Barley, Karma, Purple, Hulless

Description

Collected in 1924 by an American visiting Tibet, this heirloom variety of hulless colored barley was brought back to the United States and tucked away for many years in the USDA Seed Repository in Idaho as PI 60205. Pat Hayes of Oregon State University heard about this grain from his colleagues Victoria and Tom Blake at Montana State University, who had named it “Karma”. Tom Hunton, of Huntons' Farm, saw Pat’s test plots, liked what he saw, and increased seed stock of Karma at his farm in Junction City.

Our current crop of Organic Purple Karma Barley was grown by Ernie's Organics in Buhl, Idaho. Though not gluten-free, barley is lower in gluten than wheat, and offers a higher level of fiber.

This is a highly nutritious grain with more zinc than lentils and three times more B vitamins than White Barley. It cooks in about 45 minutes and imparts a dark color to the cooking liquid.

We recommend sorting through before cooking and discarding any kernels of white barley that may be present (as their hulls make them tough).