Editing Malt (section)

==History and traditional usage==
[[File:Samanu for 7 sin.jpg|thumb|Samanu decorated with pistachio]]

Malted grains have probably been used as an ingredient of beer since ancient times, for example in Egypt ([[Ancient Egyptian cuisine]]), [[Sumer]], and China.

In [[Persia]]n countries, a sweet paste made entirely from germinated wheat is called ''[[Samanu|samanū]]'' ({{langx|fa|سمنو}}) in [[Iran]], ''samanak'' ({{langx|fa|سمنک}}) in [[Afghanistan]], ({{langx|tg|суманак}}); ({{lang-uz-Latn|sumalak}}) or ''sümölök'' ({{langx|ky|сүмөлөк}}), which is prepared for [[Nowruz]] (Persian new year celebration) in a large pot (like a [[Kazan (cookware)|''kazan'']]). A plate or bowl of ''samanu'' is a traditional component of the [[Haft sin table]] symbolising affluence. Traditionally, women have a special party<!-- unclear --> to prepare it during the night, and cook it from late in the evening until the daylight, singing related songs. In [[Tajikistan]] and [[Afghanistan]], they sing: ''Samanak dar Jūsh u mā Kafcha zanēm – Dīgarān dar Khwāb u mā Dafcha zanēm''<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Nowruz in Afghanistan'', BBC Persian |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/story/2005/03/050319_v-afghanistan-nowrooz-cities.shtml |access-date=6 October 2014 |language=Persian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=24 ساعت – نو روز باستانی در کشور عزیز ما افغانستان |url=http://www.24sahat.com/content/view/78/14/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307072245/http://www.24sahat.com/archive/content/view/78/14/ |archive-date=2016-03-07 |access-date=27 March 2013 |website=24sahat.com}}</ref> (meaning: ''"Samanak is boiling and we are stirring it, others are asleep and we are playing [[daf]]"''). In modern times, making ''samanu'' can be a family gathering. It originally comes from the Great [[Persian Empire]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}

''[[Mämmi]]'', or Easter Porridge, is a traditional [[Finnish cuisine|Finnish]] [[Lent]]en food. Cooked from rye malt and flour, ''mämmi'' has a great resemblance (in the recipe, color, and taste) to ''samanū''. 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-day [[Finland]].<ref>[http://pap-tasters.blogspot.fi/2013/03/how-to-tame-your-mammi.html"How to tame your mämmi?]  ''Porridge and Potatoes''</ref>