Pasting and gelling behaviors of barley starches isolated from Cinnamon (waxy of 3.3% apparent amylose; WB), Golden Promise (normal of 26.2% amylose; NB), and amylose-only (high-amylose of 97.8% amylose; AO) varieties were examined over 95-140 degrees C cooking. Gelatinization temperatures of AO starch were significantly higher than those of WB and NB, thereby the former displaying negligible pasting viscosity at 95 degrees C heating. At 140 degrees C, AO starch was completely gelatinized and able to develop viscosity, particularly at the final pasting stage. Gel hardness of NB gradually decreased with higher cooking temperatures. After 140 degrees C cooking and storage, only AO starch formed a gel, exhibiting the largest hardness among the studied gels or pastes. Gelation mechanisms of the barley starches at 95-140 degrees C cooking were elucidated by visualizing their gel/paste microstructures under scanning electron microscopy. The insightful information on the physicochemical properties of the barley starches possessing 3.3-97.8% amylose will be meaningful for their industrial applications.