Importance of Barley

How important is barley to mankind?  It is an extremely versatile cereal grain that can be used in a multitude of foods, as animal feed, and is one of the direst ingredients in the beer making process.  Barley has many uses from skincare to hair benefits to health benefits, where it has a great source of nutrients, antioxidants and minerals. When we take a look back in history, barley grains can be traced back to 10,000 BC in Southwest Asia in an area known as the “Fertile Crescent” where it was one of the first cultivated plants.  With a post-Ice Age climate, the area was warm and steady, yielding perfect conditions for barley cultivation.  From this easy cultivation, nomads began transitioning from hunter-gatherers to agriculture and farming.  Barley domestication led to domestication of other plants and animals, and a new form of society and living known as the Neolithic Revolution.

Barley is the fundamental raw material in beer.  Brewing dates back to Mesopotamia where this “barley water” would be used for various ways: from just a normal drink to medicinal purposes where it was even considered “healthier than water.”  Different types of barley are used to produce different types of beers.  The process of malted barley is when you allow the barley seed or grain to germinate (sprout) to a certain point where it is dried after.  The seed is soaked in water for about 40 hours, then drained and held at a steady temperature for about 5 days until it begins to sprout.  The barley is then dried slowly for about 30 hours.  This germination process converts the starches to sugars by enzymes that are created during the process, in order to be turned into alcohol by the yeast.

Carlsberg prides themselves in their brewing quality, especially with their cultivation of raw materials like barley.  The company does not genetically modify their crops, but have researchers developing this technology in case it becomes okay to use in the future (which they believe it will be).  They have the largest R&D and laboratory for brewing in the world.  Carlsberg Laboratory identifies “advantageous trains in barley mutants, old cultivars and elite varieties” and “by incorporating these traits we secure well adapted barley varieties for the future” (carsberglab.dk).

Barley is a wonder-plant that is currently the fourth largest crop in the world.  It has a quicker growth period than most crops and is able to be grown in a multitude of climates, able to resist drought and colder temperatures.  Barley led to the domestication of plants and animals and a change in living conditions that was monumental.

Barley Fun Facts!

1) Breakfast cereals often contain barley, either directly or as a malt

2) Different flavors in whisky are imparted by differing malts

3) Pearl barley is ground to remove the outer husk.  It has been a common ingredient in our diet for centuries

4) Barley is often grown for animal feed on a farm but is a common ingredient in many sorts of animal feed like dog food

5) Barley flour is not often used for baking, but does find its way into specialty breads

Source: http://www.ukagriculture.com/food/fast_facts.cfml?Food_name=Barley

Picture Sources: http://www.starch.dk/isi/starch/img/barley.JPG
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Check this site out! http://www.carlsberglab.dk/Pages/default.aspx