Jobs tears

Appearance

There are two main varieties of the species, one wild and one cultivated. The wild variety, ''Coix lacryma-jobi'' var. ''lacryma-jobi'', has hard-shelled pseudocarps—very hard, pearly white, oval structures used as beads for making rosaries, necklaces, and other objects. The cultivated variety ''Coix lacryma-jobi'' var. ''ma-yuen'' is harvested as a cereal crop, has a soft shell, and is used medicinally in parts of Asia.

Distribution

It has been naturalized in the southern United States and the New World tropics. In its native environment it is grown in higher areas where rice and corn do not grow well. Other common names include coixseed, tear grass and Yi Yi . Job's tears are also commonly sold as Chinese pearl barley in Asian supermarkets, although ''C. lacryma-jobi'' is not closely related to barley .

Food

Job's tears grains are widely eaten as a cereal, and sometimes used as folk medicine.

Throughout East Asia, Job's tears are available in dried form and cooked as a grain. The grains are generally spherical, with a groove on one end, and polished white in color. In Japan unpolished grains are also sold. In Korea, a thick drink called ''yulmu cha'' is made from powdered Job's tears. A similar drink, called ''yi ren jiang '' , also appears in Chinese cuisine, and is made by simmering whole polished Job's tears in water and sweetening the resulting thin, cloudy liquid with sugar. The grains are usually strained from the liquid but may also be consumed separately or together. In southern China, Job's tears are often used in ''tong sui'', a sweet dessert soup. One variety is called ''ching bou leung'' in Cantonese, and is also known as ''sâm bổ lượng'' in Vietnam.

In Cambodia, where it is known as ''skuay'' , it is used both as part of herbal medicine and as an ingredient in desserts. In Thailand, it is often consumed in teas and other drinks, such as soy milk.

Evolution

Residue on pottery from a Yangshao Culture site in China shows that Job's tears were used to brew beer as early as 3000 BC. Remains of Job's tears have been found in archaeological sites in northeastern India, dating to around 1000 BC.