The most interesting thing is that in nature there is no such cereal at all - pearl barley. There is buckwheat, rice, oats, wheat, but barley is not. Pearl barley is called whole barley grains, peeled from the shell. This grass is very ancient. And it was the ancient people who gave the grain the name. Indeed, the shape and color of the grain resembles a river pearl - a pearl. That is what they called pearls in ancient Russia.
Barley porridge - general principles and methods of cooking
Over the barley porridge was not joking except that lazy. As they just do not call it - and “fraction 16” and “tarpaulin” and “shrapnel”. And if you ask a person if he likes pearl barley, most will say no. One can see the cooks who cooked it, with their “ability” to cook, completely repulsed the love of this tasty and healthy food. It is time to rehabilitate barley porridge, especially since it is incredibly useful. It is rich in vitamins of group B, contains vitamins A, D, E, iron, calcium, iodine, copper, and many essential amino acids - 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 also pearl barley is a champion among other cereals for phosphorus content. Therefore, it is necessary to make friends with it and include in your diet. Although pearl barley porridge 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 - food preparation
To make the croup well boiled soft, it must first be soaked in water for 12 hours, it is better to do this at night. The barley is soaked in water - based on a glass (250ml), the grains take 1 liter of water. And then the cereal is cooked as a usual porridge. Sometimes the grains are roasted before cooking. If porridge is cooked on the stove, its preparation takes about 40-50 minutes. You can shorten the cooking time to 25-30 minutes, but then it will need to be wrapped in heat so that it “reaches”. If it is tormented in a water bath, then the cooking takes up to 6 hours. But it is cooked in a water bath, barley porridge is especially tasty.
Barley porridge - the best recipes
Recipe 1: Barley Porridge with Milk
It is said that Peter the Great liked porridge cooked in this way. It is prepared without sugar and salt. The recipe, thanks to the great chef Pokhlebkin, has been preserved to this day. Ingredients: 1 glass of pearl barley, 1 l of water, milk - 2.0 l, butter - 50 g.
Method of preparation
Routine pearl barley, pour a liter of boiled cold water overnight. In the morning, drain the remaining water.
Bring the milk to the boil in a saucepan, add the soaked cereal and stir for 5 minutes with a weak boil.
Prepare a “water bath”. A wide and large saucepan (so that the dishes fit in which the porridge will be cooked) fit into a quarter of a cup of water and let it boil. Insert the dishes with milk and cereal inside and cover with a lid, under a saucepan, reduce the heat to minimum. And let porridge so languishing for 6 hours. In the pot with the “bath” from time to time it will be necessary to add hot water, because she starts to boil over. Porridge should taste like baked milk, and its color will become creamy. In the bowl with the finished porridge add oil and mix. And already in the plate you can add cream, sugar, honey, i.e. spice up to your taste.
If you have a slow cooker, the cooking process is easier. Soaked cereal should be poured with milk, bring to a boil, setting the “baking” mode, and cook for 6 hours in the “quenching” mode.
Recipe 2: Barley porridge with meat and mushrooms
Perlovka with mushrooms and meat - well, what is not royal food? Not cooked, as in catering - somehow, but cooked according to the rules and with an embedded soul. Be sure to get tasty. You can take any meat - pork, chicken, most importantly, not too old and tough.
Ingredients: Barley - 1 cup, 1 onion, 200 g each of meat and fresh mushrooms, butter - 50 g, vegetable - a couple of tables. spoons, spices, salt.
Method of preparation
Soak the cereal overnight. In the morning to drain the excess fluid, wash the barley. Pour boiling water into the dishes (a little more than 1 cup), add pearl barley, butter, salt. Oil will cover each grain and will not allow them to stick together. Cook under a lid over low heat until the cereal thickens until all liquid has evaporated. Next, the dishes with pearl barley should be wrapped in a blanket for 2 hours so that the porridge will finish (reached full readiness, become soft). If it is cooked in an energy-saving saucepan, then do not wrap, it will come.
At this time, fry the finely chopped onion in another dish, add the meat, cut into strips and continue to fry to a crust, then put the mushrooms cut in an arbitrary way. When boiling off the liquid, add barley porridge, spices and stew together all the ingredients for about 15 minutes. Porridge is ready.
Recipe 3: Barley Porridge
It seems that pearl barley is the same, but cooked in different ways, it gives the porridge a completely different taste and texture. Kashka, cooked according to this recipe, turns out fluffy and crumbly. Try it, you will like it. True, the cooking process is not fast, but the result will be justified. Soak the barley is not necessary, take the usual dry cereal. You can immediately boil a full kettle of water, and then just warm it and add water. Finished porridge can be eaten with milk, mixed with stew, add fried liver with onions or even jam.
Ingredients: pearl barley, milk (or broth), salt.
Method of preparation
Rinse dry barley and pour boiling water (boiling water) so that the liquid covers it a couple of centimeters. Let boil, reduce heat and boil for 3-4 minutes. Water to drain. 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 for half a minute. Here is such an interesting technology for cooking porridge. When the liquid is poured the last time (already on the level of cereals), then depending on what you plan to use porridge with, you need to pour this 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 an Estonian recipe. Krupa soak overnight. In the morning, put it in pots, pour boiling water (a couple of centimeters above the level of cereal) and place in the oven. Do not close the caps. Do not forget that the pots are not immediately placed in a hot oven, only in a cold or warm oven, otherwise they may burst. After 40 minutes, porridge is ready. Time to count from the moment of heating the oven. Add butter to the finished porridge. If you want sweet porridge - add honey or sugar, if usual, then salt it. Porridge is cooked at t 200-220C.
