Ancient doctor barley - nourishes, heals, prolongs life. How to Grow Barley at Home Barley Biology Post

It is considered the oldest grain crop that is known to mankind - references to its cultivation date back to the historical times of the ancient world. For example, traces of this cereal have been found in Egyptian burials dating back to five thousand years BC. Barley was familiar to the ancient Ethiopians, who used it not only as a source of food, but also as a raw material for intoxicating drinks. This cereal was also grown in the Babylonian lands, on the territory of India, Asia, China, it was the most important culture of Ancient Rome. There is evidence that in the territory where Switzerland is now located, barley was known as early as the Stone Age.

The current sown area of ​​barley ranks fourth in the world, second only to wheat, corn and rice. This cereal owes its great popularity in agriculture to its short vegetative period, due to which it has time to ripen in fairly cold areas. Therefore, barley crops can be found even high in the mountains and far in the expanses of the northern regions. This culture is resistant to frost, withstands droughts and is undemanding to the composition of the soil.

Barley is used in a variety of industries. The bulk of the harvested grain turns into groats (for example, ordinary barley groats are made from barley). Barley flour serves as an additive in baking many types of bread. Bread is not baked entirely from barley flour - it crumbles a lot and stale too quickly. Barley flour is also used to produce a coffee substitute that does not contain caffeine.

A significant amount of grain goes to the production of raw materials for breweries - at the same time, grain is germinated to obtain malt. Also, barley grain serves as a raw material in the production of food grain alcohol (in the manufacture of such well-known alcoholic beverages as Scotch whiskey and English gin).

In addition to being used in the food industry, barley serves as the basis for the production of feed. Unpeeled barley grain is added to feed for pigs and horses, as it surpasses even oats in nutritional value. Barley straw is also used as food for livestock. Sometimes, to obtain green fodder, barley is specially sown.

How to select and store barley products

When choosing barley products in a store, it makes sense to pay attention to barley groats. Indeed, in its production, unlike pearl barley, grinding and polishing technologies are not used, which has a positive effect on the preservation of nutrients and fiber. If you choose cereals in transparent packaging when buying, you can evaluate the quality of processing and the absence of impurities. The presence of moisture droplets inside a bag of pearl barley or barley groats is highly undesirable; pathogenic microorganisms quickly develop on wet groats (you can even get poisoned with such a product).

Barley porridge, being packed in polyethylene, is stored for a short time and becomes rancid. Cardboard containers should be preferred, in which the product will retain quality throughout the entire shelf life, which is from six to twelve months. The freshness of pearl barley can also be determined by the presence of a smell: the old pearl barley either does not have it at all, or it is musty.

Barley groats, depending on the degree of grinding, are divided into numbers from one to three; stores usually sell a mixture of all numbers. This cereal retains its useful properties throughout the entire shelf life (up to fifteen months). For long-term storage, it is better to pour it into a tightly closed container and keep it in a dark, dry place. Periodically, the groats are sorted out, checking to see if bugs have wound up in it.

barley calories

The calorie content of barley in the form of food grains is 288 kilocalories. After processing and turning into barley groats, the calorie content increases to 313 kcal. You can reduce the energy value of barley groats if you cook it together with other products. For example, barley porridge with potatoes “gives out” only 150 kcal, and cabbage soup with it is reduced in calories already up to 48 kcal.

Pearl barley is somewhat more nutritious - its calorie content is 320 kcal. Being boiled in water, barley porridge retains only 109 kcal, which is already a sufficient indicator for dietary food, while barley soup contains only 43 kcal per hundred grams. Excessive use of dairy products and butter in cereals from barley can, of course, significantly increase the calorie content of final dishes and reduce their dietary properties.

Nutritional value per 100 grams:

Useful properties of barley groats

Composition and presence of nutrients

Barley is a real storehouse of vitamins, macro and microelements. It contains a high content of fiber. And also, it contains vitamins of group B, PP, E, H, choline, phosphorus, chlorine, sulfur, potassium, sodium, calcium, potassium. The cereal contains iron, iodine and zinc, copper, selenium and molybdenum, silicon and manganese, chromium and fluorine, aluminum, titanium and zirconium.

Useful and medicinal properties

The inclusion of barley cereals and soups in the diet is recommended for those who are overweight. In this case, the fiber contained in it becomes a particularly useful element, which serves as an intestinal irritant and is practically not absorbed, increasing peristalsis.

In acute inflammatory bowel diseases, a mucous decoction of barley or barley groats (especially coarsely ground) is extremely useful. The positive effect of the barley diet is noticeable with eczema, psoriasis, pyoderma.

A decoction of barley flour will help with a cold. For skin diseases, a bath with a grain decoction is used. Barley skin is known for its diuretic properties.

In fevers, barley water has a cooling and moisturizing effect. It is used both in pure form and with fennel and parsley.

Hot barley ointment will help get rid of freckles. Gout will recede if you prepare a healing bandage of barley, vinegar and quince. Barley malt improves metabolism, helps get rid of boils and acne.

In diabetes, malt extract is useful.

Barley is also used in cosmetology in the production of shampoos, balms, creams.

Application in cooking

In addition to preparing porridges from barley or pearl barley, there are a lot of recipes and variations, barley groats are used in cooking soups, fish soup, and preparing a side dish. There are some features that should be considered when using barley groats.

Family Cereals - Gramineae.

Botanical description. Common barley is an annual herbaceous plant with upright knotty stems and an inflorescence in the form of a four or six-sided spike.

From the history of the plant. Barley is the oldest cultivated grain crop. It was known to the peoples of Transcaucasia and the western spurs of the Himalayas in prehistoric times. There are numerous data that speak of the use of barley by the ancient Jews, Greeks, Romans, Armenians, Chinese and other peoples. Ancient historical data, as well as studies of pre-Egyptian mummies from the Nigadi region, testify to the cultivation of barley in Egypt for 4-5 thousand years BC. e. The Greek geographer Strabo in his writings indicates that the Ethiopians who lived south of Egypt ate barley and prepared a special intoxicating drink from it. On the territory of ancient Babylon, barley was cultivated for 3100 years BC. e., which is confirmed by the discovery of written acts on the barley of King Engegal of Lagas, in which barley was called “se” or “se bar” in ancient Babylonian. In Assyrian ancient monuments for 2200 BC. e. mention of barley. In India, we find information about barley for 2000 BC. e. It is also considered the oldest cultivated plant in East Asia and China. It was one of the five plants that a Chinese peasant planted every year since 2000 BC. A large number of historical literary sources confirm that in ancient times barley was also grown along with wheat. Mentions of barley have been found in the monuments found in Asia Minor, among the Indians in Hindustan, among the Romans of the Ancient Roman Empire, among the ancient Greeks and Armenians. According to Pliny, in ancient Italy, barley was one of the oldest foodstuffs of the population of the whole country. Barley grains were found in the study of piled buildings, some of which belong to the Stone Age, and others to the Bronze Age. The image of ears of corn on ancient Italian coins was from 600 BC. e. The ancient Romans actively spread barley to the north - to Switzerland, France, Belgium, England, Germany. There is evidence that barley was cultivated in Switzerland at the time of the existence of piled buildings, that is, in the Stone Age. Barley is mentioned in Homer's "Odyssey" and in the main guide "Jud-Shi" on the medical science of Tibet. Barley in Japan is an important food product for the peasant population, while rice is the daily food of the urban population and the wealthy sections of the countryside. According to the conclusions of Japanese scientists, Japanese barley is of high quality, and therefore suitable for brewing. The peoples who inhabited the territory of the republics of Central Asia, barley was known for 3000 years BC. e. From the monuments of ancient Russian literature, it is known that barley was known in Russia at the end of the 10th century. In their writings, Herodotus, Virgil and Tacitus (76-39 BC) note that the Scythians, who lived in the regions of modern Ukraine, the North Caucasus and Kazakhstan, used a drink made from barley. At present, barley is one of the most important cereals of cereal plants in general and, in particular, the most important product of the field farms of Russia, Ukraine and other former republics of the Soviet Union. In America, barley is a new crop brought by settlers in the 14th century from Europe.

active ingredients. Barley grains contain about 40% starch, 10% protein, 10% dextrin, 30% fiber, enzyme (pentase), mineral salts, vitamins A, B, D and E.

Application. Substances that are detrimental to bacteria, mainly gram-positive microbes, have been found in barley grain. In one of the Russian herbalists you can read the following about the healing properties of barley grain and products prepared from it: “Barley decoction is useful in severe bile diseases. It increases the milk of wet nurses, especially if you put a little dill in it; very good in consumption, because it is nutritious, easily boiled in the stomach and does not produce winds in the stomach. Barley decoction cools, softens, cleanses and opens the way. Particularly useful for sore throat A decoction of pearl barley softens, promotes sleep, expels a lot of sputum. Barley coffee is very nutritious, tasty and so healthy for the chest that many people have been cured of consumption by it alone, without resorting to any other medicines.

Orjad drink is prepared from barley. In addition to its excellent pleasantness, it is still very healthy, having cooling and emollient properties ... excellent in case of inflammation in the chest and chronic cough ... The malt drink is drunk with hemorrhoids, scrofula, cough, kidney stone disease ... This bread has several astringent property and therefore good for diarrhea. A decoction of barley and pearl barley has emollient and enveloping properties, is used for inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, severe cough, as a tonic after serious illnesses. Prepare a slimy decoction as follows:
20 g of seeds are infused in 1 glass of water for 4-5 hours, then boiled for 10 minutes and filtered. Use 1 tbsp. spoon 5-6 times a day.

Barley malt is used for medicinal purposes. To obtain it, the seeds are placed in suitable conditions for germination and, when they germinate, they are dried. An aqueous infusion of barley malt (2-3 tablespoons of flour per 1 liter of boiling water), sweetened with syrup or sugar, is drunk 0.5 cups up to 5-6 times a day as an anti-inflammatory, emollient drink for coughs, bronchitis, gastrointestinal diseases, hemorrhoids, as well as in diseases of the kidneys and urinary tract.

Barley malt is a good remedy and has a beneficial effect on the overall metabolism (for skin rashes, furunculosis, etc.). In order to reduce inflammation in case of extensive skin lesions, baths are prepared from barley malt. For children, take 0.5 kg of malt, for adults - 2-3 times more. Malt for 30 min. insist in 2-3 liters of boiling water, filter and add to the bath.

Malt root extract is an extract (malt extract) prepared in a special way from dried barley sprouts. It contains about 10% dextrin, 5% protein, vitamins and active diastase. It lowers blood sugar somewhat. It is a good way to feed young children: it is added to milk. For feeding infants, use a strained decoction of barley groats (1 teaspoon per 1 glass of water). At one time, a method was developed for obtaining an antibiotic from barley - Gordocin. According to the literature data, alcoholic extracts from barley seeds containing flavones actively inhibit the mitotic activity (i.e., nuclear division) of cells. Various fractions from seeds were separated by chromatography. One of the fractions (named phytocytostaticum) showed a strong lytic effect on tumor cells. Animal studies have shown that the drug significantly inhibited the growth and development of grafted tumors, and at a therapeutic dose did not cause any toxic effects (L. T. Dudchenko, V. V. Krivenko, 1988).

Common barley (Hordeum vulgare) is one of the most ancient cereal crops. According to historical data, this grain crop was widely used as far back as 3100 BC. The plant was used for medicinal purposes by the Chinese, Greeks and Romans. The grains of the plant were discovered during archaeological excavations in the Severyansky and Polyansky burial grounds. Barley has been used to treat various pathologies.

Today, the plant is used both in alternative medicine, and in cosmetology and cooking. It is known about the diuretic, expectorant, anti-inflammatory and restorative effects of barley. The plant, or rather preparations from it, is also valued in veterinary medicine. Cereal medicines treat vomiting and constipation in pets. The grain crop is also used in cosmetology. Barley is found in various face masks, as well as creams and lotions.

Description: Barley is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Barley and the Cereal family, reaching a height of fifty or more centimeters. The stalks are equipped with well-developed nodes and hollow internodes, flat alternate leaves. Flowering occurs at the beginning of the summer period, and the fruits - grains ripen by the end of the summer period.

barley wild

It is a plant grown for food and cultural purposes. This cereal crop is cultivated in Ukraine, Russia, USA, Asia, Belarus, Canada. In the wild, as in the photo, it is practically not found. Single stems may grow on mounds, along roadsides, or in crops.

Several recommendations regarding the collection and procurement of medicinal raw materials. For the manufacture of funds use the fruits of barley. They are also raw materials for the manufacture of cereals and flour. The grains are harvested as they ripen. Then they are threshed, dried on the street, in the shade or in a room with sufficient ventilation. Harvested raw materials are poured into bags and stored in a dry place.

Composition and useful properties

The plant is not in vain widely used in various fields: medicine, cooking, cosmetology, veterinary medicine. Barley contains a considerable amount of nutrients and nutrients:

• ash;
• carbohydrates;
• fats;
• proteins;
• fiber;
• vitamins: B, E, A, K, D;
• enzymes;
• fatty oils;
• ascorbic acid;
• micro and macro elements: iron, copper, zinc, manganese, calcium, bromine, selenium;
• starch;
• mineral salts;
• amino acids.

Medicines from the plant in question have: choleretic, wound healing, tonic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, tonic, immunostimulating, enveloping, sedative effects.

sowing barley

Compositions from barley grains contribute to:

• removal of harmful cholesterol from the body;
• normalization of metabolic processes;
• removal of toxins and toxic substances from the body;
• elimination of spasms;
• normalization of the functioning of the central nervous system;
• therapy of diabetes, constipation, hemorrhoids, furunculosis, cough, colds, cystitis, nephritis, scrofula, diarrhea, pathologies of the upper respiratory tract and inflammation of the oral cavity.

Barley extract in cosmetology

The plant is very beneficial for skin and hair. The extract has a moisturizing, anti-inflammatory and rejuvenating effect and helps nourish the dermis with essential nutrients.

Cosmetic products based on barley extract are suitable for all skin types. They will help in moisturizing, regenerating and. The extract is also used in dermatology.

Baths with this drug will help minimize inflammation, eliminate rashes, furunculosis, eczema. The extract of the plant in question is an important component of various skin and hair care products: masks, gels, creams, lotions.

The sources of the extract are grains and sprouts of the plant. To obtain the product, environmentally friendly raw materials are used, which go through several stages of processing: grinding, extraction, dehydration, removal of moisture, drying. To extract the extract, a low-temperature technology is used, which makes it possible to preserve all the useful substances of the plant.

Liquid extract - a solution with a characteristic aroma and color (it is he who gives the cosmetic formulations a light green or light green color). You can find an extract from barley sprouts in the form of a fine powder. This tool has a rich green color.

Soldier's barley porridge

Recipes for effective drugs

Barley is a very useful and nutritious plant. However, it is possible to use formulations based on it with the knowledge of a doctor. It is not recommended to replace medicines prescribed by a specialist with barley medicines. Be vigilant and remember that non-official medicine can only be used as adjuvant therapy.

1. Preparation of an agent that improves appetite. Mix barley malt - 100 grams with magnesium carbonate - 50 grams and medicinal yeast - 70 grams. Combine the resulting mass with granulated sugar - 250 g. Mix the composition thoroughly and use a spoonful of the drug every day.

2. : application of tincture. Pour the crushed spikelets of the plant in the amount of 30 grams of vodka - one glass. Store tightly closed container in a cool place for a week. Use a filtered mouthwash twice a day.

3. Preparation of antihelminthic composition. Mix in equal proportions ground barley seeds with crushed pumpkin seeds. Pour thirty grams of the composition with high-quality vodka - 200 ml. Infuse the remedy in a warm place for a week. Take 50 ml of the filtered drug twice a day before meals: in the morning and in the evening. Children need to be given medicine only in the morning.

4. Infusion for the treatment of bladder pathologies. Steam twenty grams of barley flour in boiled water - a liter. It is necessary to infuse the composition for three hours, preferably in a thermos. Use 100 ml of strained infusion four times a day. You can add some sugar if you like.

5. Scrofula, hemorrhoids: treatment with jelly. Boil malt jelly of medium density and consume it 100 g three times a day.

6. Diarrhea, gastrointestinal pathology: mucus therapy. Pour 15 grams of barley grains with boiling water - half a glass. Put the container in heat for five hours. Then place the container on the stove and boil the composition over low heat for a quarter of an hour. Refrigerate and take a spoon three times a day.

7. Cough: application of healing infusion. Mix equal proportions of barley grains with oat and rye grains. Grind the raw materials to a powdery consistency, and then combine with chicory and almonds. Brew the mass with boiled water. Use two tablespoons of the composition three times a day.

Contraindications

Despite the usefulness of the plant, there are still contraindications to the use of drugs based on it. It is not recommended to take compositions from barley in the presence of individual intolerance, gastric and duodenal ulcers, cholecystitis.

In addition, do not forget that taking barley broth along with honey can provoke a decrease in sexual desire.

Common barley (lat. Hordéum vulgáre) is a herbaceous plant, a species of the genus Barley (Hordeum) of the Grass family (Poaceae).

An important agricultural crop, one of the oldest cultivated plants in the history of mankind (the plant began to be cultivated about 10 thousand years ago).

Barley grain is widely used for food, technical and fodder purposes, including in the brewing industry, in the production of pearl barley and barley groats.

Barley is one of the most valuable concentrated animal feed, as it contains a complete protein, rich in starch.

In Russia, up to 70% of barley is used for fodder purposes.

Botanical description

Botanical illustration from O. V. Tome's book "Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz", 1885

This is an annual plant with a height of 30-60 cm, in cultivated varieties - up to 90 cm. The stems are straight, glabrous.

Leaves up to 30 cm long and 2-3 cm wide, flat, smooth, with ears at the base of the plate.

Forms an ear with an awn about 10 cm long; each spikelet is single-flowered. Ears are four- or six-sided, up to 1.5 cm wide, with a flexible axis that does not break up into segments. Spikelets are collected in groups of three; all spikelets are fertile, sessile. Spikelet scales are linear-subulate, drawn into a thin awn, usually exceeding them in length. The lower lemma is ovate-lanceolate. Common barley is a self-pollinating plant, but cross-pollination is possible. Blooms in June - July.

The fruit is a grain. Fruiting in July - August.

Distribution and ecology

Wild barley grows from North Africa to Tibet.

Cultivated barley often runs wild near the places of crops, often found as a randomly grown plant near roads, on embankments.

Story

Barley belongs to the oldest cultivated plants. Like wheat, it was cultivated during the Neolithic Revolution in the Middle East more than 10,000 years ago. Wild barley is distributed over a wide area from Crete and North Africa in the west to the Tibetan mountains in the east.

In Palestine, barley was eaten no later than 17,000 years ago. The ancient Jews sowed it at the end of autumn, the harvest of barley began earlier than the harvest of wheat, on the second day of unleavened bread, that is, on the 16th day of the month of Nisan.
The peoples neighboring the Jews were also engaged in the processing of barley in significant quantities. The king of the sons of Ammon paid tribute to Jotham, the king of Judah, for three years, and annually sent ten thousand cows of barley to Judea, that is, more than eight thousand and a half quarters. Barley flour was one of the sacrificial items.
Barley bread was tough and heavy and considered less nutritious than wheat bread, but healthier, and was the common food of the common people. Under King Solomon, a lot of barley was sent abroad.
King Solomon sent woodcutters working on the construction of a temple in Lebanon for food: "... twenty thousand cows of wheat, and twenty thousand cows of barley ...". Barley was also used to feed horses and mules. In times of need, barley was sold at a very high price.

The oldest samples of cultivated barley were found in Syria and belong to one of the oldest Neolithic cultures of the pre-ceramic period. It is also found in ancient Egyptian tombs and in the remains of lake pile structures (that is, in the Stone and Bronze periods). Barley spread to Europe from Asia Minor in the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e.
According to many historical monuments, one can judge the wide distribution of barley in remote times. In particular, it appeared on the Korean Peninsula no later than 1500-850 BC. e. It is possible that barley was introduced into cultivation in different areas independently.
In Central Europe, the culture of barley already in the Middle Ages became universal. In the countries of America, barley is a relatively new crop, which was brought by settlers from Europe in the 16th-18th centuries. Barley could penetrate Russia from Asia through Siberia or the Caucasus and has long been of great importance as a food product for those areas where the cultivation of other grains was impossible or difficult.

Botanical illustration from O. V. Tome's book "Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz", 1885

Barley ordinary in culture

The growing season, depending on the variety, is 60-110 days. In cultivation, barley is less whimsical than other cereals. Seeds can germinate at temperatures from +1 to +3 °C, and ripen at +18 °C. Early maturing varieties are grown far in the north and high in the mountains (up to 4500 m).

Winter barley is a younger crop than spring barley (approximately 2000 years old). In many countries, there is a transition to the cultivation of winter barley. Almost completely, Romania and Bulgaria switched to autumn sowing, more than half of the areas in Germany and France, a lot of winter barley is sown in Hungary and Poland. In general, winter barley accounts for about 10% of world crop production.

In Russia, barley has long been of great importance as a food product for those areas where the culture of other breads is impossible. At the beginning of the 20th century, among all plants cultivated in the Russian Empire, barley occupied the fourth place in terms of area (slightly more than 4.5 million acres, or 7.1% of the total sown area), yielding in terms of space occupied by rye by five, oats by three, and wheat more than twice.
In the spring wedge, it occupied the second (the first - oats) place, surpassing buckwheat, millet, corn and other cultivated plants in terms of sowing area, and in general it was sown in larger quantities on peasant lands than on landlord lands.
The crops of barley, however, were far from uniform in individual areas of Russia. It occupied the largest (10-20%) area in relation to other grains in the north (more than 54% of all sown land), where it displaced other plants and was in the full sense of bread for the population (it was called there, like rye in the south, life).
The northwest, and especially the west, produced the best brews. In the south, it was cultivated for livestock feed and for export. In the central and eastern provinces of the Russian Empire, barley was rarely cultivated, in particular, it was least common in the provinces of Penza and Ryazan (less than 0.1% of the area).

Chemical composition of grain

Mature grains contain up to 15.8% proteins, 76% carbohydrates, 3-5% fats, 9.6% fiber, enzymes, vitamins B, D, E, A.

Economic importance and application

Common barley is one of the most important cultivated plants. Of all cereals, it goes farthest to the north (in the Arkhangelsk province of the Russian Empire it was the dominant "bread").

Barley grain is used for the preparation of flour, cereal products (barley and barley groats), for livestock feed. Barley is used in the production of beer and kvass, in the manufacture of coffee surrogates. Barley is also used for the production of various whiskeys, for medical and cosmetic purposes.

Barley is not consumed directly by humans, but turns mostly into cereals, the best variety of which is called pearl barley. Barley is rarely ground into flour for baking purposes, as it does not give a porous dough that could be completely baked. In some areas of Finland, bread ("rieska") is made from barley alone, and it is baked on birch bark. Usually, when baking, if barley flour is used, rye or wheat is mixed with it.

Barley beer was perhaps the oldest drink of Neolithic man. Later it was used instead of currency for settlements with employees. As a brewing material, barley is highly valued and almost indispensable.

In ancient Egypt, not only beer was prepared from barley, but also bread. The Egyptians called barley jt (pronunciation probably yit) or šma ​​(shema). In the latter version, barley was also a symbol of Upper Egypt. The Sumerians called barley akiti. In the book of Deuteronomy, barley is listed among the seven fruits of the promised land, and the Book of Numbers describes the barley offerings of the Israelites.

In ancient Greece, barley was used in the sacred rites of the Eleusinian mysteries. The goddess Demeter also had the name or title of the mother of barley. Pliny the Elder described the recipe for barley porridge in his Natural History.
In Tibet, barley flour, tsampa, came into use no later than the 5th century BC. BC e .. In ancient Rome, gladiators were called hordearii (lat. hordearii) - “barley eaters”, or “barley eaters”, or “barley men”, because barley, which contributed to the rapid gain in muscle mass, was one of the main parts of their daily food . In medieval Europe, bread made from rye and barley was the food of the peasants, while wheat bread was consumed only by the upper classes. It was not until the 19th century that potatoes gradually replaced barley.

As fodder for livestock, barley is mainly used in the southern regions and in this respect is of great economic importance. In Central Asia, in Eastern Transcaucasia, Arabia and many other places, fodder barley as food for horses everywhere replaces oats, which burn out there in hot summers, and on this food the Arabian and the Karabakh horse close to it were created and hardy Asian steppe horses live.
Straw and chaff of barley also serve as fodder, and the chaff is mainly steamed or scalded to prevent various animal diseases (mainly colic) from rough barley awns; they even advise not to use it for food at all, but to leave it to overheat in compost heaps.

In modern Russia, barley is sown everywhere in the areas of agriculture.

In Siberia, roasted and ground into flour barley, called pusher, was consumed with tea. To do this, a layer of tolkana was poured onto the bottom of the cup, pressed down with a finger to the bottom and salted, then tea was poured; sometimes they added another piece of cow's butter. Once put pusher went to a few cups of tea, and then eaten.

For therapeutic purposes, common barley has long been used in folk medicine. Malt extract is used for bronchitis and for feeding young children. It is drunk with metabolic disorders, expressed in the appearance of skin rashes, boils, etc.

cultural significance

According to the Sunnah, the Prophet Muhammad believed that at-talbin or talbina - a stew made from barley flour with milk or honey - "calms the heart of the sick person and takes away part of (his) sadness." Avicenna, in his 11th-century work The Canon of Medicine, wrote about the healing effect of barley water, soup and broth for fever. Roasted barley tea is still popular in Asia today.

In English folklore, John Barleycorn from the folk song of the same name is the personification of barley, as well as the beer and whiskey made from it. In the song, John is presented as suffering humiliation, assault, and eventually death, corresponding to the various stages of barley cultivation. The image of John Barleycorn may be associated with the ancient gods of Norse mythology Mimir or Kvasir.

Application

Decoction:

1) 2 tbsp. l. barley groats are boiled in 400 ml of water. Take 2 times a day as a general tonic after serious illnesses, with gastrointestinal and pulmonary diseases;

2) 1 tsp barley groats are boiled in 200 ml of boiling water, filtered after cooling.

Used for feeding infants, adding a decoction to whole milk. For feeding a child aged 1-2 months, 3 parts of barley broth are taken for 1 part of whole milk. The amount of decoction is reduced with increasing age of the child. Feed with decoction until 8-9 months of age.

Infusion:

2 tbsp. l. flour from sprouted grains of barley (barley malt) for 1 liter of boiling water insist 4 hours, filter, add sugar to taste. Take 100 ml 4-6 times a day for hemorrhoids, diathesis, cough, gastric diseases, kidney stones, and especially for diseases of the bladder and urinary tract. The infusion has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.

Bath:

1-1.5 kg of barley malt is wrapped in cheesecloth, put in a bath, pour 2-3 liters of boiling water, leave for 30 minutes and add the required amount of water. (For children's baths take 0.5 kg of malt.)

Used as an emollient in inflammatory processes on the skin.

Poultices of barley malt and barley flour are used for breasts, hardened tumors and external inflammatory processes.