Malt

MALT, maltum, a product of the partial germination of cereal grains. The starting material is: barley, corn, less frequently rye and oats (for kasha). Barley malt contains a large amount of the enzyme diastase, which has the property of converting starch into dextrin and maltose. Malt finds its greatest application in the brewing and distilling industries. To obtain malt, barley is soaked in water and then placed in a cellar at a temperature of 10–15° for germination. The barley placed in heaps heats up as a result of the respiratory process, which promotes germination. When the sprouts that have appeared reach a size equal to an average of 1.5 times the length of the grain, germination is stopped and the use or drying of the malt is begun. Depending on the drying temperature, the following are distinguished: 1) green malt of dry-air drying, dried at 25–50°, or 2) brewing malt, processed at a higher temperature—up to 70–80°; the latter has a darker color and contains more dextrin and extractive substances and less protein and mineral substances and starch; diastase in such malt is usually less. The property of malt, thanks to the diastase contained in it, to convert starch into sugar is used in the fermentation industry (beer, alcohol); in nutritional physiology this property can be used to improve the assimilation of starchy substances introduced into the body. The quality of malt is determined by examination according to OST 60. Malt is the starting product for the production of nutritional malt preparations. For this purpose, green air-dried malt is used. When it is extracted with water, soluble carbohydrates, protein, part of the ash, phosphorus compounds, and diastase pass into the extract. A popular malt preparation is malt extract—so-called malt extract; during its preparation, a complete conversion of starch into dextrin and maltose takes place. Malt extract is a light-brown, transparent, syrup-like liquid, easily soluble in water, with a sweet taste and the smell of malt. Its composition is: 20–25% water (dry residue 80–75%); in the dry residue, 48–70% maltose, 2–16% dextrin, 0.25–1.5% lactic acid, 1.1–2.1% ash, 0.3–0.4% phosphoric acid (P₂O₅). Diastatic activity is also determined in malt extract in relation to OST 60. Malt extract prepared at a temperature not exceeding 60° contains vitamins B and C. Such a composition of malt extract makes it a valuable, easily assimilable nutrient. Thanks to the content of carbohydrates and diastase, it is prescribed for patients with weakened nutrition, children with fermentative dyspepsia, and also as an antiscorbutic agent. The dose for adults is 3–4 tablespoons a day with tea or milk; for children the same amount of teaspoons, which corresponds to 175–250 calories. Mixtures of malt extract with phytin, iron, and cod liver oil are also used. Abroad, the following have significant distribution: 1) biomalt—malt extract with the admixture of calcium phosphate; 2) ovomalt—malt extract with the admixture of eggs, milk, and cocoa; 3) nutritional sugar Soloklet, containing 41% dextrin, 52% maltose, and 1% table salt; used in the treatment of infant dyspepsia in mixtures with infant milk formulas; 4) malt preparations in powder form: Malty 1, Maltokristal, Mellin's Food (childhood nutritional flour)—different types of dry malt extract. In the USSR, ground malted oats under the name kasha is popular. Lit.: Bochkarev I., On the question of the influence of the use of malt extracts on the conditions of food nitrogen metabolism in tuberculosis patients, St. Petersburg, 1893; Zvyagintsev G., On the question of the dietary significance of malt extracts, St. Petersburg, 1892; Kazas I., On the question of the influence of malt extracts on gastric secretions in healthy people, St. Petersburg, 1894; Lukachev R., On the question of the dietary significance of malt extracts, St. Petersburg, 1893; Leyden E., Handbuch der Ernaehrungstherapie u. Diatetik, B. I, Leipzig, 1903; Schneider, Malzereichemie und Physik der Malzbereitung, Leipzig, 1893. I. Yarklin.