Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
The all-purpose grain
|
Once a source of main meal, barley is considered for its medicinal value in modern times
|
What has disease to do with men who live upon barley bread and buttermilk?
-Ancient Persian saying.
BARLEY IS a grain with a heritage more ancient than rice or wheat. The crop may have originated in China or Ethiopia, but the oldest evidence for its cultivation is in Syria, dating back to 8000 BC. Barley bread, the staple food of ancient man, is a chunky, wholesome food, not quite as light and fluffy as the gluten-rich wheat bread that came later, but filling and nutritious all the same.
The Vedas describe barley as one of "the immortal sons of heaven". The Old Testament is full of references to this crop, as are the hieroglyphics of Egypt and the cuneiform writings of the Sumerians. According to Hammurabi, the Babylonians used the grain as a currency.
The range of dishes prepared with this grain over the ages and across the continents is truly astonishing. The Japanese, Koreans and Chinese are fond of barley tea, and the Scots, before they substituted oats for barley, once enjoyed "bannocks" — barley cakes served with jam. The Scots still enjoy barley pudding prepared with currants, sugar, cream and milk. The traditional English meal, Barley Bake, is made from barley, mutton and celery. Halfway across the world, the Tibetans love tsampa, a porridge made with the toasted grain.
These days, barley finds use mostly as cattle feed and as the source of beer. It is still an important food for the poor and the nomadic tribes, but there is no doubt that barring its use as food for invalids and convalescents, it is not too favoured.
Hundred gm of the grain contains nearly 350 Calorie, with nearly 80 per cent of the calories in the form of carbohydrate. The high-energy content of the grain meant it was the chief fuel for the hard labour that built the pyramids of Egypt, and it explains why it was the food of choice for the gladiators of Rome. Barley is also rich in phosphorus, niacin, potassium, choline and pantothenic acid.
Barley water with honey is an ancient remedy for wheezing coughs. Other folk medicinal uses are as a cure for most infectious diseases, tumours, sores, warts and intestinal ailments.
RAJIV.M
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
|
