Pearl barley; is it good for health? Description of pearl barley, how it is made. Calorie content and vitamin and mineral composition affect the body: cooking, history, and non-food uses.
Pearl barley is processed barley seed from vitreous and vitreous varieties, without grain shell and eye. The structure is crumbly, of individual grains with a smooth surface; color – light, creamy, slightly yellowish or grayish. The smell is absent; the taste is raw flour, with a slight nuttiness. They are used in food and produced on an industrial scale. The main beneficial properties are considered high nutritional value and the possibility of long-term storage.
How is pearl barley made?
Not only city children, but even adults, when they travel to the village, look at the ears of rye and wheat, are interested in where the barley grows. They would not ask such a question if they knew how and what pearl barley is made of.
The agricultural crop planted in the fields is barley, and only then is it processed and made into barley. The technical process is multifaceted. The grains are cleaned of bran, weed dirt, and household contaminants on grain cleaning separators with built-in sieves with a diameter of 1.6 to 2 mm. The coarse fraction is sent to oat pickers, the small fraction to the puppeteers, where the seeds of the weeds are sifted out – bindweed, cockle, buckwheat, etc. Device-stone separation helps to remove mineral impurities.
They are peeled on a production line assembled from several machines – peeling and peeling. Abrasives with fine-grained grinding wheels are used as polishing agents.
Samples are removed after each process – the intermediate product is poured into a unique suction bowl, and the peel and the particles of the grain film are separated and passed through a sieve.
The finished pearl barley is re-sieved and sorted by numbers, passed through the magnetic control again, poured into bunkers, and then sent for preparation for sale. It may require additional drying.
The final product is produced in 3 stages:
- Pearl barley … The common name is “bombs.” Barley is cleaned only from the bran capsule. Retains the highest amount of nutrients of the original product. It boils relatively slowly.
- Crushing … It is made from barley by crushing and grinding. It boils down faster; the finished structure is soft and uniform.
- Dutch woman … The barley is rolled and polished, giving each particle the shape of a pearl. Such processing speeds up cooking.
You can buy pearl barley in America for .50$ per 1 kg; choosing high-quality pearl barley is very easy. The product should be dry, have a golden color, and be odorless; only a warm flour smell is allowed.
Pearl barley should be stored in a sealed container, away from moisture. Valuable properties are preserved for 1 year from the date of manufacture.
Composition and calorie content of pearl barley
On the territory of America, genetically modified barley is not sown. Therefore the grain does not contain genetically modified organisms. Despite the high carbohydrate content of the grain mass (the range can reach 77%), the energy value of the finished product is low.
The calorie content of pearl barley is 315 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Protein – 9.3 g;
- Fat – 1.1 g;
- Carbohydrates – 66.9 g;
- Dietary fiber – 7.8 g;
- Water – 14 g.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Vitamin A – 1 microgram;
- Beta-carotene – 0.013 mg;
- Vitamin B1, thiamine – 0.12 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin – 0.06 mg;
- Vitamin B4, choline – 37.8 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid – 0.5 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine – 0.36 mg;
- Vitamin B9, folate – 24 micrograms;
- Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol – 1.1 mg;
- Vitamin K, phylloquinone – 2.2 micrograms;
- PP vitamin – 3.7 mg;
- Niacin – 2 mg
Macronutrients per 100 g:
- Potassium, K – 172 mg;
- Calcium, Ca – 38 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg – 40 mg;
- Sodium, Na – 10 mg;
- Sulphur, S – 77 mg;
- Phosphorus, P – 323 mg.
Micronutrients per 100 g:
- Iron, Fe – 1.8 mg;
- Cobalt, Co – 1.8 micrograms;
- Manganese, Mn – 0.65 mg;
- Copper, Cu – 280 micrograms;
- Molybdenum, Mo – 12.7 micrograms;
- Nickel, Ni – 20 micrograms;
- Selenium, Se – 37.7 micrograms;
- Titanium, Ti – 16.7 micrograms;
- Fluorine, F – 60 micrograms;
- Chromium, Cr – 12.5 micrograms;
- Zinc, Zn – 0.92 mg.
Pearl barley contains 12 essential amino acids with a predominant effect on phenylalanine + tyrosine complex and leucine and 8 necessary – most of all glutamic acid.
Fat per 100 g:
- Saturated – 0.3 g;
- Monosaturated – 0.1 g;
- Polyunsaturated – 0.4 g.
The glycemic index of pearl barley is only 20 units; absorption is long-term, which creates a long-lasting feeling of satiety. Can include the product in a low-calorie diet and the diet of patients with diabetes. There is no significant increase in blood sugar; no fat layer is formed, which is very important, and cellulite does not appear. When you lose weight, your muscle mass does not decrease.
What does pearl barley do?
The products’ vitamins are partially broken down during heat treatment. Still, the mineral and amino acid composition is slightly depleted. Due to this feature, the body’s defenses do not decrease during periods of epidemics. When switching to a high-calorie diet, immunity is stable.
The use of pearl barley for women, when consumed 2-3 times a week, is manifested in the increased production of collagen, slows down age-related changes, improves skin quality, and increases tone.
For men, pearl barley helps build muscle mass and increase strength. After 1-2 months, the power of the erection increases, and the duration of intercourse also increases. The force is increased by using curry, ginger, cinnamon, olive oil, or fresh garlic dressing as a flavor enhancer.
Valuable properties of pearl barley:
- Antioxidant stops tissue oxidation by free radicals and slows down breast and colon cancer development.
- Normalizes the digestive process and creates favorable conditions for increasing the activity of Lacto- and bifid bacteria, colonizing the small intestine, and improving the absorption of nutrients.
- It improves the visual system’s functioning and stops the lens’s degeneration.
- It regulates brain activity, improves calcium absorption, and stops energy distribution throughout the body.
- It helps the liver cope with the overload caused by alcoholism and accelerates the removal of toxins and toxins.
- Reduces cholesterol in the blood and stress on the pancreas.
- Stimulates the dissolution of gallstones.
- Improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
- Reduces the permeability of the gastrointestinal tract and helps to resist the aggressive effects of food juices.
Porridge has not only a healing effect but also a broth. It is recommended to enter the diet of patients with exacerbation of chronic gastritis with high acidity or peptic ulcer. The protective film formed on the surface of the mucous membrane that glues the organs accelerates knowledge. It stimulates the regeneration of the body’s functions. Add broth to the daily menu of patients recovering from abdominal surgery is recommended. Regardless of the liquid used in cooking – milk, water, or broth, the healing properties do not decrease.
Women who are kept in maternity clinics often complain about the “outdated diet,” where yak porridge is introduced mandatory. Meanwhile, pearl barley dishes are the ideal addition to the daily menu of pregnant women. They contain all the vitamins and minerals necessary for the organisms of the expectant mother and the developing fetus. A large amount of phosphorus improves metabolic processes and stops blood flow in the placenta; calcium strengthens the bones of the mother and fetus, and potassium prevents the development of tachycardia in a woman who has to endure a double load. In addition, high iron content precludes the development of iron deficiency anemia.
