Is it necessary to soak barley before cooking pickle and porridge?

Housewives know that pearl barley cooks well even without pre-soaking. However, this procedure will make barley grains even more tasty and healthy. How long should pearl barley be soaked before cooking dishes such as porridge and pickle? Depending on the dish, it takes from 2 to 15 hours. We present an overview of methods for preparing and cooking pearl barley.

Do I need to soak pearl barley before cooking?

Soaking before cooking produces even softer and more tender beans. Not all housewives have time for this procedure, especially when dinner needs to be prepared right away. Therefore, they simply immerse the washed barley in a pan and cook it for about an hour. Meanwhile, soaking cuts the process by about half. It’s enough just to plan a dish with this cereal, and the immersion in water itself will take no more than 5 minutes.

There is another important reason why pearl barley and other grains need to be soaked. Cereals, nuts and beans contain inhibitory substances that ensure their safety, but cause harm to the human body. The easiest way to get rid of such substances is by soaking. Water neutralizes the inhibitor and the grain becomes more edible.

If barley is not soaked, it will be more difficult for the body to digest food and absorb valuable minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc.

Water will also remove excess starch from the grain, which makes the grains slimy and cloudy. The crumbly consistency of dishes is the third reason for soaking pearl barley.

How to soak pearl barley before cooking

You have seen the importance of preparing cereals before cooking. All that remains is to figure out how to properly soak pearl barley. There will be differences in procedure times for different dishes.

Important
Do not forget to thoroughly rinse the grains even before soaking, and especially before cooking. Barley is considered one of the dirtiest grains. After soaking, rinse the cereal again, remove any mucus and remaining debris.

Choose a deep glass container. The grain swells and becomes twice as large, take this into account.

For pickle

To cook pickle, you need the most crumbly cereal possible. It is soaked for 5 to 12 hours, whichever is more convenient for you. For 1 glass of cereal you will need 1 liter of water.

Advice from the magazine purity-en.htgetrid.com: for soup, it is better to boil the grain in a separate container. A little trick: when the water boils, drain it, rinse everything with cold water and fill the pan with boiling water again. The cereal will become crumbly and the dish will become transparent.

For porridge

2-3 hours are enough for the pearl barley to become suitable for cooking porridge, but if the grains stand longer, nothing bad will happen. The grains have a porous structure; they quickly become saturated with water.

What water to soak in

In what water is it better to soak pearl barley: cold or hot? Experiments have shown that cold water works better, although the procedure takes longer.

How to quickly soak pearl barley

Soak the cereal quickly and get a transparent and crumbly dish? This task is doable. Add something sour to the water: lemon juice, table vinegar, kefir.

Is it possible to soak it overnight?

Leaving pearl barley in water overnight is very convenient. Just place the container in the refrigerator.

How long to cook pearl barley soaked in water

Cooking time after soaking is significantly reduced - this is another advantage of preparing the grains.

How long does it take to cook soaked pearl barley? After boiling the water in the pan, 20-30 minutes is enough. It all depends on the size of the grains and the duration of soaking. If you only managed to put the cereal in water for an hour, you will have to cook it for about 45 minutes.

Barley can also be prepared in a slow cooker. It will take from 30 to 50 minutes.

For pickle, it is better to cook the soaked cereal separately and add it 5 minutes before the dish is ready.

These are the most current secrets of making pearl barley, use them and delight your home with nutritious and tasty dishes.