How to cook a barley so as not to be sad over a saucepan?

Pearl barley ("shrapnel", "memories of the army") with improper cooking causes a lot of grief, both from the side of the consumer, and from the "author" of this porridge. And in fact in due time perlovka was favorite porridge of Peter the Great. Now it is sometimes added to the first dishes, for example, in rassolniki, just as a thickener, and very rarely used as an independent dish. The hostesses lost their knowledge of how to properly cook the pearl barley, forgot how long it takes to cook the barley, how to dress it and with what product to use.

Like beans, the pearl bar requires attention and care (and who does not require it!). If you cook it according to all the rules, then this croup - a source of protein and gluten - is like a delicacy, where all the grains are brewed, and not like hard-to-chew rubber bullets.

But still: how to cook a pearl barley? There are some forgotten secrets!

First, the pearl barley must be soaked in advance. Pearl barley, which stays in water for up to 12 hours, then cooks much faster and more beautifully, as far as the term "beautifully" applies to pearl barley. 1 liter of cold water per glass of pearl barley and 10-12 hours of rest. This is an old Karelian secret, forgotten today.

Before cooking, the water is drained. Milk - 2 liters - warm up to about 40 °. We pour the pearl bar into the hot milk, cover the pan with a lid and put it on a water bath, that is, into another pan with water, bigger. In such conditions, the pearl barrel does not stick, the milk does not boil away, the porridge does not burn, the landlady is free, because the cooking porridge does not require additional supervision. The main thing is to make sure that the liquid does not boil out completely in the pot with water.

Ideally, this procedure should last as long as 6 hours. This time can be easily spent on household chores, hobbies, reading, games, a light sleep of the day off.

But after the specified time, when the color of the porridge becomes light beige, like melted milk, pearl barley is removed from the fire, add butter and cream (if there is, but without them not bad), leave a "rest" for 10 minutes and eat ... Porridge in the process of such cooking becomes tender, homogeneous, melts in the mouth! This is a real dish, no garnish of incomprehensible cyanotic shades. It is incredibly increased in volumes, since the digestion of grains is correct. Perlovka, cooked in this way, is good for feeding those whose work is associated with high physical loads. It has the ability to remove accumulated fatigue, giving the body a powerful protein charge.

There are variations of the old recipe, in their own way answering the question, how to cook a pearl barley.

It is good to soak the pearl barley not in water, but in curdled milk. You can soak the croup not 10-12 hours, and hours 2-3. Then boil, pour into a colander, rinse and again throw in boiling water, while adding spices (up to the notorious cube) and cook on a low heat for 1.5 hours.

And what options for refills are offered for pearl barley! Here is the Lithuanian "Glass porridge". How to cook a pearl barley - the choice is for the mistress. And then in the frying pan, heat the vegetable oil (or cook the cracklings), fry the onion (half rings) and one potato raw, grated, then add the cooked soft pearl bar, turn off the fire, cover and leave for 20 minutes, without forgetting the spices for Taste. While the pearl bar is insisted, prepare a salad of fresh tomato and cucumbers, yes with onions, large salt and vegetable oil. Wonderful will go!

How to cook a pearl barley, we have already found out. And as another recommended filling, mushrooms are perfect:

Fried with onions, seasoned with sour cream and damped until cooked, add the mushrooms in pearl gruel and warm slightly with a tiny fire. Then spread out on plates and go!

That's when the opinion of the pearl barrel will change, as a nasty shrapnel or incomprehensible paste, and there will be no question: why did Peter the First respect and appreciate the pearl barley? ..