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Barley

What is the difference between hulled and pearled barley?

Hulled barley loses the tough inedible hull but keeps most bran; pearled barley is polished further and is not classified as a whole grain.

Barley kernels and mature awned seed heads
Hulled and pearled barley differ by how much of the bran layer is removed.

The short answer

Hulled or hull-less barley generally retains the bran, germ and endosperm that define a whole grain. Pearling removes some or all of the bran, shortens cooking time and changes texture and fiber context. Both still contain gluten, and product-specific nutrition should come from the label or a matching food-composition record.

Sources

  1. Types of BarleyWhole Grains Council
  2. FoodData Central: Barley, pearled, cookedUSDA