1 hour ago, heidih said:Regarding the semi-set concrete barley - yes I've had that happen. The first go of the soup is lovely just the issue with overly thick leftovers. I find that happens with starches as with my frozen leftover split pea soup today. I just thin it with water and add a bit of seasoning to correct. I understand the idea of cooking it separately. We always did that with clear broths like beef that were being served now but to avoid cloudiness. The home made thin egg noodles were cooked separately. Unscientifically researched I think cooking barley and similar such within the soup melds flavors. Could be wrong.
All this talk of barley reminds me that I have a truly absurd quantity of it to use up...perhaps 10 lbs (don't ask, it was a gift).
I'll have to give this some thought.
(ETA: Having said that, I suddenly NEEDED TO KNOW...so I got out the bag and weighed it, and it's just past 9 1/2 pounds left. So I was pretty close.)
