- Related Topics:
- celiac disease
- Malt
- Cereal
- Gluten
- pearl barley
Barley
News •
-
What is barley?
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a cereal grain in the grass family Poaceae. Globally, it ranks as the fourth largest grain crop, following wheat, rice, and corn. While barley is found in breads, stews, soups, and health products, its primary use is as animal fodder and as a source of malt for alcoholic beverages, especially beer.
Barley is adaptable to different climates and can be grown in temperate, subarctic, and subtropical regions. It is more resistant to dry heat than other small grains and thrives in near-desert areas. Most of the barley grown worldwide is used for animal feed, but special pure barley is the source of malt for beer production.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What type of plant is barley classified as?
Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is a cereal plant in the grass family Poaceae. As the world's fourth-largest grain crop, it is grown in many environments and used in stews, soups, breads, and health products. Though barley is commonly used for human consumption, it is primarily grown as animal fodder and as a source of malt for alcoholic beverages, especially beer.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Where is barley commonly grown?
Barley, a cereal grain in the grass family Poaceae, is the fourth largest grain crop globally and is adaptable to varied climates. It thrives in temperate, subarctic, and subtropical areas with growing seasons of at least 90 days, but can ripen faster than other cereals.
Spring-sown crops do well in cooler, moist areas of western Europe and North America, while varieties resistant to dry heat flourish in near-desert regions like North Africa, where they are sown in the autumn. Though adaptable to less fertile soil than wheat, good humus content and chemical fertilizers are generally necessary.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How is barley used as food for humans?
Barley is used in breads, soups, stews, and health products, and it was the chief bread plant of the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans and of much of Europe through the 16th century. Because barley contains little gluten, it cannot produce a porous loaf of bread. However, barley flour is used to make flatbread and porridge, especially in North Africa and parts of Asia, where it is a staple food grain. Pearl barley, which consists of whole kernels with the outer husk and part of the bran layer removed by a polishing process, is added to soups. It is also used in the manufacture of vinegar, malt extract, some milk-type beverages, and certain breakfast foods.
2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What other uses does barley have besides food?
Beyond its use as a food for human consumption, barley serves several other purposes. The majority of barley grown globally is used as animal feed, particularly for pigs and cattle. Also, barley is the source of malt for beer production. It is also used to make vinegar, malt extract, and certain milk-type beverages. The straw from barley can be used as bedding for livestock.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How does barley farming affect the environment and economy?
Barley farming significantly impacts both the environment and the economy. As the fourth largest grain crop globally, barley is adaptable to various climates, allowing cultivation in temperate, subarctic, and subtropical regions.
Environmentally, growing barley requires soil preparation and can lead to soil erosion if not managed properly. Modern farming practices include using chemical fertilizers, which can affect soil health.
Economically, barley is a versatile crop. While it's used in food products, its primary use is as animal fodder and for malt in alcoholic beverages, especially beer. It can also be cultivated on poorer soil and at lower temperatures than wheat. The increasing use of barley for animal feed contributes to its economic importance.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Barley, (Hordeum vulgare), cereal plant of the grass family Poaceae and its edible grain. Grown in a variety of environments, barley is the fourth largest grain crop globally, after wheat, rice, and corn. Barley is commonly used in breads, soups, stews, and health products, though it is primarily grown as animal fodder and as a source of malt for alcoholic beverages, especially beer.
Hordeum vulgare is an annual grass featuring erect stems with few, alternate leaves. Barley comes in two varieties, distinguished by the number of rows of flowers on its flower spike. Six-row barley has its spike notched on opposite sides, with three spikelets at each notch, each containing a small individual flower, or floret, that develops a kernel. Two-row barley has central florets that produce kernels and lateral florets that are normally sterile. Whereas six-row barley has a higher protein content and is more suited for animal feed, two-row barley has a higher sugar content and is thus more commonly used for malt production.
One of the first cultivated grains of the Fertile Crescent, barley was domesticated about 8000 bce from its wild progenitor Hordeum spontaneum. Archaeological evidence dates barley cultivation to 5000 bce in Egypt, 2350 bce in Mesopotamia, 3000 bce in northwestern Europe, and 1500 bce in China. Barley was the chief bread plant of the Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans and of much of Europe through the 16th century. Genetic studies suggest that Tibet was an additional, independent centre of domestication for cultivated barley.
" height="20" alt="HEW Logo">
Barley is adaptable to a greater range of climate than any other cereal, with varieties suited to temperate, subarctic, or subtropical areas. Although it does best in growing seasons of at least 90 days, it is able to grow and ripen in a shorter time than any other cereal. Cultivation is possible even in very short seasons such as those of the Himalayan slopes, although the yield there is smaller than in less harsh areas. Barley, with greater resistance to dry heat than other small grains, thrives in the near-desert areas of North Africa, where it is mainly sown in the autumn. Spring-sown crops are especially successful in the cooler, moist areas of western Europe and North America.
Barley has a nutlike flavour and is high in carbohydrates, with moderate quantities of protein, calcium, and phosphorus and small amounts of the B vitamins. Because it contains little gluten, an elastic protein substance, it cannot be used to make a flour that will produce a porous loaf of bread. Barley flour is used to make an unleavened type, or flatbread, and to make porridge, especially in North Africa and parts of Asia, where it is a staple food grain. Pearl barley, the most popular form in many parts of the world, consists of whole kernels from which the outer husk and part of the bran layer have been removed by a polishing process. It is added to soups. Barley has a soft straw, used mostly as bedding for livestock and as a feed providing bulk roughage.