Ingredient Information

Function

Malted Barley is a germinated cereal that has been dried through ‘malting’. It is used as a food additive and flavoring. Malted Barley is often used as base malts and specialty malts in the brewing of beer. Extract of malted barley is often used as dietary supplement. Malted barley is also used as form of flavoring in drinks and it is also occasionally added to coffee. Malted barley is also used in baking and the making of confectioneries.

Barley malt is loaded with B-vitamins, lots of minerals and some fiber and protein, although it has less protein than whole barley. Malt is produced from the whole barley grain, which means that the nutrients concentrated near the hull are preserved. Furthermore, because the barley grain is germinated to make malt, it has more B-vitamins and less starch than barley flour. Malted barley is used to make beer and whiskey and it is the base of a coffee substitute. It is also used to enhance the flavor of certain foods.

Other Use and Industries

Malted barley is primarily used in the making of beer or ale, as well as whiskey. It is also used as food additive in the form of malt vinegar. A natural sweetener, it is used in many sugared drinks such as malted milk shakes. It is also used in baked items such as malt loaf.

Health Effects

When malted barley is added to beverages, it helps fight cavities. This is due to the melanoidins which are found in malted barley. This is especially effective when malted barley is roasted and combined with coffee. Malted barley when added to the diet and beverages of patients has been known to lower cholesterol and suppress the appetite without any harmful side effects. This assists in preventing heart attacks and strokes, both common effects of high cholesterol problems. Poor circulation within the body can result in kidney failure, cardiac arrest and dementia. Ingesting malted barley has been proven to increase the flow blood within your body. This is due to the Alkylpyrazines present in malted barley. Barley is gluten based and can therefore trigger gluten allergies when ingested. It increases the level of antioxidants in the body.

The major side effect of all the soluble fibers, including barley malt extract, is the development of intestinal gas or flatus. It is the beneficial bacteria in the colon that create intestinal gases from certain food sources such as soluble fiber. So you may be limited in how much barley malt you can tolerate by this side effect. Insoluble fiber, found in wheat bran and cereals, does not have this side effect.

Malted barley is primarily made up of carbohydrates and consumption may raise blood glucose levels.

Origins

Malting is the process by which barley is converted into malt. It used to take place in a malt house on the malting floor. The barely sprouted barley is dried in the kiln by spreading it over a wooden floor. The smoke from the fireplace heats the wood and the grains begin to sprout. The temperature at this point is around 131 degrees Fahrenheit. The grains are dried till their moisture levels are below 14%. They are then stored for six weeks in order to overcome the dormancy of the seeds. Then they are immersed in water twice or thrice for two to three days in order for them to absorb moisture and sprout. Once the moisture levels have risen, it is returned to the malting floor and air dried. The grain is then called "green malt."

Barley is a widely adaptable crop. It is currently popular in temperate areas where it is grown as a summer crop and tropical areas where it is sown as a winter crop. Its germination time is anywhere from 1 to 3 days. Barley likes to grow under cool conditions but is not particularly winter hardy. Barley is more tolerant of soil salinity than wheat, which might explain the increase of barley cultivation in Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium BC onwards. Barley is not as cold tolerant as the winter wheat , fall rye or winter Triticale , but may be sown as a winter crop in warmer areas of the world such as Australia. Barley has a short growing season and is also relatively drought tolerant.