Q - I love barley and wonder what if any difference there is between pot and pearl barley?

Bernadette Harris, Victoria

A - After barley is harvested, the processor removes the outer husk. The resulting product is known as whole, whole-grain or hulled barley. This type of barley has the bran intact, which is an excellent source of protein, fibre, B vitamins and other good things. That bran is also chewy, which is why whole barley requires long, slow cooking of an hour and a half or more to make it tender and palatable. You'll most often find it for sale at health food stores.

To speed up the cooking process and to make the barley less chewy once cooked, processors created two other forms. Pearl barley gets its name because the grain is polished to remove the tough bran portion and the germ. This process gives the grain a pearl-like finish, hence its name. Without the bran it is more tender to the bite and cooks much quicker, requiring only about 20 minutes of simmering. However, without the bran, it is not as nutritious as whole barley, but still contains important vitamins and minerals and is a good source of fibre. According to the nutritional information on my bag of Golden Chef brand pearl barley, half a cup of raw pearl barley (you'll want to cook it, of course) provides 64 per cent of the daily requirement.

Pot barley is similar to pearl barley in that the grain is polished to remove that tough bran, but the polishing is not as intense and a larger amount of the whole grain is left intact. This makes it a little more nutrient-rich than pearl barley. Pot barley requires about 25 to 30 minutes of simmering to make it tender and has a slightly more chewy texture than pearl barley when cooked.

Pearl and pot barley are what you most often see for sale in supermarkets and can be used interchangeably in most recipes. I tend to choose pot barley, as most of the dishes I use it in, such as soup, involve that 25 to 30 minutes of cooking time, and the grain seems to hold its shape and texture better even if overcooked.

Queries and comments

Despite being in the business for more than 30 years, I find one thing about food and cooking is that you never stop learning. I've been doing quite a bit of that when finding the answers to your questions each week. I also continue to learn once the column is published, when readers send followup questions or comments.

n With regard to my piece on oats, several readers informed me that not all types of steel-cut oats require overnight soaking before they are cooked, something you might need to do if the oats were coarsely cut. However, most brands of these oats are cut more thinly and will cook -- no soaking required -- into a nutritious bowl of oatmeal in about 20 minutes.

n With regard to my story on cocoa last week, reader Linda Michaluk commented that she believed that the widely available Fry's cocoa was Dutch-process (alkalized), while Hershey's brand was not. That was news to me because on a tin of Fry's cocoa powder it simply says premium cocoa powder; there's no mention of it being Dutch-process. So I called the 1-866 number on the tin and the woman on the line confirmed that Fry's was Dutch-process, which explains why on the list of ingredients cocoa powder and sodium carbonate, an alkali, appear.

According to Hershey's website, hersheys.com, it makes both natural and Dutch-process cocoa powder, and Michaluk said she has bought the former at Save-on-Foods. No matter what the brand, though, what Michaluk's note has taught me is that, when trying to determine if a cocoa powder is natural or Dutch-process, your best bet is to read the list of ingredients.

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Mustardy Lamb Chops on Barley Risotto

In this dish, tender lamb is set upon an earthy risotto made with barley, not the traditionally-used rice.

Preparation time:

20 minutes

Cooking time: About 45 minutes

Makes: 4 servings

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup pot barley

1 small onion, finely diced

1 small carrot, finely diced

1 medium garlic clove, minced

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

8 meaty lamb chops

2 Tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, plus some sprigs for garnish

* salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup frozen peas

Place 2 Tbsp of the oil in a pot set over medium heat. Add the barley, onion, carrot and garlic, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the stock and water and bring to a gentle simmer (the liquid should just barely just bubble). Simmer until the barley is tender and stock/water is absorbed, about 30 minutes, or until the barley has achieved your desired tenderness.

Add a little more stock or water to the barley if the liquid evaporates before the barley is cooked (bite a grain -- it should be soft).

While the barley cooks, place 1 Tbsp of the remaining oil, mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper in a sided dish large enough to hold the lamb.

Add the lamb and toss to coat with the mixture.

When the barley is cooked, stir in the parsley, cheese, peas, salt and pepper. Cover and reserve on low heat.

Place the remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a non-stick skillet set over medium-high heat.

Add the lamb and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until the desired doneness is achieved.

Divide the barley among 4 shallow bowls. Set two lamb chops in each bowl, garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve.

eakis@tc.canwest.com

Eric Akis is the author of the recently published, Everyone Can Cook for Celebrations: Seasonal Recipes for Festive Occasions. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.

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If there is a cooking issue that has you scratching your head, send your question to Eric by e-mail at eakis@tc.canwest.

com, by fax to Ask Eric at 250-380-5353 or by regular mail to Ask Eric, Times Colonist, 2621 Douglas St., V8T 4M2