Transcript What barley could be

Food Barley – products and
possibilities
Patrick Hayes
Dept. Crop and Soil Science
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon USA
www.barleyworld.org
1. What barley was
2. What barley is
3. What barley could be
First crop domesticated (?)
• Beer
• Hulls and necessity/utility
The environment and income in Europe
• Food for gladiators and the poor
• The limited rise of hordeins
The tradition in North America
• Beef and barley soup
Naked grain and geographic specificity
• Andes, Himalayas, North Africa
• Regional foods and traditions
What barley was
What barley is
Feed
• Default commodity product
• Under-appreciated and under-valued
• Hulls have some benefit for ruminants
Beer
• The economic driver
• Approaching niche crop status
• Hulls for filtration: the way it is, not the way it has to be
Food
• A limited acreage staple
• Andes, Himalayas, North Africa
• A very limited acreage novelty
• Europe, North America
What barley is
Europe, North America, and beyond: Obesity, high cholesterol,
metabolic syndrome, Type II diabetes, heart disease
• Dietary fiber can be part of the solution and whole grains are
great sources of fiber
• Barley an optimum source of dietary fiber (beta glucan)
Meeting the fiber need with barley: what’s not to like?
• Easy fit into farming systems
• Easy to process
• Easy to breed
• Varieties available/in the pipeline
What barley is
Why such potential but so little economic traction?
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Timing: the gluten-free craze
Oats: filling the beta glucan niche
Distinctiveness: Not that different from other grains
History and preconceptions: feed, poverty food
Low esteem and price: rocks are worth more!
What barley could be
“Snack foods aren’t just about crunch and craving anymore.
Consumers are asking for healthier options that don’t
compromise the snacking experience. Sustagrain®, the highestfiber whole grain, can help. This proprietary variety of barley has
a balanced blend of insoluble and soluble fibers, with the highest
level of beta-glucan and the lowest glycemic index of any grain.”
What’s right and wrong with this strategy?
What barley could be
What’s right and wrong with this picture?
What barley could be
A whole new type of wheat – just in time to deal with
climate change!
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Drought tolerant
Early maturing
Nitrogen use efficient
High fiber
Broad adaptation
Economic yields
All types of starches
Rainbow of colors
Interesting and unique flavors and aromas
What barley could be
A whole new type of wheat – just in time to deal with
climate change!
What barley could be
What does it take for barley to be the new wheat?
Create a framework:
Go naked: Farewell to hulls. Who needs them?
• Cellulose is cheap and abundant
• Wort can be filtered
• “Honest” yield data
What barley could be
What does it take for barley to be the new wheat?
Recognize and address the “negatives”
• If people are healthier and eat less, there less money to
be made in health care and food sales
• If people eat more barley, they’ll eat less of other grains
• Recipes and formulations will require some changes
• If wheat “works”, why “fix” it?
• Someone needs to pay for variety, product, and market
development
What barley could be
What does it take for barley to be the new wheat?
Suggested operating procedures:
The ~ 7% solution: Modest beta glucan is fine for whole
grains. Leave concentration to bacteria and algae
Look for solutions to the barley gluten/risen bread problem
• Complex with other proteins?
• Edit the genome?
Solutions to the cooking time issue
• Cracking, pre-cooking
New products
• Tsampa anyone?
What barley could be
What does it take for barley to be the new wheat?
The take-home message
We need foods that are nutritious, tasty, cost-effective and the
reduce long-term costs to society: Healthy and happy today,
lower health care costs and sustained markets tomorrow.
Analogous to ecosystem services, reducing carbon footprints.