[Sca-cooks] malt sugar

[Terry Decker]

Malt sugar is maltose, a disaccharide formed from two molecules.  It's a 
product of amylase breaking down starch.  Maltase breaks the maltose into 
its component glucose molecules.  It's produced when one malts grain or 
ferments flour, so it is common to baking and brewing.

Some of the references I've seen suggest Chinese malt sugar was a form of 
liquid malt extract (produced by condensing a beer wort to treacle).  Malt 
extract can be dehydrated to produce a crystalline powder similar to sugar. 
Primarily, it would have been a sweetener.

In Europe, the process of making malt extract appears to begin in the 18th 
Century as a means to brew beer on long voyages to combat scurvy.

Malted milk is a powdered combination of nondiastatic (no active enzymes) 
malt, wheat flour and evaporated milk.  It's strictly a flavoring agent.

Bear


<<< If it's of interest I have a few 6th century recipes for malt sugar from
China. >>>

Yes, please.

Does malt sugar show up in medieval Europe? Why is it sweet? I assume that 
it isn't as sweet as honey or sugar.

I can imagine it being used in industrial food processing, like corn syrup 
and such creations. But how was it used in medieval Europe or China?

Can it be processed like sugar cane syrup to produce a crystalized sugar?

Is this the same sugar that the microbes digest to make beer?

When you add malt to make a malted milk, is that to add sweetness? Or just a 
malt taste?
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at gmail.com
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