Pearled Barley vs Rice

With all the different types of rice and barley available, it can be a little daunting trying to figure out which to add to your diet. Generally, people are more familiar with white rice and brown rice than with barley. Including barley in your diet can have a positive impact on your health.

What Does Pearled Mean

Pearl barley is barley that has undergone a process called pearled or polished. During this process, some or all of the outer bran layer and the hull are removed. Following this process, barley remains a highly nutritious food. Most of the barley you see on store shelves is pearled barley.

Comparisons

There are many benefits to including high-fiber foods in your diet. Fiber is beneficial to a weight-loss diet and digestive health. Pearl barley has more fiber and fewer calories than white long grain rice or long grain brown rice. It is also a good source of iron, potassium, and protein. Long grain brown rice has more folate and vitamin E than barley. Brown rice has less carbohydrates than barley.

When compared to short or long grain rice, pearled barley has more riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, calcium, iron, and potassium. White rice has more folate, fewer carbohydrates, and fewer calories.

Cooking with Pearled Barley and Rice

Many of the dishes you usually prepare with rice can be made with pearl barley. However, there are some adjustments that you’ll need to make. It takes longer to cook barley than rice. Soaking barley, as you would legumes, for a least 4 hours before cooking will shorten the cooking time. However, even when soaked, it requires more cooking time than short or long grain brown rice. To cook it on the stove top requires about 30 minutes of cooking time after the barley has been added to boiling water. To make cooking time a little shorter, barley can also be cooked in an instant pot or rice cooker. Barley is a great addition to soups and stews. It will absorb the flavor of the broth as it cooks.