt and necessary seasonings at the beginning of cooking. Since the porridge is cooked in the oven under the lid, all the vapors will remain inside and fill the dish with a unique taste. You can add meat or chicken, then you will get a complete meal for the whole family.

These are the most basic ways to properly cook pearl barley porridge or cereal for soup. The process itself does not take much time, but the result exceeds all expectations.

Pearl barley porridge is obtained by grinding barley grains, as a result of which only the husk and the top layer of grain are removed. This cereal has been known since ancient times, when it was widely prepared and eaten.

Now many people have forgotten about pearl barley and practically do not cook it, because they believe that this porridge turns out to be tough and completely tasteless. But that's not true. Let's take a closer look at the basic methods and recipes for preparing pearl barley porridge so that it turns out soft, tender and crumbly.


Useful properties of pearl barley porridge

Pearl barley rightfully belongs to healthy products, since it is a whole grain cereal, and therefore undergoes minimal processing, retaining all nutrients.

To benefit the body, pearl barley porridge must be eaten on a regular basis, since it contains the following vitamins:

  • group B– has a beneficial effect on the state of the nervous system, calming it;
  • vitamin A– necessary for the normal functioning of the visual organs;
  • vitamin E– acts as an antioxidant, it is also responsible for the condition of the nail plate and hair;
  • group D– promotes the growth and strengthening of bone tissue and joints;
  • vitamin PP– has a positive effect, improving the condition of the skin, preventing its premature aging.



Pearl barley porridge also contains other useful substances, microelements and macroelements, as well as amino acids.

For example, the fiber contained in pearl barley helps improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Hordecin - being a natural antibacterial component, allows you to cope with pathogenic microflora.

This cereal belongs to quite low-calorie foods, its calorie content is 320 kcal. Therefore, such porridge is often included as food when following a diet. Due to its beneficial properties, this product is included in the menu in children's, military and medical institutions.


  1. During cooking, this cereal can increase in volume up to 5 times. This should be taken into account when choosing a container for preparing porridge.
  2. It can be difficult to determine in advance the exact time for cooking pearl barley porridge, since many factors influence this process. Everything will depend on the quality of the grain, the utensils used for its preparation, as well as the cooking method. On average, the cooking process for this dish ranges from 1 to 1.5 hours.
  3. The consistency of the finished porridge will depend on the amount of water in which the cereal was cooked. If you want to make pearl barley porridge crumbly, then for 1 glass of porridge, you need to take 2 glasses of water. If you cook pearl barley in a larger amount of liquid, for example, doubling the volume of water, then it will turn out viscous and viscous.



Popular recipes

Let's look at the basic recipes for cooking crumbly pearl barley in water. Since this porridge is made from whole grains, it will take a long time to cook. Many housewives use the method of pre-soaking the cereal, leaving the pearl barley porridge in water for the whole night.

This cooking method can significantly reduce cooking time, since the soaked grain becomes softer and cooks faster.

Preparing pearl barley with pre-soaking

Rinse the cereal well under running water. Fill it with water in the ratio of 1 glass of porridge to 1 liter of water. The grain should stand soaked for about 10 hours; it is better to leave it to stand overnight. In the morning, drain the excess liquid, boil the water and pour out the porridge.

Prepare this dish from time to time, stirring from time to time and checking the degree of its readiness. This will take approximately 20 minutes.

When the porridge is cooked, remove the container from the heat and cover with a lid. It is necessary to wrap the pan in a terry towel or thick cloth and leave it in this state for another 15–30 minutes. During this time, the dish will be fully prepared.



Cooking porridge without soaking

The grains are washed well and placed in boiling water. In such a way that the water protrudes 2 centimeters above the level of the porridge. You need to wait until the pearl barley boils, and then reduce the heat to minimum. Cook the cereal over this heat for 5 minutes.

After this time, strain the pearl barley porridge through a colander. Again, pour boiling water over the cereal and boil for 5.5 minutes. This manipulation must be carried out 6 times. In this case, each time the amount of water should increase so that it protrudes 1 centimeter more than the previous time. Each time the cooking time increases by 30 seconds.

The last time, pour boiling water over the cereal, you can salt it and add a little oil. When the porridge is ready, remove it from the heat and strain.



An ancient recipe for making pearl barley porridge


After this, the pan must be placed in an oven preheated to 125 degrees. In the oven, the pearl barley porridge should simmer for another 30–35 minutes. Before serving, the dish is seasoned with vegetable oil.

There is also a standard recipe for making pearl barley porridge, when the grain is placed in a saucepan, filled with cold water and simmered over low heat for 1–2 hours. In this case, the cereal must be constantly stirred and ensure that it does not burn.

Now you know how to properly cook crumbly pearl barley in water and you can pamper your loved ones with a tasty and healthy dish.

You will learn more about how to cook pearl barley porridge from the following video.

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