Processing Barley

Barley grows from a seed to a ripe plant almost a metre tall. Products can be made from different parts of the barley plant:



The kernel or grain is used for flour, flakes, bran, pot and pearl barley and livestock feed.

The stem or straw is used for livestock bedding, building materials and paper.

The whole plant is used for silage (cattle feed).

Barley grain may be milled to produce barley flour, flakes and bran. In milling, the seed kernel is crushed and the outer part of the kernel (bran) is removed from the inner part (endosperm), food is stored to nourish a new plant. The endosperm is then ground into flour.

Barley grain can be polished, or pearled, to create pot and pearl barley. The polishing removes the inedible hull from the kernel. Pearl barley is a bit smaller than pot barley because it is polished more.

To improve its digestibility, barley grain is cracked or rolled for cattle feed and ground to make feed for hogs and chickens.

Barley straw is the dried stems of the barley plant after the head that holds the grain kernels has been removed. Straw is often used as a soft, dry bed for livestock. It can also be made into building materials, paper, newsprint and fibreboard.

To make silage, the entire plant is cut down, piled, compacted, and then allowed to ferment. Fermentation preserves this highly nutritious feed for beef and dairy cattle.

Malting barley is used in making beer, flavourings and extracts. Only part of the malting barley planted each year has meets the quality needed to produce malted barley. Malted barley is made by soaking, germinating and drying the barley kernels. Although the kernels look the same on the outside, this process causes chemical changes inside. The malted barley can now be used to make malt extract, beer and flour.

Hulless barley does have a hull, but it is only weakly attached to the kernel and can be easily removed during harvesting. The hull is the inedible outer coating of the kernel that protects the seed like a jacket. Hulless barley is convenient and is becoming increasingly popular both for human nutrition and as feed for livestock.