Ingredient Information

Function

Malt extract is used frequently used in the brewing of beer and whiskey. It is also used in its liquid or powdered form to flavor many beverages. Malt extract has been used as a nutritional supplement since the early 20th century as it is a good source of vitamins and minerals. It can be consumed raw or mixed with water. It is sometimes used as a natural sweetener (fermentable sugar).

Malt extract is also known as extract of malt. It is a sweet, treacly substance given to children and adults as a dietary supplement.[13] It was popular in the first half of the twentieth century as a supplement for the children of the British urban working-class, whose diet was often deficient in vitamins and minerals. Children were given cod 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." Liquid malt extract is a thick syrup. Some brewers choose to work only with LME, because they feel it works best for the result they wish to achieve. Also, it requires one less processing step, so it is appealing to those who favor the purest form of product available. However, it is very sticky and therefore, messier to work with, has a shorter shelf life, and some feel the results are just as good with DME. Malt Extract or the extract of malt is a sweet substance that is often given to children and adults as a dietary supplement. It was traditionally used to make cod liver oil more palatable.

Other Use and Industries

It was used as a dietary supplement for children in earlier part of the 20th century. It was given to children with vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It was combined with cod liver oil to produce a ‘strengthening medicine’.

Health Effects

It contains vitamins B2, B3, B6 and B12. It also contains Zinc, Iron, Magnesium, Calcium, Phosphorus and amino acids that the body uses to build protein. It helps relax your muscles and provide a quick source of energy for your body. It also contains Ellagic acid, which is a powerful antioxidant and protects the body from free radicals that damage healthy cells, and can cause cancer. Malt extract is easily digestible in food and drink and is therefore the preferred food for patients who have lost their appetite or are unable to eat normal food. Malt extract helps bring down the level of bad cholesterol in the body. It is also used to treat several gastrointestinal tract problems like irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, diarrhea and spastic colon as it promotes smooth bowel function by splitting starch and acting in alkali and acid media. Since it is sometimes made out of barley, those with Gluten allergies should avoid Malt products. The same applies to malt extract made out of other types of grains.

Malt extract may contain processed free glutamic acid, the active ingredient in MSG. It is primarily made up of carbohydrates.

Origins

Its production begins by germinating barley grain in a process known as malting. This procedure entails immersing barley in water to encourage the grain to sprout, then drying the barley 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. 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. n the next step, brewers use a process called mashing to extract the sugars. Brewers warm cracked malt in temperature-modulated water, activating the enzymes,[16] which cleave more of the malt's remaining starch into various sugars, the largest percentage of which is maltose. Modern beer mashing practices typically include high enough temperatures at mash-out to deactivate remaining enzymes, thus it is no longer diastatic. The liquid produced from this, wort, is then concentrated by using heat or a vacuum procedure to evaporate water from the mixture.

The concentrated wort is called malt extract. Brewers have the option of using a liquid (LME) or dry (DME) form of it. Each has its pros and cons, so the choice is solely dependent on the individual brewer's preferences.