What's the Difference? Hulled vs. Pearl Barley

If a recipe calls for barley, should you use hulled or pearl? Can you substitute one for the other? What's the difference?

Hulled barley, also known as barley groats, is the whole grain form of barley, with only the outermost hull removed. Chewy and rich in fiber, it's the healthiest kind of barley. However, it takes longer to cook than pearl barley, about an hour or more.

Pearl barley is the most common form of barley. It's still chewy and nutritious, but less so than hulled barley because the outer husk and bran layers have been removed. The polished grains are also softer and take less time to cook, about 40 minutes.

Most recipes call for pearl barley or intend for cooks to use this type even if they don't specify. However, it is usually fine to substitute hulled barley. Just be aware that you may need to adjust the recipe cooking time.

Here are a few recipes from the Kitchn archives:

• Golden Beet and Barley Salad with Rainbow Chard
• Lemon Barley Water
• Roasted Beet Salad with Barley, Feta, and Red Onion
• Yogurt Barley Soup

(Image: Emily Ho)

Comments (4)

Hmm, most of my recipes specify "pot" barley or pearl barley - would pot barley be the same as hulled barley?

I would be careful substituting hulled barley for pearled. My roommate and I used to make a dish using hulled barley that we jokingly called 'seeds'. Despite cooking the barley for over two hours, the hulled barley still had a crunchy texture when eaten that resembled eating a bowl of seeds. We enjoyed it, and it was excellent for our digestive tracks, but I doubt most people intend to cook up a bowl of seeds. I've read some things online that recommend soaking it.

I keep reading this as "Pearl Bailey".

@tariqata Pot barley falls between hulled and pearl barley in terms of how much it has been processed.