To cook pearl barley, bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat.  Season with salt. Add 1 cup of pearl barley. Cook until tender, about 25-35 minutes.  Drain through a fine mesh strainer. 1 cup of dry pearl barley will make about 3 cups of cooked barley. Barley can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Cooked barley can also be frozen in a freezer safe container such as a Ziploc freezer bag for up to 3 months. Check out this blog post for more information on making barley in the Instant Pot if you would rather go that route.