Malt is the product of germinating barley. The grains are allowed to
germinate on a hot damp floor and the process is stopped at a certain
stage by means of kiln drying. Diastase, a powerful digestive ferment,
is formed in abundance so that malt extract of good quality is able to
convert starch into a digestible and easily assimilated sugar. Malt is
also rich in phosphates, which makes it an excellent bone and teeth
former. Malt is usually sold as malt flour, which consists of the kiln
dried grains in a powdered form. Derived from this, is the thick sticky
substance resembling glue, called “malt extract.” If this extract is
further dried, we get the dry malt extract in powdered form, which is
the most convenient to use in a general way for sweetening purposes.
Malt Tea.
This can be prepared from malted barley, malt flour or extract of malt,
by dilution with water to a suitable consistency.
Sweet Wort.
Let malted barley stew and soak and infuse in hot water until all the
goodness has been extracted therefrom. This constitutes a form of
strong sweet non-alcoholic beer and is an excellent drink which was
much used in olden days. With added hops it is the actual material from
which beer is made.
Malt Soups.
Take any ordinary vegetable soup and thicken it with malt flour or malt
extract.