Malt also contains small amounts of other sugars, such assucrose andfructose, which are not products of starch modification, but which are already in the grain. Further conversion to fermentable sugars is achieved during themashing process.
Malted barley
Various cereals are malted, thoughbarley is the most common. A high-protein form of malted barley is often a label-listed ingredient in blended flours typically used in the manufacture of yeast bread and other baked goods.[7]The term"malt" refers to several products of the process: the grains to which this process has been applied, for example, malted barley; the sugar, heavy in maltose, derived from such grains, such as the baker's malt used in various breakfast cereals;single malt whisky, often called simply "single malt"; or a product based on malted milk, similar to a malted milkshake (i.e. "malts").
Malted grains have probably been used as an ingredient of beer since ancient times, for example in Egypt (Ancient Egyptian cuisine),Sumer, and China.
InPersian countries, a sweet paste made entirely from germinated wheat is calledsamanū (Persian:سمنو) inIran,samanak (Persian:سمنک) inAfghanistan, (Tajik:суманак); (Uzbek Latin:sumalak) orsümölök (Kyrgyz:сүмөлөк), which is prepared forNowruz (Persian new year celebration) in a large pot (like akazan). A plate or bowl ofsamanu is a traditional component of theHaft sin table symbolising affluence. Traditionally, women have a special party to prepare it during the night, and cook it from late in the evening until the daylight, singing related songs. InTajikistan andAfghanistan, they sing:Samanak dar Jūsh u mā Kafcha zanēm – Dīgarān dar Khwāb u mā Dafcha zanēm[8][9] (meaning:"Samanak is boiling and we are stirring it, others are asleep and we are playingdaf"). In modern times, makingsamanu can be a family gathering. It originally comes from the GreatPersian Empire.[citation needed]
Mämmi, or Easter Porridge, is a traditionalFinnishLenten food. Cooked from rye malt and flour,mämmi has a great resemblance (in the recipe, color, and taste) tosamanū. Today, this product is available in shops from February until Easter. A (nonrepresentative) survey in 2013 showed that almost no one cooks mämmi at home in modern-dayFinland.[10]
Barley is spread out on the floor of a malthouse during a traditional malting process.
Malting is the process of converting barley or other cereal grains into malt for use in brewing,distilling, or foods, and takes place in amaltings, sometimes called a malthouse, or a malting floor. The cereal is spread out on the malting floor in a layer of 8 to 12 centimetres (3 to4+1⁄2 inches) depth.[11]
Drying
The malting process starts with drying the grains to a moisture content below 14% and then storing for around six weeks to overcomeseed dormancy.
Steeping
When ready, the grain is immersed orsteeped in water two or three times for two or three days to allow the grain to absorb moisture and to start tosprout.
Germination
When the grain has a moisture content of around 46%, it is transferred to the malting or germination floor, where it is constantly turned over for about four to six days while it is air-dried.[12]
Pre-toasting
The grain at this point, called "green malt", is then dried and toasted in an oven (orkiln) to the desired color and specification.[13] Malts range in color from very pale through crystal and amber to chocolate or black malts.[14]
Smoking
The sprouted grain is then further dried and smoked by spreading it on a perforated wooden floor. Smoke coming from anoastingfireplace (via smoke channels) is then used to heat the wooden floor and the sprouted grains. The temperature is usually around 55 °C (131 °F).
A "maltings" is typically a long, single-storey building with a floor that slopes slightly from one end of the building to the other. Floor maltings began to be phased out in the 1940s in favor of "pneumatic plants", where large industrial fans are used to blow air through the germinating grain beds and to pass hot air through the malt being kilned. Like floor maltings, these pneumatic plants use batch processes, but of considerably greater size, typically 100-ton batches compared with 20-ton batches floor maltings.
As of 2014[update], the largest malting operation in the world was Malteurop, which operates in 14 countries.[15]
Barley is the most commonly malted grain, in part because of itshigh content ofenzymes, though wheat,rye,oats, rice, andcorn are also used.[16] Also very important is the retention of the grain'shusk, even afterthreshing, unlike the bare seeds of threshed wheat or rye. This protects the growing acrospire (developing plantembryo) from damage during malting, which can easily lead tomold growth; it also allows themash of converted grain to create a filter bed duringlautering.
As all grains sprout, natural enzymes within the grain break down thestarch of which the grain is composed into simpler sugars, which taste sweet and are easier for yeast to use as food. Malt with active enzymes is called "diastatic malt". Malt with inactive enzymes is called "nondiastatic malt". The enzymes are deactivated by heating the malt.
Malt is often divided into two categories by brewers: base malts and specialty malts.
Base malts have enough diastatic power to convert their own starch and usually, that of some amount of starch from unmalted grain, calledadjuncts.
Specialty malts have little diastatic power, but provide flavor, color, or "body" (viscosity) to the finished beer. Specialtycaramel or crystal malts have been subjected to heat treatment to convert their starches to sugars nonenzymatically.[citation needed] Within these categories is a variety of types distinguished largely by the kilning temperature.
Malt extract, also known as extract of malt, is a sweet,treacle-like substance used as adietary supplement.[19] It was popular in the first half of the 20th century as a nutritional enhancer for the children of theBritish urban working class, whose diet was often deficient invitamins and minerals. Children were givencod liver oil for the same reason, but it proved so unpalatable that it was combined with extract of malt to produce "Malt and Cod-Liver Oil."
The 1907British Pharmaceutical Codex's instructions for making a nutritional extract of malt do not include amashout at the end of extraction and include the use of lower mash temperatures than is typical with modern beer-brewing practices. TheCodex indicates that diastatic activity is to be preserved by the use of temperatures not exceeding 55 °C (131 °F).
Malt extract is frequently used in the brewing of beer. Its production begins by germinating barley grain in a process known as malting, which consists of immersing the barley in water to encourage it to sprout, then drying it to halt the progress when the sprouting begins. The drying step stops the sprouting, but the enzymes remain active due to the low temperatures used in base malt production.[20] In one before-and-after comparison, malting decreased barley's extractable starch content by about 7% on a dry matter basis and turned that portion into various other carbohydrates.[21]
1897 Pabst Malt Extract ad
In the next step, brewers use a process called mashing to extract the sugars. Brewers warm cracked malt in temperature-modulated water, activating the enzymes,[22] which cleave more of the malt's remaining starch into various sugars, the largest percentage of which ismaltose.[21] Modern beer-mashing practices typically include high enough temperatures at mash-out to deactivate remaining enzymes, thus it is no longerdiastatic. The liquid produced from this,wort, is then concentrated by using heat or a vacuum procedure to evaporate water[19] from the mixture. The concentrated wort is called malt extract.
Two forms of malt extract are used by brewers: liquid malt extract (LME), containing about 20% water, and dry malt extract (DME), dehydrated to 2% water. LME is a thick syrup that typically gives off more pleasant flavors than its counterpart, while DME provides better consistency in color. When using large amounts of extract, LME is typically used because its ability to dissolve in boiling temperatures, whereas DME can clump up and become difficult to liquefy.[23] LME is also sold in jars as a consumer product.
Scientists aim to discover what happens inside barley grains as they become malted to help plant breeders produce better malting barley for food and beverage products. The United StatesAgricultural Research Service scientists are interested in specialized enzymes called serine-classproteases[24] that digest beta-amylases, which convert carbohydrates into "simple sugars" during the sprouting process.[25] The enzyme also breaks down stored proteins into their amino-acid derivatives. The balance of proteins and carbohydrates broken down by the enzyme affects the malt's flavor.
Enzyme-rich malt extract (ERME) is a specialised form of barley malt extract (marketed by Ateria Health[26]), that has undergone preparation to activate the naturalamylase andglucanase enzymes in the grain. Initially researched as anequine food supplement,[27][28] pilot studies using ERME as a humanfood supplement have suggested that it could potentially improve the symptoms ofIrritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and chronicconstipation,[29] due to the way it can break down carbohydrates in the small intestine that IBS has been found to hinder.[30] However further research is ongoing to fully prove this link.[31][32]
^Horace Kephart (1922).Our southern highlanders (eBook ed.). New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 134. Retrieved10 April 2011.The sprouted corn is then dried and ground into meal. This sweet meal is then made into a mush with boiling water, and is let stand two or three days.
^"Two-Row vs Six-Row Barley".Zymurgy, 1 May 2013, American Homebrewers Association. Retrieved 7 October 2020
^abBritish pharmaceutical codex. Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. 1907. pp. 401–404. Retrieved28 March 2011.The extract is given to children and adults for its nutritive properties. ... Extract of malt is used as a vehicle for the administration of cod-liver oil (see Extractum Malti cum Oleo Morrhuae), ...
^Joseph La Villa (2010).The Wine, Beer, and Spirits Handbook: A Guide to Styles and Service. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 347.ISBN978-0-470-53757-2. Retrieved30 March 2011.The base malt in any brewing process is called pale malt. It is dried at around 122 °F (50 °C). Specialty malts are made either by heating the barley before it is dry or by roasting the dried malt.
^abStevens, Roger; Dennis E. Briggs; Chris Boulton; Brookes, Peter (2004).Brewing: science and practice. Cambridge: Woodhead. p. 123.ISBN0-8493-2547-1. Retrieved29 March 2011. See tables 4.15 & 4.16
