Farfel, Farfalle, Egg Barley, Egg Drop Barley

For about six months now I have been trying to find traditional farfel, egg barley, the kind that is toasted or one toasts slightly in a sautee pan before adding onion, mushrooms, some liquid, and baking it in the oven.

This was much harder than I imagined. The product I was looking for is called EGG DROP BARLEY, not just EGG BARLEY. I went to every grocery store I could think of and found it close to home (in Highland Heights, Ohio) in the Kosher food section.

I purchased every farfel type product. They are all made with duram flour and egg. The only exception is what is called bow-tie pasta, used in Kasha with bow-ties, for example. The dried Italian Farfalla, bow-tie pasta, includes no eggs, just duram flour and water. I have been to several events where the word "farfel" caused much confusion, some expecting what I call "traditonal farfel" and others expecting and Italian pasta.

I wanted to try every product marked Egg Barley (there is no barley in the product, the "barley" describes the look of the product.) The product I wanted reminds me of the German Spaeztle, which is a 15 minute pasta so easy to make it is not worth buying the dried Spaeztle in a grocery store.

Tonight I made a side dish of Egg Barley, not the product I wanted, but I had to try it. I added peas, onion, herbs, as the pasta product is tasty but plain. The photo shows left over egg barley made as directed on the package (boiled in 4 cups water). Some bits of salmon are in the photo of leftovers, as I served the egg barley as a side dish with Alaskan, freshly caught salmon as we do not eat beef, and very little poultry.

The Egg Barley from Gelfen, tastes delicious, but it is not the traditional farfel that I remember, often eaten with beef. It looks machine made, while what I term the "traditional" looks more hand made, irregular in shape, and has the word, "Drop" in it. Such as how one "drops" Spaetzle dough into boiling water using a knife to move tiny amounts of dough from the cutting board to the boiling water. My best friend in Cincinnati, Marion, taught me the traditional way to make "spaetzle' which I later saw my aunt in Germany prepare for us. My mother would use a spaetzle maker (looks like a ricer through which she dropped the dough into the boiling water, I never saw my Mom make spaetzle the traditional way.) Spaetzle taste best made the traditional way (sorry, Mommy, I know how busy you were working and cooking for us all.)

You may have guessed my German, Jewish background by now. I grew up with "Spaetzle" as a beloved staple, farfel was a special treat!

I hope these products do not confuse the reader. My advice is, do not send anyone to the grocery store to buy traditional Egg Drop Farfel, as they will most probably come home with the Italian Farfalle, Egg Barley (the tiny machine-made pasta), Bow-tie pasta, or as one friend recently mentioned ---- "Kasha," which is another product made from buckwheat and often made to include the bow-tie pasta.

The farfel I love is made from a traditional Ashkenazi noodle dough. My sisters and I recently discovered we are much more Ashkenazi than we possibly imagined and could this be why we have been craving Egg Drop Barley? Now, where can I find my cousin's incredibly delicious "wild rice stuffing recipe?"