IngredientsFlour & grain
Gerstengraupenpearl barley
Barley, Hordeum vulgare, is hulled and polished until the grains are round and pale.
They go into barley soup, into barley stew with root vegetables, and into dishes meant to feed people on little meat.
Im Topfin the pot
As they cook, starch leaves the grain and the broth turns creamy on its own, no roux involved.
They need time, roughly half an hour to forty five minutes, and they drink a lot of liquid. Start with more stock than you think.
In Mexikoin Mexico
Cebada perlada. It is around, but not in every shop.
Tiendas naturistas, City Market and Mercado Libre are the best bet.
Ersatzwhat to use
Risotto rice binds the same way, because it also gives off starch. The stew turns creamy, the taste is different.
You lose the nutty, faintly malty note of barley, and the grains stay softer instead of firm.