barley

Barley was first cultivated in Egypt about 5000 BC. The raw grain is enclosed in a tough husk. Pearl barley is produced in a revolving drum where the cereal is ground until the hull and germ are removed from the grains, leaving starchy balls or ‘pearls’.

Ears of barley. Both hardy and versatile, barley can be grown successfully in temperate, subtropical, and subarctic climates. Barley was first cultivated in Egypt about 5000 BC. The raw grain is enclosed in a tough husk.

Barley can tolerate a greater range of climate conditions than any other cereal crop. It was first grown thousands of years ago in the temperate regions of the Middle East and is now an important crop in northern Europe. Malt obtained from the germinated grains is used in brewing beer and making whisky.

Cereal belonging to a family of grasses. It resembles wheat but is more tolerant of cold and draughts. Cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare) comes in three main varieties – six-rowed, four-rowed, and two-rowed. (Family Gramineae.)

Barley was one of the earliest cereals to be cultivated, about 5000 BC in Egypt, and no other cereal can thrive in so wide a range of climatic conditions; polar barley is sown and reaped well within the Arctic Circle in Europe. Barley is no longer much used in bread making, but it is used in soups and stews and as a starch. Its high-protein form is widely used as animal feed, and its low-protein form is used in brewing and distilling alcoholic drinks.