Black Alberta Barley Seeds

Hordeum vulgare An heirloom variety that stands out with its distinctive black seed heads. This barley is a 6-row, awned, and hulled type, and it typically grows to around 3 feet in height. It’s noted for its limited lodging, which means it stands up well against wind and rain, making it more manageable for farmers and gardeners.

Black Alberta Barley is praised for its early maturing quality, making it suitable for regions with shorter growing seasons. This variety is often used in traditional brewing and can also be a unique addition to culinary dishes, offering a robust flavour and excellent nutritional content.

You can grind Black Alberta barley after harvesting to make flour, and in this process, the hull can be ground up and eaten along with the grain. When barley is ground into flour, the tough outer hull is broken down into smaller particles, which makes it easier to consume.

Here’s how it works:
Whole Grain Barley Flour:

If you grind hulled barley (where the outer hull has been removed) or even unhulled barley (if you’re grinding the entire grain), you get whole grain barley flour. This flour contains the bran, germ, and endosperm, as well as any residual hull that gets ground down in the process.
While the hull isn’t typically eaten in whole form, when it’s finely ground, it becomes part of the flour. This type of flour is nutritious and can be used in various recipes like breads, porridge, or pancakes.

Nutritional Value:

Since you’re using the entire grain (including the hull), the flour is rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals from the bran and germ. This makes whole barley flour nutritious, though it may have a slightly coarser texture compared to flours from dehulled grains.

Uses for Barley Flour:

Bread: Barley flour is often mixed with wheat flour to make bread, as it has less gluten than wheat.
Porridge: You can use barley flour in porridge-like dishes, mixing it with water or milk for a thick, hearty meal.
Baking: It’s good for pancakes, muffins, and other baked goods, though its lower gluten content means it’s best mixed with other flours for structure.

Thickening Soups or Stews: Ground barley flour can also be used as a thickening agent.

Traditional Use:

Historically, grinding whole grains, including barley, was common, and people ate the entire grain, hull included, once it was ground. This would have been particularly true in areas where removing the hull mechanically wasn’t an option.

These seeds are grown by Garden Faerie Botanicals. The collection features heirloom and heritage seeds that are personally cultivated organically without the use of any chemicals. Emphasizing historical, rare, non-GMO seeds, this selection preserves biodiversity through open-pollination.