Editing Malt (section)

==Malt extract==
[[File:Homebrew Malt Extract.jpg|thumb|[[Homebrewing]] malt extracts: liquid (left) and [[Spray drying|spray-dried]] (right)]]
[[File:Malt syrup.jpg|thumb|[[Barley malt syrup]] (LME) being added to flour in a [[bagel]] recipe]]

Malt extract, also known as extract of malt, is a sweet, [[treacle]]-like substance used as a [[dietary supplement]].<ref name="1907_British_pharmaceutical_codex">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/b21687390 |title=British pharmaceutical codex |publisher=Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain |year=1907 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/b21687390/page/401 401]–404 |quote=The extract is given to children and adults for its nutritive properties. ... Extract of malt is used as a vehicle for the administration of cod-liver oil (see Extractum Malti cum Oleo Morrhuae), ... |access-date=28 March 2011}}</ref> It was popular in the first half of the 20th century as a nutritional enhancer for the children of the [[Social structure of the United Kingdom|British]] urban working class, whose diet was often deficient in [[vitamin]]s 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."

The 1907 ''[[British Pharmaceutical Codex]]''{{'}}s instructions for making a nutritional extract of malt do not include a [[Lautering|mashout]] at the end of extraction and include the use of lower mash temperatures than is typical with modern beer-brewing practices. The ''Codex'' indicates that diastatic activity is to be preserved by the use of temperatures not exceeding {{convert|55|C|F}}.

===Malt extract production===
Malt extract is frequently used in the brewing of beer. Its production begins by germinating barley grain in a process known as malting, which consists of immersing the barley in water to encourage it to sprout, then drying it 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Joseph La Villa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvKJKnP2LvgC&pg=PT347 |title=The Wine, Beer, and Spirits Handbook: A Guide to Styles and Service |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-470-53757-2 |page=347 |quote=The base malt in any brewing process is called pale malt. It is dried at around {{convert|122|°F|°C|abbr=on}}. Specialty malts are made either by heating the barley before it is dry or by roasting the dried malt. |access-date=30 March 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name="isbn0-8493-2547-1">{{Cite book |last1=Stevens, Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zV9bpyykNtMC&pg=PA123 |title=Brewing: science and practice |last2=Dennis E. Briggs |last3=Chris Boulton |last4=Brookes, Peter |publisher=Woodhead |year=2004 |isbn=0-8493-2547-1 |location=Cambridge |page=123 |access-date=29 March 2011}} See tables 4.15 & 4.16</ref>

[[File:Pabst Malt Extract Advertisement 1897.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|1897 Pabst Malt Extract ad]]

In the next step, brewers use a process called mashing to extract the sugars. Brewers warm cracked malt in temperature-modulated water, activating the enzymes,<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to Brew – By John Palmer – Mashing Defined |url=http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-1.html |access-date=28 March 2011}}</ref> which cleave more of the malt's remaining starch into various sugars, the largest percentage of which is [[maltose]].<ref name="isbn0-8493-2547-1" /> Modern beer-mashing practices typically include high enough temperatures at mash-out to deactivate remaining enzymes, thus it is no longer [[wikt:diastatic|diastatic]]. The liquid produced from this, [[wort]], is then concentrated by using heat or a vacuum procedure to evaporate water<ref name="1907_British_pharmaceutical_codex" /> from the mixture. The concentrated wort is called malt extract.

=== Malt extract types ===
Two forms of malt extract are used by brewers: liquid malt extract (LME), containing about 20% water, and dry malt extract (DME), dehydrated to 2% water. LME is a thick syrup that typically gives off more pleasant flavors than its counterpart, while DME provides better consistency in color. When using large amounts of extract, LME is typically used because its ability to dissolve in boiling temperatures, whereas DME can clump up and become difficult to liquefy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DME vs LME |url=https://www.urbanbrewers.com/DME-vs-LME_b_16.html |access-date=2022-08-18 |website=www.urbanbrewers.com}}</ref> LME is also sold in jars as a consumer product.