EDMONTON - It doesn’t get more old school than barley. Eons
before Scotch broth joined the British canon of hearty soups,
barley was a staple of the ancient world. As the oldest
cultivated cereal in Europe (and possibly anywhere) barley was
once the most important grain for human consumption. But over
millenniums, according to the Oxford Companion to Food, barley-
based foods, from porridge to bread, fell from grace, eclipsed
by wheat as the grain of choice. Though still popular when
turned into malt for beer, barley found itself relegated to
animal fodder for much of the last 10,000 years. But a
resurgence in interest in ancient grains of all descriptions —
from quinoa to spelt to amaranth — has helped raise the profile
of barley. An increase in food sensitivities among the
population has also worked in barley’s favour; though it does
contain gluten, and therefore isn’t suitable for celiacs, barley
has less gluten than wheat, making it a possibility for those
who have a sensitivity to wheat. Furthermore, base