Barley is used in salads, soups or in place of rice. Pearled barley is commonly found in grocery stores. But what is pearled barley?
When barley is polished, or “pearled”, it removes some or all of the bran layer as well as the barley hull. If it is heavily pearled, it has a white color. If it is lightly pearled, it has a tan color.
It is classified as a refined grain, but is still healthier than other refined grains because it still has some bran and fiber is throughout the entire kernel.
Pearled barley cooks quickly. There is also a quick pearl barley that is a barley flake that cooks in about 10 minutes.
Source: https://wholegrainscouncil.org