Wheat Vs Barley: What’s The Difference?
Have you ever wondered what the differences are between wheat vs barley? Horticultural expert Sarah Jay explores the similarities and differences between these two popular grains!
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They’re both consumed as whole grains or cereal grains. Both are cultivated and cherished across the world. And they’re both a part of the human diet, whether processed or whole. So when it comes to wheat vs barley, what’s the difference?
Whole wheat is something North Americans are highly familiar with. But both barley and wheat are important in so many ways.
Did you know that one of these grains is used in livestock fodder? And though they’re both a staple in alcoholic beverage production, one is used more than the other. The fact of the matter remains that they are different grains with different spheres of influence.
Let’s compare wheat and barley and their botanical, agricultural, and nutritional differences.
What is Wheat?
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is an annual grass that grows between 3 and 5 feet tall. At full maturity, the slender stems display flower heads at their tips. Each head contains 30 to 50 wheat grains.
Two parts of the plant are consumed by humans: the grass (or microgreens) and the seeds. Wheatgrass is ground to provide a nutritious shot of juice prized in the food industry. The golden-brown seeds are milled into wheat flour, which is used in a plethora of foods.
In recent years, people have connected the grain to irritable bowel syndrome and gluten intolerance, caused by allergic reactions to the wheat germ agglutinin. This has spurred many to take up a gluten-free diet.
What is Barley?
Barley (Hordeum vulgare or Hordeum distichon) is also a member of the grass family. It, too, is grass, reaching up to 4 feet tall. The top portion of the barley plant consists of spikes that produce anywhere from 20 to 60 grains.
Humans consume the hulled barley whole in cereals or ground into barley flour. Pearled barley is the most common whole grain form of the plant sold in stores. Barley does contain gluten in the form of hordein, and it’s also used as livestock feed. Both the grain and the fodder feed farm animals.
Barley contains a great deal of clinical nutrition, including more fiber than white and brown rice. Hull-less barley is often used to add some crunch to a salad, or cooked into a soup.
Wheat vs Barley
Both wheat and barley have similar characteristics and uses, but they aren’t the same plant. Here, we’ll tackle a few of the differences.
Plant and Seed Structure
The plants have such a similar structure, it’s no wonder they are both used in the same manner.
Because they are so similar, it’s difficult to tell the two plants apart before they reach maturity. That’s because the seeds – which form late in the reproductive phase – have different structures.
One way to tell the difference between barley and wheat is to examine the auricles or the ear-shaped areas where the grass branches from the stem of the plant. Barley auricles do not have hairs and branch out from the stem. Wheat auricles are much smaller and hairier.
Each plant has spikes that produce seed heads. Here, barley and wheat differ slightly. The seed head of barley produces 20 to 60 grains, whereas wheat produces 30 to 50 grains.
The seeds themselves have distinct differences too. While both barley and wheat have seed coverings called the lemma and the palea, those of the grain wheat are loosely fitted, while the outer layer of barley is fused to the inner seed.
Growth Habits and Types
There are six basic wheat types. Each item below discusses their names and their growth habits.
Hard Red Winter Wheat
This plant grows in fall, and is harvested in spring. It’s commonly used in whole grain wheat products, as well as all-purpose flours. It is cultivated in the Central US Plains and Montana, Idaho, and California.
Hard Red Spring Wheat
This wheat is planted in spring and harvested in mid-summer. It’s typically grown in Montana and North and South Dakota. This grain wheat is used to fortify bread due to its high protein content.
Soft Red Winter Wheat
Sown in fall and harvested in spring. It’s grown in the northeastern portions of the United States and is often incorporated into pastries.
Soft White Wheat
Planted in spring and harvested in late summer to early fall. Grown in Michigan, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, this plant is used for its outer bran layer, making it excellent for whole wheat products.
Hard White Wheat
Sown in early spring and harvested in early fall in the Dakotas. It is typically used to make noodle dough but is also great for those in search of whole grains.
Durum Wheat
In mid-spring, this wheat is planted, and it’s harvested in late summer. It’s grown in North Dakota, Montana, Arizona, and California.
There are two basic barley types. Both species can be sown in spring and fall, and mature in 60 to 70 days. They are chiefly grown in Idaho and Montana. Note that distinct versions of each type probably don’t exist anymore due to genetic modifications in selective breeding of the plants.
Six-row Barley (Hordeum vulgare)
The most commonly cultivated barley. Called ‘six-row’ because the spikelets on the seed head produce 3 kernels arranged in six rows around the stalk. The kernels are smaller and the husk of this barley is substantial. This is most commonly used for animal feed, although recently it has been used in alcohol production in the United States.
Two-row Barley (Hordeum distichon)
Not as common as six-row. In this species, the grain is arranged in two rows around the stalk. The kernels are larger than that of six-row and have less protein and husk content. This is the premier barley used in past and present beer-brewing.
Agriculture
Agriculturally, both barley and wheat are grown on a mass scale. However, wheat is ranked second as a worldwide dietary staple. Humans on average make it 19% of their diet. Compare that to rice at 20% and you begin to see just how important whole grain wheat is.
Barley on the other hand comes fourth in the ranking. Growers cultivate it in areas where wheat cannot grow, usually in extremely high altitudes. Wheat and barley are both incredibly important crops in their own right.
Processing
Barley and wheat are processed in distinctly different ways during production.
Wheat is usually milled into wheat flour, wheat bran, or whole wheat flour. Whole grain wheat flour is the result of milling wheat without extracting the wheat bran and wheat germ. In refined wheat flour, the germ and wheat bran are removed. Whole wheat flour thus has a grainier texture than white flour or plain wheat flour. White flour comes from milling just the endosperm layer of the seed.
The process indicates why whole wheat flour and regular wheat flour have different health benefits. Whole wheat flour gets the “whole grain” distinction that points to health benefits consumers look for in stores.
Barley doesn’t need to be milled to be consumed. Instead, it’s processed into hulled barley which is used in cereals and salads. Sometimes it is processed one step further into pearled barley, which is just polished hulled barley. Hulled barley, therefore, is considered whole, whereas pearled barley is not. Both hulled barley and pearled barley have high amounts of dietary fiber.
When it comes to alcohol, malt is an essential part of the process of production. Raw barley is soaked in water for 8 hours, dried, and then soaked for another 8 hours to create malt.
It’s interesting to note that the remnants of the plants post-harvest are used with near-identical results: as a source of straw, particularly useful to us as gardeners as a type of straw mulch.
Use
Barley is the premiere grain used for alcohol production. People do eat barley whole, thrown into soups and salads, but half of the US barley crop goes to animal feed. Livestock, such as pigs, chickens, sheep, and goats eat barley and then become food for people.
The processing of white wheat and other wheat types makes it possible to consume it in bread, pastries, pasta, and doughs of all kinds. It’s used in breakfast cereals and is sometimes employed for brewing white ales (much less than barley, though).
Nutrition
When it comes to essential nutrients, barley beats wheat every time. Barley’s high nutritional content directly relates to the processing used to make the grain commercially available. Because barley is not milled, it loses fewer nutrients and retains more fiber. White wheat, on the other hand, loses nutrients in the milling process.
Both have health benefits and are a rich source of insoluble fiber for the human digestive system. But when it comes to fiber and control of blood sugar, wheat is not as good as barley.
Wheat bran contains soluble fibers needed to lower blood cholesterol which assists with blood sugar control. Low blood sugar contributes directly to the prevention of heart disease. Barley is better if you want to improve blood sugar control overall.
When it comes to fiber, wheat does have health benefits, but barley has more nutrients and iron content. It’s great for those who want to increase red blood cells to combat anemia. Whole grain barley is also packed with B vitamins.
A Word on Gluten
It’s worth mentioning that those who don’t tolerate gluten should not seek out barley as a gluten-free option. Both grains contain gluten, albeit in different formats. If you have gluten sensitivity, both grains will cause problems.
Celiac disease is a chronic condition that results from the consumption of the two grains we are currently discussing, among others. It is accompanied by digestive issues and chronic inflammation. Over time, consumption of gluten can cause the issues these grains can treat in those without celiac disease.
Those with celiac disease will experience the tell-tale stomach pain and chronic inflammation from barley just as they would most wheat fiber. So note that neither of these is good for those with sensitivities to gluten.
