On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 894

andpurple-grainedbarleys,someofwhichare
madeintodrinks.Watersimmeredwithraw
orroastedbarleyhasbeenenjoyedfortwo
thousandyearsormore,fromwesternEurope
toJapan.
Thebarleygrainisnotableforcontaining
significantquantities—about5%eachofthe
grainweight—oftwocarbohydratesother
thanstarch:thepentosansthatgiveryeflours
theirstickiness,andtheglucansthatgiveoats
theirgelatinousandcholesterol-lowering
qualities(pp.470,471).Botharefoundinthe
wallsofendospermcellsaswellasinthe
bran,andtogetherwithbarley’swaterinsolubleproteinstheycontributetothe
distinctivelyspringytextureofthecooked
grain.Theyalsocausebarleyflourtoabsorb
twicethewaterthatwheatflourdoes.
Pearled Barley There are hull-less barleys,
but most food varieties have adherent hulls
that are removed as part of the milling


process.Barleyhasmoreofitsgrainremoved
than does rice, the other grain frequently
prepared as a whole grain. This is partly
because barley bran is brittle and doesn’t
come off in large flakes, so it can’t be
removed during normal milling; and partly
because processors eliminate the deep crease
in the barley grain to give it a more uniform
appearance. The process of “pearling” in a

stonemillremovesthehullandthenportions
of the bran. “Pot barley” has lost 7–15% of
thegrain,butretainsthegermandsomeofthe
bran, and so more nutrients and flavor. Fine
pearled barley has lost the bran, germ, and
aleurone and subaleurone layers, a loss of
about33%ofthegrain’sinitialweight.
FoodWords:FromBarleyWaterto
Orgeat,Horchata,Tisane
The European habit of drinking barley
water has mostly faded away, but it lives
oninthenamesofseveralotherbeverages