Black Nile Barley

About Black Nile Barley:

There are two basic types of barley and both existed back in ancient times: Hulled and hulless. The difference is hard to understand, but here goes; In hulled barley, the hull binds to the kernel and does not come off during harvest. In hulless barley, the hull is not bound to the kernel, and it falls off easily. So hulless barley does have a hull -- but the hull comes off easily, leaving the whole-grain kernel in tact. Will hulled barley, the hull must be rubbed off -- using a process called "pearlizing".

For some reason, modern industrialized western countries disregarded the hulless barleys. From a nutritional stand point, that was not a good thing. Because pearlizing barley removes most of the bran during the process of rubbing off the hull. Where, with hulless barley, no bran is removed, leaving the complete, whole-grain goodness of the barley in tact.

How to cook:

1. rinse barley with water and look for debris 
2. add barley to boiling water ( 2 1/2 to 3 cups water or stock  per cup of barley)
3. return to boil, then simmer for 40 minutes or until done

You can also soak overnight and reduce the cooking time to about 15 minutes.