Naked barley is back - and now it's pearled too! Our new batch of naked barley is from a superb crop of the Oak Ruby variety, bred by Edward Dickin and grown by his father Jeremy Dickin at Oak Farm in Lincolnshire. For the first time we've had some pearled so it's quicker and easier to cook.
Long before we ate modern wheat, naked barley sustained us. Well suited to our climate, Bronze Age farmers would be very familiar with this nutritious, malty cereal. Unlike most barley, where the inedible husk is tightly stuck to the grain, the husks fall off the naked barley grain when it's harvested and threshed, leaving the tasty and nutritious wholegrain ready to use. Pearling removes some of the inner hull so the grain cooks more readily.
The grains can be cooked and eaten whole, or milled at home (we recommend using a Mockmill) for flavoursome and nutritious flour.
Our naked barley is grown by Jeremy Dickin in Lincolnshire.