View Full Version : Forgotton Super Foods Barley!
Wise Old Owl
02-26-2011, 11:23
Two weeks ago, my wife & I went to City Tavern where they practice making meals from 200 year old recipes. Chef Staib & I have met a few times and he has taken his skills to Williamsburg, and other historical places to read Martha Washington's cookbooks, and then make these recipes for his tavern.
Anyway, I ordered the duck and it was served on barley! It was delicious! In earlier posts I mentioned I did not like the flavor of Couscous, and a bed of barley under a meal is fantastic. 1/4 cup delivers 100 calories and 3 grams of protein. This is the change up from eating rice and potato's on a trip.
Barley has been so long forgotton as a important food source, that it is now found in the mexican isle in a supermarket at $1 per pound, under Jack Rabbit Brand.
http://www.citytavern.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley
swjohnsey
02-26-2011, 11:35
How long does it take to cook?
Wise Old Owl
02-26-2011, 11:39
Same as Couscous, 45 minutes. American boxed Couscous is steamed and dried again to make instant. So I will discover the process and get back to you on this.
(Yea I thought about that)
I'd rather have my barley after it is malted and fermented a while.
WingedMonkey
02-26-2011, 12:38
How long does it take to cook?
I use Quakers Quick Barley in place of rice in many backpacking meals...takes 10 mins to cook. :sun
sheepdog
02-26-2011, 13:10
I use Quakers Quick Barley in place of rice in many backpacking meals...takes 10 mins to cook. :sun
That's barley any time at all!!:)
Mrs Baggins
02-26-2011, 13:42
I'd rather have my barley after it is malted and fermented a while.
Definitely. Barley....blech. I can't take the texture of it. My mom-in-law puts it in soup and I have to eat around the nasty little things. Too much like tapioca....fish eyes. :p
WingedMonkey
02-26-2011, 14:20
1/4 cup delivers 100 calories and 3 grams of protein. This is the change up from eating rice and potato's on a trip.
Also a great source of fiber
Ingredients
PEARLED BARLEY
Serving size 1/3 Cup (48 g)
Amount per serving Calories 160 Calories from Fat 15 Total Fat 0.5g 1% Saturated Fat 0g 0% Trans Fat 0g Polyunsaturated Fat 0g Monounsaturated Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 0mg 0% Potassium 115mg 3% Total Carbohydrate 37g 12% Dietary Fiber 5g 21% Soluble Fiber 2g Sugars 0g Protein 5g
Wise Old Owl
02-26-2011, 16:28
Definitely. Barley....blech. I can't take the texture of it. My mom-in-law puts it in soup and I have to eat around the nasty little things. Too much like tapioca....fish eyes. :p
That was my response to Cous, apparently an acquired taste...
but if you are cooking this from pearls, you need have a 4 cup to 1 cup ratio or the pot will go bone dry in 25 minutes. Adding flavor is nothing more than a bullion cube.
A quick search of Amazon produced several possible options. This one looked good till I noticed it was a case qty, and one reviewer had some customer service issues:
http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-Quick-Cooking-Barley-11-Ounce/dp/B000GZU83S/
Here's a 3 min barley hot brekkie cereal:
http://www.amazon.com/Erewhon-Barley-Organic-Cereal-14-Ounce/dp/B001E5E3AS/
Ok, last Amazon post ... Promise!
http://www.amazon.com/Tasty-Barley-Medley-Inspiration-8-0-Ounce/dp/B0043OY1GS/
shelterbuilder
02-26-2011, 17:36
Here's a recipe that was given to me YEARS ago by a couple of thru-hikers that I met at Sages Ravine.
1 part barley
1 part lentils
2 parts rice
Cook until tender, the add any flavor bullion cube, dried gravy mix, or dried tomato base (ie - soup mix).
It's an extremely basic recipe that allows the cook to "change it up" into an entirely different-tasting dish just by changing the "sauce". Very filling, and it seems to keep you going through the day. (NO, NOT THAT WAY!:rolleyes:) It's veratility is limited only by the cook's imagination. (Note - I don't do a lot of FBC, so I don't know if you could shorten the cooking time by soaking the grains in a zip-loc bag all day. But this WAS a recipe from "back in the day", when EVERYBODY carried a big ol' gas stove.)
I've even topped this concoction with maple syrup and eaten it for breakfast.
Graywolf
02-26-2011, 17:42
I love barley. Lie to mix brown sugar into it also. Maybe some raisins and nuts as well. Cooked right, it can be a hearty meal..And satisfying..
Wise Old Owl
02-26-2011, 20:32
Here's a recipe that was given to me YEARS ago by a couple of thru-hikers that I met at Sages Ravine.
1 part barley
1 part lentils
2 parts rice
Cook until tender, the add any flavor bullion cube, dried gravy mix, or dried tomato base (ie - soup mix).
It's an extremely basic recipe that allows the cook to "change it up" into an entirely different-tasting dish just by changing the "sauce". Very filling, and it seems to keep you going through the day. (NO, NOT THAT WAY!:rolleyes:) It's veratility is limited only by the cook's imagination. (Note - I don't do a lot of FBC, so I don't know if you could shorten the cooking time by soaking the grains in a zip-loc bag all day. But this WAS a recipe from "back in the day", when EVERYBODY carried a big ol' gas stove.)
I've even topped this concoction with maple syrup and eaten it for breakfast.
Yea but considering what you have been thru the past years - when was the last time you made this? - I have never done this on the trail, I just tested this in the kitchen today. It is still a bit of work. by the way PM me - I would like to hang with you on a hike or two.
sheepdog
02-27-2011, 09:22
If you soak the barley while you hike, it should cut down on the cooking time.
Wise Old Owl
02-27-2011, 09:25
You stopped donating? no more dog pictures?
sheepdog
02-27-2011, 09:30
You stopped donating? no more dog pictures?
Yeah not donating anymore. Not feeling the love sometimes. Still considering it. Click on my sig line for pictures.
Wise Old Owl
02-27-2011, 09:36
Not feelin the love? you need to learn how to flick the alligator teeth out of the bite marks.
shelterbuilder
02-27-2011, 12:16
Yea but considering what you have been thru the past years - when was the last time you made this? - I have never done this on the trail, I just tested this in the kitchen today. It is still a bit of work. by the way PM me - I would like to hang with you on a hike or two.
Actually, I've started eating this at home again recently - very filling - but it HAS been quite a while since I made this on the trail. I need to play with this in the kitchen to see how best to shorten the cooking time. (I'm one of those hikers who likes to fuss a little at mealtime, so the extra cooking time has never really bothered me.)
HIKING??? What's that? I haven't had the time in months...and with the price of gas going through the roof, it's a wonder that I can still afford the gas to get back and forth to work (36 + miles away). Right now, I'm gearing up for BMECC's next big shelters project: repairing the roof and walls of the Rausch Gap Shelter...which will be mentioned here at WhiteBlaze later in the season. (It will probably be an all-season event, and anyone "local" is welcome to come out and help.)
I had found some quick cooking barley when I was hiking. I did soak it all day though. I always had a little nalgene that I would soak my dinner meat in. not enough water to fully rehydrate it, but enough to get it started. The few times I used barley, I just stuck it inthere with it. For those who like it, it adds nice texture to mush
Surplusman
02-28-2011, 05:57
Here's a recipe that was given to me YEARS ago by a couple of thru-hikers that I met at Sages Ravine.
1 part barley
1 part lentils
2 parts rice
Cook until tender, the add any flavor bullion cube, dried gravy mix, or dried tomato base (ie - soup mix).
It's an extremely basic recipe that allows the cook to "change it up" into an entirely different-tasting dish just by changing the "sauce". Very filling, and it seems to keep you going through the day. (NO, NOT THAT WAY!:rolleyes:) It's veratility is limited only by the cook's imagination. (Note - I don't do a lot of FBC, so I don't know if you could shorten the cooking time by soaking the grains in a zip-loc bag all day. But this WAS a recipe from "back in the day", when EVERYBODY carried a big ol' gas stove.)
I've even topped this concoction with maple syrup and eaten it for breakfast.
This is good ole' Appalachian Trail Mix described by Ed Garvey in his Appalachian Trail books. I make it at home quite frequently and doctor it up and it is good, but too involved for me to make it while hiking. Of course Ed also carried bricks of Claxton fruit cake, cans of tuna, cooking oil, and eggs while backpacking.
We eat barley at home often - very heart healthy. You can cook it up and then dehydrate it. There is though different types of barley. Traditional pearled barley can take 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes to cook up right and then there is quick cooking (still not that fast but less time than traditional).
I wouldn't use it on trail unless I had cooked it home and dehydrated it, but that is me.
Farr Away
02-28-2011, 13:19
At the international grocery, I've found rolled and flaked barley. It looks like thick-cut old-fashioned oatmeal, and takes just a little longer to cook.
-FA
im prety sure Grape Nuts cereal is made with barley flour. I eat it all the time. 1/2 cup=280 cal.
Mrs Baggins
03-01-2011, 10:38
im prety sure Grape Nuts cereal is made with barley flour. I eat it all the time. 1/2 cup=280 cal.
From Wikipedia - if that can be trusted much:
Despite its name, the cereal contains neither grapes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grape) nor nuts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nut_%28fruit%29). The cereal is actually made from wheat and barley, in later years, whole wheat so that the cereal could boast the nutritional value. Mr. Post believed that sucrose (which he called "grape sugar") formed during the baking process.
As much as I loathe barley (especially pearl barley) I do like Grape Nuts with a some sugar on it or mixed into yogurt.
I use Quakers Quick Barley in place of rice in many backpacking meals...takes 10 mins to cook. :sun
Hmmm, good idea. I use barley in a vegetable beef soup I make at home, so I have it in stock. :)