Pearl barley is not very popular, not only because of the duration of its preparation. Incorrectly cooked, it becomes "rubbery" or "tarpaulin" both in taste and consistency. How to cook barley correctly?
Those who hope to cook barley quickly will be disappointed - it is impossible to cook barley quickly. No way. On average, this process takes over 50 minutes. Even steamed, it takes 45 minutes to cook. But as always, everything is individual, there are varieties of pearl barley that are cooked for more than an hour.
Of course, there is no unequivocal answer to the question of how to cook barley correctly. Therefore, consider the options. Each hostess chooses a convenient way for her.
The boiled cereal increases in volume by five times, so many recipes suggest filling it with water at a rate of 1: 5. Simply put, a glass of thoroughly washed cereal is poured with a liter of water and cooked over low heat until tender. Since the cooking time is different for each variety, the degree of readiness is determined by the taste - the barley is soft, well swollen, but not smudged.
If the cereal is ready, and the liquid still remains, then it just needs to be drained. At the very end, salt and butter are added.
The second method involves soaking pearl barley for a long time - up to twelve hours. For many, it is more convenient to do this from evening to morning. Interestingly, even with such a long soak, the cooking time will not be greatly reduced.
It will be right to cook barley for a side dish with the addition of fried onions and carrots. The cooked cereal can be transferred to a pan with fried vegetables, mixed and stewed for a few minutes.
As an independent dish, you can deliciously cook pearl barley with fried mushrooms. Any mushrooms are fried, and then cooked cereal is added to the pan, everything is mixed.
How long does it take to cook barley for pickle? About an hour. 40 minutes after boiling the barley, you can add potatoes and brown the vegetables. So that the color of the pickle does not change to dark with a bluish tinge, the cereal can be boiled separately for half an hour, and then added and boiled in soup.
To properly cook barley, you just need to get used to it.
