BANFF, Alta. – Putting buzz in barley could be one way to take this coarse grain from the trough to the grocery shelf.
Bev Whitmore, a Calgary dietician working with the Alberta Barley Commission to promote barley as an ingredient in baked goods and nutritional additives, says one of the first coups has been a partnership with Calgary Co-op.
It added a special barley display at its grocery stores offering three kinds of cookies using 25 percent barley and 75 percent whole wheat flour.
Another promotion involved a baking contest among 22 food technology students at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. The winners came up with a sweet barley bread with cranberries and brie and a maple leaf barley cookie.
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“We’re hoping some groceries will pick these up and get them on the shelves,” Whitmore said at the commission’s annual meeting in Banff on Dec. 9.
A second competition will happen March 3 at the SAIT baking lab.
One of the commission’s mandates is to promote barley as a good source of fibre for heart health and diabetes control.
A clinical trial at the universities of Toronto and Calgary is using viscofibre from barley to learn what dose is needed to lower blood serum cholesterol.
Viscofibre is believed to assist in maintaining a healthy heart and blood vessels.
It is hoped barley could gain a health claim similar to that used for oats by taking advantage of its health profile.
It has a low glycemic index and is a rich source of cholesterol lowering beta glucan for protection against heart disease and diabetes.
The Canadian Diabetes Association uses the glycemic index to rank carbohydrate-rich foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels compared to glucose or white bread.
Food that raises the blood glucose level quickly has a higher GI rating than food that raises blood glucose more slowly. In general, the lower the rating, the better the quality of carbohydrate.
Low GI food is usually low in calories and fat, while also being high in fibre, nutrients and antioxidants. It also helps control appetite because it tends to make people feel full longer.
