Bere berries are a surprising Scottish souvenir

One of my favorite souvenirs from my summer visit to the Orkney Islands of Scotland was a brown paper sack of bere berries. Bere (pronounced “bear”) is the generic Scots word for any form of barley; it now refers to the oldest cereal crop of the United Kingdom, cultivated for more than 4,000 years. Bere barley has six rows of grain in the head and a higher protein content than the more common two-row barley used in the malting process for beer and whiskey.

Barley that is widely grown throughout the British Isles is the two-row form, while farms growing bere can only be found in Orkney. The preservation of this ancient grain has been the focus of the Birsay Heritage Trust, which was founded in 1977 to restore the Barony Mill, still in operation today. Records of bere mills in the Orkneys show the grain has been ground into flour for centuries.

The bere berries are the minimally processed bere kernel, with just the outer husk removed. Popular since neolithic times, they are considered a nutritional powerhouse: high in protein, soluble fiber, and a wide range of vitamins and minerals. When cooked, the kernels have a chewy texture with a nutty, slightly sweet flavor. Unlike pearl barley that is white and round, these kernels are brown and almost rectangular in shape (see photo).

It takes more than two full days to mill bere from the threshed grain into flour. The first step is to dry the grain to reduce the moisture content below 10 percent. It’s then cooled for about 12 hours. The next step is to pass the grain through a set of water-powered millstones to crack the outer husk and free the kernel or bere berry. The cleaned grain is passed through burr stones to create a coarse meal known as “grap.”

Finally, the meal is further ground into medium and fine grades, which have a wide variety of uses, including as a coating for fried fish or chicken and as a thickening agent for gravies and sauces. Beremeal is a key ingredient in baking traditional Scottish treats, such as bannock, a heavy, flat, unleavened cake that is cooked on a griddle or a flat stone over a fire. 

Although lower in gluten than wheat flour, beremeal is not gluten free, and most recipes suggest using a mixture of self-rising flour and beremeal. I tasted beremeal cookies and found them slightly dry with nutty flavor hints. A more attractive sample was the beremeal scone, studded with raisins, as in the recipe below. If you want to steam the bere berries, you can serve them with butter for a simple breakfast or toss them into a broth-based soup to add texture and flavor.

The salad recipe is a lovely way to use steamed bere berries with a mixture of baby arugula and sliced pears. As with any grain, the applications are many, from a simple side dish seasoned with herbs to an elegant, risotto-style companion to roasted meats. Because of the limited supply, you may need to travel to Scotland to purchase bere barley, so it might be time to plan a trip!

Beremeal Scones*

Preheat oben to 425 F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper; set aside. Sift together dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Whisk together egg, butter, milk and raisins. Stir liquid into dry ingredients until combined. Form a disk from the dough and flatten to about 3/4-inch thick. Mark the dough with a knife into 8 triangles. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve with butter. *Adapted from Barony Mill.

Bere Berry Salad