Pearl barley how much water. How to cook pearl barley as a side dish: recipes for tasty and crumbly barley

Most often, pearl barley is included in soups, but is not prepared as a separate porridge. Housewives should not forget that this healthy product makes delicious, nutritious and budget-friendly side dishes. If you add meat or mushrooms to the cereal, you will be able to prepare a complete hearty lunch with pearl barley porridge. How to cook the cereal under discussion, and what additives it goes well with, is described below.

How to cook pearl barley correctly?

In order for the planned dish to turn out truly tasty, you need to know a few secrets of cooking it, as well as choose the right grains. The Dutch pearl barley variety is ideal for porridges. It cooks quickly and turns out soft and tender. But it is better to leave the classic varieties of the product for soups.

Approximate proportions

In order for the dish to have a pleasant crumbly structure, you need to carefully monitor the proportions of cereal and liquid. If the product was pre-soaked for a long time, then 1 tbsp. of the bulk ingredient, take 1 liter of liquid. When cooking without soaking, the amount of water should be increased by 1.5 times.

How long does it take to cook?

The exact cooking time for the porridge will also depend on whether the cereal was left in the water before the culinary experiment. If the housewife chose a long-term soaking approach (at least 6-7 hours), then the porridge will only take half an hour to cook. After this, she will only need to brew a little.

For short-term soaking (2-3 hours), the dish will simmer under the lid for 45-55 minutes. In this case, the heating of the stove should be minimal.

Pearl barley porridge as a side dish

The dish will be low-calorie if you cook it with regular filtered water. You will need to use 630 ml of liquid. Other ingredients: 1 tbsp. pearl barley, salt to taste, a piece of butter.

The pearl barley is washed to clean water and left to swell overnight.
The prepared product is poured with fresh liquid and cooked for 35 minutes. Salt and oil are immediately added to the container.

A tasty addition to the side dish is an assortment of cucumbers, bell peppers and tomatoes.

With added meat

The addition of meat will make the treat more satisfying and nutritious. For example, pork pulp. Ingredients: 650 g meat, 1.5 tbsp. pearl barley, onion, sour apple, carrot, salt, pork seasoning mixture.

Pieces of meat with layers of lard are fried in a frying pan without oil. Enough of the rendered fat. When a golden crust appears on the slices, you can transfer them to the duckling pan.
Chopped onions and thin sticks of carrots are sautéed in the melted fat. Lastly, small apple cubes are added to these products. The mass is salted and sprinkled with spices.
Vegetables are transferred to the meat. Cereals pour out on top. The food is poured with water so that it is approximately 1 cm higher.
Pearl barley porridge with meat will simmer until cooked (without a lid) for 60-70 minutes.

To make the treat even tastier, after time has passed, you should cover the duckling and send it to the hot oven for another half hour.

Recipe for cooking with stew

Instead of fresh meat, you can also use pork stew for the dish under discussion. One standard jar will be enough. Other ingredients: 1 tbsp. cereals, 2 onions, 2.5 tbsp. filtered water, a pair of garlic cloves, 2 medium carrots, salt, a mixture of peppers.

Barley is soaked in water for 8-10 hours.
In a deep cast-iron frying pan, the stew with all the contents of the jar is heated. Finely chopped onions, garlic and carrots are also sent there. The ingredients are fried together for 7-8 minutes.
Soaked cereal is cooked for 10-15 minutes in salted water. Next, it, along with some of the water, is poured into a frying pan for frying. You can add salt to the dish.
The treat languishes for half an hour under a closed lid.

Before serving, the porridge should sit for 15-20 minutes.

Barley with mushrooms

This version of the dish can become both a side dish and an independent lunch. Ingredients: 830 ml filtered water, 230 g cereal, 230 g fresh champignons, carrots, salt, onion, mushroom seasoning.

The washed cereal is soaked for half an hour, after which it is sent to boil in salted water. It will take about an hour to prepare. The liquid should completely evaporate during this time.
Chopped onions and carrots are sauteed until golden. It is best to cook them in butter.
Mushrooms and seasoning are added to the finished frying. Together, the ingredients cook for another 7-8 minutes.
The contents of the frying pan are poured into the pan with porridge. The treat is mixed well, salted and left to brew for half an hour.

You can improve this barley recipe. For example, add red bell pepper and/or tomatoes to the fry.

Milk pearl barley porridge

You should definitely prepare your own favorite dish of Peter I. It was pearl barley with cow’s milk. Ingredients: 1 tbsp. cereals, 2 large spoons of butter, a pinch of salt, a large spoon of granulated sugar, 900 ml of milk.

The pearl barley is soaked in cold water overnight. In the morning, it is washed well and boiled for 12-14 minutes in salt water.
Next, the slightly boiled product is placed in a colander and added to boiling milk.
The porridge is salted and sprinkled with sugar.
After another 15 minutes, the container with the treat is moved to a water bath and simmered in it for 2.5-3 hours.

If the housewife has time to spare, you can increase the cooking time to 6-7 hours.

With Chiken

Goes well with pearl barley porridge and chicken. Ingredients: 280 g of cereal, 1-2 onions, 320 g of chicken, 2 carrots, salt, broth, garlic to taste and spices for pilaf.

The washed pearl barley is soaked in cold water for a couple of hours.
Small pieces of chicken are well fried along with chopped onions, carrots and garlic in oil. The mass is immediately salted and sprinkled with seasonings.

The cereal is soaked in water for 4 hours.
First, onions and carrots (chopped) are fried in a frying pan, then they are cooked together with cubes of pumpkin, peppers and tomatoes.
Vegetables are stewed until soft over low heat.
Barley is boiled in salted water until fully cooked.
All that remains is to transfer the porridge into the frying pan with the vegetables, stir and simmer the ingredients together for another 7-8 minutes.

You can add crushed garlic to the dish to taste.

How to cook in a slow cooker?

The “smart pan” will make the process of preparing the discussed “capricious” porridge a little easier. Ingredients: 1 tbsp. cereals and 2 times more broth, salt to taste.

The pearl barley is soaked in water for a couple of hours, after which it is transferred to the bowl of the device and filled with any broth.
Salt is immediately added to the cereal. You can also add butter to taste.
The dish is prepared in milk porridge mode.

For most of us, barley porridge does not evoke the most pleasant associations. For some, this is bland, dry and, often, undercooked hospital food. For others, it’s a hateful slushy mess that was fed to them every day and every other day in kindergarten. Meanwhile, pearl barley can be cooked deliciously! And it’s quite simple and relatively quick to do. The main thing is to know a couple of secrets, thanks to which you will end up with such a mess that you won’t be able to pull it off by the ears! And all you need is cereal, water for cooking and a little salt.

Below I will tell you in detail how to cook pearl barley in water quickly and easily. This can be done in two ways: with or without pre-soaking the cereal. Each has its pros and cons, but no matter which option you choose, I guarantee you an excellent result!

pearl barley – 1 tbsp.,
water – 2-3 tbsp. (depending on the desired consistency of the finished porridge),
salt - approximately 2/3 tbsp. l.

1. How to quickly cook pearl barley in water with pre-soaking

This method is convenient because after soaking, the cereal swells so much that to bring it to readiness, it only needs to simmer for about 30 minutes.

First of all, thoroughly wash the pearl barley under running cool water, making sure to rub the grains with your hands. Pour the washed cereal with cold water and leave until it swells for at least 5-6 hours, ideally overnight. You need to take a lot of water for soaking - about a liter per 1 tbsp. cereals

Afterwards, drain the water in which the pearl barley was soaked. We wash the cereal itself again and transfer it to a suitable saucepan.

Next, put the pan on the stove at maximum heat, pour boiling water over the barley (boil the kettle and, as the water boils, pour in the barley). To obtain dry and crumbly porridge, 2 tbsp will be enough. water. For more viscous porridge - at least 3. We take the same glass that we used to measure the cereal.

Fill with water and immediately close the lid. The water begins to gurgle within 30 seconds. Switch the heat of the stove to medium and cook the barley for 25 minutes. After the specified time, open the lid. The cereal on top has already completely absorbed the water; there is still some liquid left at the bottom of the pan. Add some salt to the barley, mix and close the lid again.

Cook the pearl barley for another 5 minutes, then turn off the stove without removing the pan from it. Let the porridge simmer and cook for another 10 minutes - and the pearl barley is ready! Then it can either be served or used to prepare other dishes (soups, salads, cutlets, etc.).

2. How to quickly cook pearl barley in water without soaking

This method is ideal for those who decide to cook pearl barley suddenly and simply don’t have time for soaking. You can also use it to prepare porridge of any viscosity. And the cooking time will average 40-50 minutes. Quite quickly, considering that we skip the multi-hour soaking step.

Just as in the previous method, we thoroughly wash the pearl barley.

Then we put it in a saucepan and fill it with cold water. The amount of water does not really matter, since after the first boil we will drain this water. I pour water over my eye so that the cereal is hidden by 1-2 cm.

Place the pan with the cereal on the stove, turning on maximum heat. Cover the saucepan with a lid.

Bring the cereal to a boil, boil for just a couple of minutes and drain the water. Place the cereal on a sieve. If, when boiling, the water tries to escape outside the pan, open the lid a little.

Return the pearl barley to the pan, fill it with cold water again, cover with a lid and bring to a boil on the stove at maximum heat. The amount of water to obtain crumbly porridge is 2.5 tbsp, for viscous porridge - at least 3.

As soon as the cereal boils again, reduce the heat on the stove to medium and simmer the porridge under the lid for 30 minutes. Then the scheme is the same as in the first method: open the lid, add some salt to the cereal, mix and return the lid to its place. Cook the porridge for another 10 minutes, turn off the stove and let the barley steam and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

Ready! We add pearl barley to salads or soup, or serve it, flavored with meat gravy, a piece of butter and herbs, with fried vegetables - to your taste.

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.

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.

Mother of two children. I have been running a house for more than 7 years - this is my main job. I like to experiment, I constantly try different means, methods, techniques that can make our life easier, more modern, more fulfilling. I love my family.

Pearl barley is incredibly tasty and very healthy. Many housewives underestimate this type of cereal, preferring to prepare dishes from other products. The reason is simple - pearl barley takes quite a long time to cook. However, there are little secrets on how to cook pearl barley in water without soaking quickly and with health benefits. We will talk about this in our article.

What are the benefits of pearl barley?

First, let's say a few words about the benefits of this product.

Pearl barley is barley grains processed in a special way. It takes a long time to cook. Undercooked pearl barley is quite hard and tasteless.

Barley is a storehouse of vitamins and beneficial microelements. Another bonus is that it is very nutritious, but it cannot be called a high-calorie product. Many girls know that losing weight on pearl barley is more than possible, without feeling hungry.

Pearl barley helps improve health, namely:

cleanses the body of toxic substances;
does not cause allergies;
improves vascular elasticity;
prevents excess weight gain;
normalizes the functioning of the nervous system, relieves stress.

In addition, it is useful to eat pearl barley for colds, as it helps boost immunity.

How to cook pearl barley correctly?

Before getting an answer to this question, you should know two very important points: how long to cook pearl barley in water and what are the proportions of water and cereal. You should also understand how thick the porridge you want to end up with. So, crumbly pearl barley porridge is obtained if you take cereal and water in a ratio of 1:2. A thicker porridge will be obtained if you take the cereal equally with water.

Barley is cooked on average from 1.5 to 2 hours. Fresh grains cook faster. As soon as the pearl barley becomes soft, turn off the heat, add butter to the dish and leave to simmer under the lid.

Cook pearl barley without soaking

Below we will tell you a step-by-step recipe for pearl barley in water without soaking. So:

carefully sort the grains and rinse in running water until the water is clear;
Pour water into the pan and bring it to a boil;
pour our cereal into a container with water;
bring the water to a boil, drain it and pour in new water;
after the water boils, reduce the heat and continue to cook the pearl barley under the lid for an hour;
drain the excess water, add oil to the porridge and leave to stand for 5-7 minutes.

As we can see, cooking pearl barley without soaking is quite simple if you know a few secrets. The main thing in this matter is the proportions and cooking time.

pearl barley is a healthy product for the whole family; if you cook it correctly, it is very tasty

Barley without soaking in a slow cooker

You can cook pearl barley quickly and tasty using a slow cooker. We will need:

pearl barley - 2 cups;
water - 4 glasses;
butter, salt to taste.

The secret of preparing crumbly pearl barley in a slow cooker depends on the mode we choose. Pour our cereal into the multicooker bowl, add water and salt to taste. Next, set the “Porridge” or “Buckwheat” mode and wait for it to cook.

Barley without soaking in the microwave

There is another simple recipe for cooking crumbly pearl barley in water using a microwave oven. To do this, we thoroughly rinse the cereal, transfer it to a container for the oven, fill it with water in a ratio of 2:1 (1-water, 1-cereal) and put it in the microwave for 15 minutes. We select the maximum power.

After the time is up, let the porridge simmer under the lid for a few more minutes. Before serving, add spices, oil and salt to taste to the porridge and enjoy the food.

Recipes for cooking dishes with pearl barley

Pearl barley goes well with both meat and vegetables. It is suitable for garnishing and for preparing other dishes. Below we will look at several simple and tasty recipes for dishes with barley.

Recipe No. 1

You can make excellent pilaf from pearl barley. To do this you need to take the following ingredients:

pearl barley - 400g;
bacon - 400 g;
onion - 1 pc.;
carrots - 1 pc.;
butter - 200 g;
tomato paste - 2 tbsp.

First, cook the meat until cooked, do not pour out the broth. After this, fry the bacon in a frying pan without oil, add tomato paste to it (you can use chopped tomatoes), and spices. Pour in the broth. Place the pre-cooked pearl barley into the broth, cover the pan with a lid and cook the barley until cooked. There shouldn’t be a lot of water - it should cover the barley by 1-2 cm. Next, put our barley in the oven for 40 minutes.

Recipe No. 2

You can make a very tasty pickle soup from pearl barley. For this we will need the following products:

beef meat - 350 g;
pearl barley - 50 g;
potatoes - 200 g;
pickled cucumbers - 150 g;
onion, carrot - 1 pc.;
bay leaf, salt, spices.

So, we wash the cereal and cook it until half cooked. Boil the meat until cooked, then cool it and cut it into pieces. Add pearl barley to the remaining broth and cook for 20 minutes. Next, add chopped potatoes, onions, carrots, meat, pickles, and a little cucumber pickle to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, add spices and let simmer for 10 minutes. Before serving, you can add sour cream and fresh herbs.

Recipe No. 3

There is one simple and quick recipe for making pearl barley porridge. We take:

pearl barley - 1 cup;
milk - 500 ml;
butter - 20 g;
sugar, salt to taste.

Wash the barley, add milk and place on low heat. Bring to a boil, add salt, sugar, butter to the porridge and cook further under a closed lid over low heat. Cooking time - 1.5 hours. Then remove the pan from the stove and let the porridge cool.

As we see, there are quite a lot of recipes for how to cook pearl barley in water without soaking. The most important thing is to know in what ratio to cook pearl barley with water. To obtain crumbly and tasty porridge, the proportions must be strictly observed; water should be added 2-3 times more. It doesn’t matter what kind of water you cook pearl barley in - you should definitely rinse the barley thoroughly first.

Barley is not only an “army dish”. Learn to cook this grain without soaking quickly and tasty, and it will certainly become your favorite side dish.