Just barely cover in water with a paper towel over the top for a couple days. If it sprouts, it’s probably okay.

Otherwise, if you’re iffy about eating it, you might consider giving it to the neighbourhood birds as a treat.

When the store shelves were bare, I brought home whatever I could find.

I sprouting is the criteria, I think it's done. It's just not a normal seed visually.

It's lost color and although that's a minor criteria, it's safe. And with the storm coming up the birds need food.

Sprouts don't sprout well in the winter. It's too cold indoors and not much sun.

I've only used it once, a long time ago.

kind of the point of dried grain is long term storage ability. make some nice peppery barley soup.

also pearl barley is different than whole barley (like brown rice)

I would use it.

For health reasons you really really don't want to ingest anything with even a hint of rancidity. It's cancerous, the body doesn't know what to do with it, it's an oxidant. Told to me by a cancer researcher 20 years ago.

Especially if it is under a 5 pound bag. You could cook a quarter cup and see how it is. I would probably compost it of organic waste it.

We moved in September and I took the opportunity to jetison some really old stuff. Yes I know about food dating. But if the cans and vacuum packs are 0ver 3 years out of date, I'm not going to get around to using them anyway.

My mother used to put a purchase date on her cans and jars when she bought them to help with rotation. Sharpy right in the pantry. I should probably do that. I do label the jams I make.