The History
Malted barley extracts have been intrinsic to the fermentation industries, i.e. beer, whisky and vinegar manufacturing, for hundreds of years, indeed the earliest reliable data on a beer from barley emanates from Egypt as far back as 3000 BC

The non-fermentation food industries had to wait for the technological invention of vacuum evaporation, in the last century, before discovering the nutritional and flavour benefits of malt extracts. Low temperature boiling conserved the flavours of the original extract by restricting the Maillard and browning reactions, and also preserved the product naturally as the high concentration limited bacterial attack.

Many products were developed from these extracts, ranging from enzymic infant foods, to assist digestion, to malt and haemoglobin, forming an array of food and pharmaceutical preparations. Few have survived, notable exceptions being malted beverages and health products such as Malt and Cod Liver Oil - which are still found on store shelves in Europe.

Bread and biscuit manufacturers were early users of malt extracts and along with confectioners have developed many international brands, which incorporate malt extract as a key ingredient.

Increasing world-wide sensitivities to food purity and recent improvements in food-processing technology, prompted PureMalt Products Limited to focus attention on malt ingredients. These are produced from malted barley and water alone, extending the range of flavours, sweetness, colours and textures of malt extracts available for food formulations.

Malt is a word which means "growth" but in everyday language is confusingly synonymous with malted barley, malt extract and especially in Scotland, France and Japan, malt whisky. Literally malt is any cereal, but usually barley or wheat, which is deliberately moistened, encouraged to germinate, partially grown and then conserved through dehydration will have been modified from seed grain to malt. For the flavourist the key step in this process is the dehydration process which removes the vegetable flavours and produces, depending on the kilning regime, the range of flavour notes from cereal through toffee to roast coffee. Today this fact might seem obvious but it has been slow in developing. It was not until the end of the 19th century that "the brewers became aware of the vast and exceedingly important influence of the malt upon the finer qualities and characteristics of the beer, and when the latter originated, or how they could be secured in the drying process".

To understand why malted barley is the best provider of these flavours we have to study, briefly, the make-up of barley. The outer layer of the barley corn is made up of a husk, pericarp and testa and an aleurone layer, all surrounding the starchy endosperm. It is the outer layer that forms the basis of flavour precursors during germination and develops further during kilning and roasting. But it is the skill and craft of the maltster which allows him to develop the extent of modification of the endosperm which, on heating during kilning, is subjected to Maillard reactions which we know are responsible for a wide range of flavours and colour hues.
Over the years maltsters and brewers, traditionally, have worked together to perfect techniques of malting to produce a range of malted barleys which have contributed to the flavour and colour of many fine and subtle beers, consumed all over the world today.

The Process
Once the appropriate and distinctive type of malt has been selected, a simple hot-water extraction takes place, followed by separation and concentration to the required dry solids. The methodology required for mashing and extraction depends on the malt type, and the specific physical parameters of each malt.

PureMalt Products Limited pioneered work on these extraction processes, and evidence of their success was the Food Ingredient Award in 1987, in recognition of the contribution to the needs of food and beverage manufacturers. In 1989 the Company was rewarded with the Department of Trade and Industry Award to Small Business for Research and Technology (SMART) for development of its new range of malt extract flavour concentrates. This range of concentrates is today sold all over the world and is still considered "leading edge" technology of the highest quality.

The malt flavours produced are very complex, resulting as they do from a variety of reactions between the various amino acids and sugars, and much research will still be necessary to identify the various dominant flavour molecules. However, organoleptic analysis using the flavour types assesses the intensities across the range of malt extracts. Compared with existing malt extracts, these exhibit a much greater degree of flavour per unit of sweetness or colour, permitting lower inclusion rates and better flavour control.

It was necessary because of the added strength of the concentrates to flavour analyse at 6% solids content which permitted the spectrum of flavours to be assessed. This dilution is nearer to that of possible formulations and gives a clearer idea of the flavour effect. Naturally the other components of the target formulation influence the flavour profile to a greater or lesser extent.

APPLICATIONS
Malt extracts already have a wide application across the food industry and this newer generation of products has added improved flavour control to existing products and opened up new applications as a result of the wide spectrum and outstanding quality. Possible benefits have already been seen, in development work, in the following sectors:

Brewing
Although brewers are well practised in the use of such flavours, they traditionally submit the flavours to the rigours of the full brewing process of mashing, boiling and primary fermentation. Use of specific malt extracts late in the brewing process can offer enormous flexibility in flavour and colour control. Marketing opportunities for new brands can be assessed by work in taste-panels without the need to affect brewing operations with dedicated brewing trials, and incurring the high cost of these. Work already carried out by brewers has shown very positive benefits via this technique.

Beverage Manufacturers
Malt extract flavours, free from worty, vegetable notes are now available, and can offer opportunities to explore "sport" drinks and beer-like beverages.

Dairy Industry
Inclusion of malt extract, to enhance ice-cream with a "malt" note, has been limited as the dosage previously required changed the texture of the final product, but high intensity flavours can overcome this problem, giving excellent colours as a bonus.

Cereal Products
The technique employed in extrusion of breakfast cereals require careful attention to moisture level and texture therefore here benefits can be seen for the highly intense flavour extracts.

We have touched on just a few applications but the only limiting factor to the use of PureMalt concentrates is the limit of one's imagination, therefore we look forward with excitement and interest to the challenges of tomorrow.

The various PureMalt malt extracts cover just about the A to Z of food and beverage products. They will, depending on the individual product and need, supply flavour, sweetness, colour and nutritional benefits. We list here some of the product categories that PureMalt extracts are currently utilised in. Beer - high and low alcohol, biscuits, bread, breakfast cereal, cakes, coffee substitutes, confectionery, conserves, desserts, functional beverages, gravy mixes, ice cream, iced tea, infant foods, malted food drinks, pickles, sauces, soft drinks, soups, alcoholic spirits, stock cubes, vinegar and, last but not least, in the alternative health supplement area. As we have pointed out previously, the limiting factor is your imagination.