How to cook friable barley porridge on water?
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 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 it's not. Let's take a closer look at the main methods and recipes for making pearl barley porridge so that it turns out soft, tender and crumbly.
Useful properties of barley porridge
Barley rightfully belongs to healthy products, since it belongs to whole grain cereals, therefore it undergoes minimal processing, retaining all the nutrients.
For the benefit of the body, barley porridge must be eaten on a regular basis, since it contains such 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 organs of vision;
- 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.
Barley porridge contains other useful substances, microelements and macroelements, as well as amino acids.
For example, fiber, which is in barley, helps to improve the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. Gordecin - being a natural antibacterial component, it allows you to cope with pathogenic microflora.
This cereal belongs to the pretty low-calorie foods, its calorie content is 320 kcal. Therefore, such porridge is often included as food, while dieting. Due to its useful properties, this product is included in the menu in children's, military and medical institutions.
Useful tips and tricks
Here are a few helpful tips and tricks to help you prepare barley the right way.
- During cooking, this cereal can increase in volume up to 5 times. This should be taken into account when choosing a container for cooking porridge.
- It can be difficult to determine in advance the exact cooking time for barley porridge, since many factors affect this process. Everything will depend on the quality of the grain, the utensils used for its preparation, as well as the method of cooking. On average, the cooking process of this dish is from 1 to 1.5 hours.
- The consistency of the finished porridge will depend on the amount of water in which the cereal was cooked. If you want to make barley porridge crumbly, then for 1 glass of porridge, you need to take 2 glasses of water. If barley is cooked in a larger amount of liquid, for example, by doubling the volume of water, then it will turn out to be viscous and viscous.
Popular Recipes
Consider the basic recipes for how to cook friable barley on water. Since this porridge is made from whole grains, it will take a long time to boil it. Many housewives use the method of pre-soaking cereals, leaving barley porridge in water for the whole night.
This method of cooking allows you to significantly reduce the cooking time, as the soaked grain becomes softer and boils faster.
Barley preparation with pre-soaking
Rinse the cereal well under running water. Fill it with water in the ratio of 1 cup of porridge to 1 liter of water. The grain should stand for about 10 hours soaked, it is better to leave it to stand overnight. In the morning, drain the excess liquid, boil water and pour out the porridge.
This dish is prepared from time to time, stirring from time to time and checking the degree of its readiness. This will take approximately 20 minutes.
During cooking, it is recommended to add a small amount of butter, which will give barley a pleasant and delicate aftertaste. It will also keep the grains from sticking together. Salt porridge at the very end, when it is almost ready.
When the porridge is cooked, the container is removed from the heat and covered with a lid. It is necessary to wrap the pan with a terry towel or thick cloth, and leave it in this state for another 15-30 minutes. During this time, the dish will reach full readiness.
Cooking porridge without soaking
The grains are washed well and placed in boiling water. So that the water protrudes 2 centimeters above the level of the porridge. It is necessary to wait until the barley boils, and then reduce the heat to a minimum value. On such a fire, the cereal is cooked for 5 minutes.
After this time, strain the barley porridge through a colander. Again, it is necessary to pour the cereal with boiling water and boil for 5.5 minutes. This manipulation must be carried out 6 times. At the same time, each time the amount of water should increase so that it protrudes 1 centimeter more than the previous time. Each time the cooking time is increased by 30 seconds.
The last time, pouring boiling water over the cereal, you can salt it and add a little oil. When the porridge is ready, it is removed from the fire and filtered.
An old recipe for barley porridge
To prepare such a dish you will need:
- 2 glasses of pearl barley;
- 1 teaspoon of salt;
- 40 grams of vegetable oil;
- 5.5 cups of water.
It is necessary to pre-soak barley overnight. If there is no time, you can pour the grain with boiling water and leave for several hours. After this time, the porridge is poured with water and put on the stove, making a big fire. As soon as it boils, the liquid is drained and again poured with boiling water.
At this stage, the dish must be salted, the container is closed with a lid, the heat is reduced and the porridge is boiled for 15 minutes.
After that, the pan must be placed in an oven preheated to 125 degrees. In the oven, barley porridge should sweat for another 30-35 minutes. Before serving, the dish is seasoned with vegetable oil.
There is also a standard recipe for barley porridge, when the grain is placed in a saucepan, poured with cold water and simmered over low heat for 1-2 hours. At the same time, the cereal must be constantly stirred and monitored so that it does not burn.
Now you know how to properly cook friable barley on water and you can treat your loved ones to a tasty and healthy dish.
You will learn more about how to cook barley porridge in the following video.
Hello! I haven’t cooked pearl barley for a long time, I decided to cook it and forgot how, I remember that 40 minutes - and that’s it. Thank you so much for this helpful and informative article.