Malting is the limited germination of cereal grains or occasionally, the seeds of pulses (peas and beans), under controlled conditions. The starting and stopping of botanical growth is expertly timed by the maltster to achieve a minimum malting loss and maximum malt modification.
Sometime malt is used ‘green’ (undried), but it is usually used after drying in the sum or in a current of warm water. The three main steps of the malting process are steeping, germination and kilning. Final stage of malting process is kilning, enzyme activities decline as malt color and malt flavor develop.
This converts the endosperm of the grain into simple sugars which later be partially converted by fermentation into alcohol.
In the industrialized regions of the world, malt made from barley is by far the most important, but malts are, or have been, made from wheat, rye, oats, triticale, maize, sorghum, various millets and even rice.
Food processing: Malting
