I love the idea of an oyster dealing with the irritating grain of sand inside its shell by covering it with nacre, which becomes a wonderful opalescent sphere. Taking the awful thing in life and turning it into something utterly beautiful. I have four pearls set in a silver brooch, which my Uncle and Aunt in Australia sent to my grandmother many years ago, and when she died in 1975, they said i was to inherit it.I'm old enough to remember a singer with a very powerful voice called Pearl Bailey. My Dad always called her Pearl Barley [I suspect he was not alone in that]
In the long hot summers of my childhood, I used to dream of a cool drink of fruit squash, made with Pearl Barley.[but Mum said it was too expensive] Robinson's Lemon Barley Water was synonymous with Wimbledon Fortnight. The company ended their partnership with the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 2022, the drink having been first invented to hydrate their players in 1935.
Pearl Barley is a tasty grain which features in many national cuisines [
cholent], the slow simmered Jewish Sabbath stew, and
krupnik a rich Polish soup] My Flemish MIL often added it to her casseroles. I bought a packet last year. And forgot about it, until last Monday. I'd put a curry in the slocooker in the morning, then in the evening I could not find any rice to serve with it [all my cans and packets are in boxes in the back bedroom]
I measured out some pearl barley, and used my microwave rice cooker to produce a delicious accompaniment. This is a brilliant
Joseph Joseph gadget which I found for a fiver in a CS, and use regularly to make perfect rice.
Do you ever use Pearl Barley in your cooking?How do you cook your rice?
My mother and grandmother used to add pearl barley to a beef stew, made with shin beef, the cheapest cut. It was always delicious.
ReplyDeleteI used to buy something called "stew mix" which was a packet of mixed dried peas, beans and pearl barley. Excellent for stew cooked long and slow in the oven and I'm sure I still have one somewhere.
I remember buying that stew mix back, in Leicestershire, must look for it again
DeleteWe are frequent rice eaters (when our oldest daughter was about 4 years old and we were invited to friends for dinner, she piped up “where’s the rice?). We have always had a rice cooker which cooks rice consistently and without having to keep an eye on a pan. We always rinse the rice first before cooking.
ReplyDeleteRinsing the rice does make a difference
DeleteI love pearl barley and use it to make scotch broth and also a mushroom and spinach risotto.
ReplyDeleteBut do the Jews really call their stew 'cholesterol'?? Seems unlikely...
Pam
Thank you Pam, that autocorrect escaped me! I would imagine that [like oats] PB is a GOOD thing to have if you want to improve your cholesterol levels!
DeleteMy sister makes a delicious Pearl Barley salad with Pomegranate seeds that my niece loves. It is tasty. I don't think I ever cook with it as I didnt like it in my mum 's stews as a girl but I think I should try again!
ReplyDeleteIceland sell bags of frozen pomegranate seeds. They work out cheaper, and way more convenient than the fresh fruit I you use them a lot in cooking. Thats if you don't live in a city with good access tonstreet markets.
DeleteI always thought that the Jewish slow-cooked Sabbath stew was called "cholent" and not "cholesterol". My mother used to boil barley and drink the water, saying it was very "cooling".
ReplyDeleteYes, the computer changed it for me
DeleteI throw a handful of pearl barley in most soups and stews ... when I remember. I cook my rice in an electric rice cooker these days, it has a steamer basket on top so I can do a full meal in it. Rice and peas, or mixed veg in the bottom and a salmon fillet on top.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds very useful. I stack veg in three tiers to steam them.
DeleteI was raised eating pearl barley in soups but as an adult it makes me feel sick-I think it’s the texture. We had a lovely meal last night for the big birthday and Leanne went home with the remainder of it to save her Dad eating any more! Catriona
ReplyDeleteGood to have helpful daughters!
DeleteWe love pearl barley yum. I cook rice the Delia way, never known to fail. I always use Basmati rice, one measure of rice and to two of boiling water, in a saucepan, lid on bring to boil then turn to lowest heat and cook for ten minutes don't stir at all. Fluff up with a fork and perfect fluffy rice. Regards Sue H
ReplyDeleteDelia's recipes are always reliable [if you follow them to the letter]
ReplyDeleteOur family enjoys pearl barley so we eat it often. Like others, we add it to soups, but also enjoy it as a substitute for rice in most any recipe. My secret weapon is to add almost twice as much as a recipe calls for in a soup or stew b/c we all like it so much and an added fiber bonus is always a plus. I typically cook it in veg or chicken broth before putting under curries or a stir fry. Any extra can go on a salad the next day.
ReplyDeleteIt adds a lovely taste and texture to a salad
DeleteI really dont like bossy computers!
ReplyDeletePearl barley in a casserole was one of M's favourites. I'm not very adventurous, but I'm sure there are lots of other interesting ways to use it.
I must try and find alternative recipes
DeletePearl barley mushroom risotto is a regular item on our dinner table.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds great
DeleteSo when I was sitting my cookery 'O' level (your A levels?), I decided for my menu to make Scotch Broth so I asked my Nana for the recipe. She gave it with a warning, don't put too much barley in! Anyway, I put the quantity in that she told me to but decided it didn't look enough. Well by the time the examiner came round to taste the soup, the spoon that I had put in it for tasting was standing up by itself! As for the sausage risotto for main course, the lid blew off the rice pot almost covering the entire kitchen with burnt rice. Needless to say, I failed my 'O' level!
ReplyDeleteOh dear! But half a century later, the results of our O levels don't seem quite so important do they?
DeleteYou've. got me wondering if it is possible to make lemon barley water! I don't have any barley in the house but we eat rice quite often. I boil twice as much water as the rice (which I wash in a sieve as it comes in a huge bag). I add the rice, put on a well fitting lid to the pan and turn the heat down very low and set the timer for 15 minutes. It seems to work well every time!
ReplyDeleteI cheated and bought some barley water in the supermarket today
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