Malt sugar, its calorie content and composition. The benefits to the body and the danger of abuse. What dishes are prepared with this product, interesting facts about it.
Malt sugar (maltose) is a product that is obtained after the germination and fermentation of corn or cereals such as rye, oats, rice or barley. The taste is less sugary than sucrose made from cane or beetroot, and the color is translucent. It is produced in the form of maltose syrup or crystalline powder, reminiscent of granulated sugar. Easily soluble in water, melts when heated to 108 ° C. It is used in the beer industry and for making desserts - marmalade, marshmallow and ice cream.
Features of making malt sugar
To make malt sugar from cereals under industrial conditions, sprouted grains are soaked in a certain proportion in water (a certain hydromodule), treated with enzyme preparations or chemical compounds. Depending on the crops used, maltose may taste like sucrose or the feedstock.
After receiving the syrup at a temperature of 60 ° C, saccharification is carried out, the hydrolyzate is passed through polysulfone membranes and evaporated. The final product contains 95% maltose and 5% glucose. To speed up the process, the hydrolyzate is concentrated under vacuum or separated using a centrifuge. Clarification is allowed.
In small breweries, malt syrup is obtained from fermented raw materials. Since no enzyme preparations are used for saccharification, crystallization does not occur. The resulting product is the most useful, since no chemical reagents are used in its preparation.
It is very difficult to make malt sugar similar in basic qualities to industrially produced sugar at home, but those who brew beer or brew kvass on their own prefer their own sweetener. The process begins with the germination of the grains. The sweetness of the grains after the emergence of sprouts increases 6 times, and the content of nutrients - 4 times.
Making Homemade Malt Sugar:
- High-quality raw materials (rye, wheat or barley) are sorted out and poured with water for two days so that 10 mm of water remains above the grain layer. The fluid is changed every 6 hours.
- Swollen grains are laid out in one layer on a cloth folded in several layers. The necessary conditions for germination are a temperature of 12-16 ° C and constant ventilation. The "vegetable garden" must be visited and mixed, removing moldy grains.
- The readiness of seedlings is determined in the following way: they pull for one grain, and if it is possible to raise another 8-10, we can assume that the shoots have reached the required length.
- Sprouted grains are laid out to dry on a baking sheet covered with parchment. After 2 hours, the pallet is placed in the oven, where it is dried at a temperature of 40-50 ° C with the door ajar.
- As soon as the beans begin to break in half, rub them between the palms, remove the sprouts and husks, and then grind them in a coffee grinder.
Malt sugar content in food products per 100 g:
| Product type | Malt sugar, g |
| Starch syrup | 68 |
| Maltose syrup | 99 |
| Honey | 4, 5 |
| Marmalade | 4, 2 |
| Kvass | 2, 2 |
| Beer | 1, 8 |
| Ice cream | 2 |
| Muesli | 1, 2 |
| Diet bread | 0, 8 |
| Baby puree | 0, 5 |
Homemade malt sugar is light white in color and resembles flour or powdered sugar in consistency. It should be stored in a sealed glass container in a place protected from light and no more than six months - then the product loses its useful properties.
Composition and calorie content of malt sugar
Pictured is liquid malt sugar
According to the conventional sweetness scale, sucrose is estimated at 100 points, glucose at 81, and maltose at only 32. But the energy value is the same as that of more popular sweets.
The calorie content of malt sugar is 362 kcal per 100 g, of which 95, 2 g of carbohydrates
The average vitamin complex consists of the following nutrients:
- Vitamin B group (thiamine, riboflavin, choline, pantothenic and folic acid, pyridoxine) - normalizes the cardiovascular system, accelerates recovery from stress, stimulates the production of immune complexes.
- A nicotinic acid - speeds up metabolic processes and helps get rid of the accumulation of toxins.
- Tocopherol - has an antioxidant effect and stops age-related changes.
- Biotin - stabilizes metabolic processes and distributes carbon monoxide through the bloodstream.
Photo of Crystalline Malt Sugar
Malt sugar contains minerals that take an active part in human life:
- Sodium - prevents the loss of fluid, is responsible for the water-electrolyte balance.
- Potassium - without it, stable work of the myocardium is impossible.
- Calcium - building material for bone and cartilage tissue.
- Magnesium - stimulates the production of immune complexes, increases the absorption of calcium.
- Zinc - helps to get rid of fatigue and participates in the formation of adipose tissue.
- Iodine - it is necessary for the thyroid gland to function, participates in energy metabolism.
- Phosphorus - participates in lipid-carbohydrate metabolism and increases the ability to remember.
- Selenium - has anti-cancer activity, increases the life cycle of cells.
- Silicon - accelerates the regeneration of bone tissue in fractures, is responsible for thought processes.
Maltose is used for the preservation of dietary products, but it is not included in the diet by itself.
Since it comes with food, it will be difficult to calculate the energy value, as well as the content in the daily diet. This is due to the fact that the body itself synthesizes disaccharide from starchy substances that it receives from food.
The beneficial properties of maltose
The substance does not have a healing effect, and homemade folk remedies are not made on its basis, it is not introduced into medicines. However, without a disaccharide, normal life of the body is impossible.
The benefits of malt sugar
- It has an anesthetic effect.
- Eliminates pain in the esophagus and stomach.
- Reduces irritation and burning sensation in diseases, the symptom of which is inflammation of the oral mucosa, namely pharyngitis and stomatitis.
- Increases the life cycle of the body's cells.
- Stimulates the endocrine system.
- Does not increase the production of digestive enzymes.
- Helps improve memory.
Maltose is quickly absorbed by the human body, replenishes the reserve of useful substances - vitamins and trace elements, helps to recover after exhausting physical exertion.
If the daily menu lacks products with disaccharide, the mood is constantly depressed, weakness and apathy are felt, depression develops quickly, which will have to be stopped with medication in the future. But since the human body itself produces maltose from glycogen and starch, its deficiency is rarely felt.
Contraindications and harm of malt sugar
With a deficiency of the enzymes α-glucosidase and maltase, maltose is not absorbed by the body. Then you have to switch to a specific diet, excluding carbohydrate plant foods and starchy substances from the diet, or take medications.
A product made in small breweries can provoke allergies with intolerance to raw materials. In this case, you will have to abandon "live beer" or homemade kvass, made in small batches by private entrepreneurs.
Malt sugar can be harmful if you overeat. Signs of deterioration are as follows
- digestive disorders and increased flatulence;
- dry mouth and nausea;
- violation of protein-carbohydrate metabolism;
- dysfunction of the cardiovascular system, increased blood pressure, the development of atherosclerosis;
- rapidly progressing obesity;
- decreased immunity, frequent inflammatory processes;
- headache attacks;
- the appearance of diabetes mellitus and disruption of the pancreas.
The daily norm of malt sugar for a person who leads an active lifestyle is 35 g, for the rest it is desirable to limit the "dose" to 20 g per day. Those who switched to maltose will have to give up other types of sweets.
Malt Sugar Recipes
The product is a low-calorie preservative. It is added to ice cream, diet sausages and sweets, to baby food, and is used in low-energy marmalade and marshmallows.
Malt Sugar Recipes:
- Peking duck … A bird weighing 2-2.5 kg is selected, processed and the fat tail is removed. You do not need to throw it away, the fat is separated and further used for frying. Bring 4 liters of water to a boil, leave the pan on the burner, and next to it, put an empty pan with a poultry carcass on a small fire. Pour boiling water over the duck, scooping up a little, increase the fire. As soon as all the water is in the pot with the bird, it is transferred and the process is repeated. Chinese chefs devote 15 minutes to scalding to open up the pores on the skin and further the marinade is absorbed deeper. For impregnation, mix: salt - 35 g, sugar - 20 g, Provencal herbs and a mixture of "5 peppers" - 40 g each, 4 cloves of garlic. Rub the duck, wrap it in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for soaking. A separate marinade is made: 300 ml of wine vinegar, 100 ml of cider, 250 g of malt sugar and 300 ml of water. Bring to a boil and soak the bird using the same technology as scalded with water. The marinade should be completely absorbed, rub the residues with a brush. Then the duck is pierced with a knitting needle and left in a draft or under an exhaust hood for another day, so that the meat withers, the skin becomes thinner, and the excess liquid is glass. Then the oven is preheated to 170-180 ° C and baked for 20 minutes. As you can see, the dish is laborious and requires special equipment to prepare it.
- Syrup … 350 g of industrially made malt sugar is mixed with 100 ml of water and boiled over low heat. Wait for the first bubbles and quickly pour in citric acid - 2 g. After 45-50 minutes, remove the container from the hob, quickly, until it has cooled down, stir in a gruel of 1.5 g of soaked baking soda. Mix thoroughly. Foam should appear in the saucepan. As soon as the foaming process stops, the molasses is ready. If the sweetness is not enough, liquid honey can be introduced - to taste.
- Borodino bread … Baking and dough kneading is carried out in a bread maker. First, make the tea leaves. Stir in a separate bowl 3 tbsp. l. malted sugar, 1.5 tsp ground coriander, 75 g of wallpaper rye flour, pour 250 ml of boiling water. Place the bowl in a preheated 65 ° C oven, thermos or microwave to speed up saccharification. The laying in the bowl of the bread machine is carried out in the following order: maltose syrup mixed with 135 ml of water - 1 tbsp. l; brew cooled to room temperature; 25 ml of refined oil; 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tbsp. l. regular sugar. It is advisable to pre-mix the rest of the ingredients. To do this, use clean, dry dishes. Combine flour - rye and wheat, 325 g and 75 g, respectively, 1 tbsp. l. gluten, dry fast baker's yeast -1 tsp, dried bread leaven -1.5 tbsp. l. How to proceed further depends on the brand of the bread machine. If there is an appropriate program for making Borodino bread, then it is enough to set it up and wait for a sound signal. In the event that it is absent, in turn switch "Kneading", "Raise", "Baking" for 1 hour 10 minutes. You should know in advance that when mixing the ingredients, the elastic ball does not roll. To prevent the contents of the bowl from sticking in the corners, you need to help - compact the mixture with a spatula. When going from "Rise" to "Baking" you will have to open the lid, smooth the dough, sprinkle with coriander seeds.
For the preparation of alcoholic beverages, not malt sugar is used, but molasses. It increases the viscosity of the beer and softens the taste of the vodka. This additive speeds up the fermentation of the wort and intermediate. Maltose treacle is included in the recipe for almost all types of beer that is now produced in Russia. These are the popular "Baltika", "Stary Melnik", "White Bear".
Interesting facts about maltose
The first food with grain sweetness began to be made by the cooks of Ancient China. Experimentally, they determined that sprouted barley or rice grains became much sweeter than those prepared for threshing, and began to caramelize them, baked in clay, and then used to sweeten dishes.
However, natural sweetness gained fame only at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th centuries, with the development of the chemical industry, since the substance does not occur in free form in nature. Even those chefs who made a dish based on a sweet substance used recipes from Ancient China or fermented wort from starchy grains.
Maltose (lat. "Maltum") literally translates as malt. The second name "malted sugar" appeared only at the beginning of the 19th century. Its long-known substance was appropriated by the French chemist Nicola Theodore de Saussure, describing its main properties. It was at that time that the disaccharide was isolated from citruses, molds, overripe tomatoes, pollen and honey.
The properties of the disaccharide have not yet been studied enough, but it is widely used in cooking. It is necessary to remember: in home recipes, if there are no instructions, maltose is not introduced. This can impair the taste of the dish and even cause health problems.
What is maltose - watch the video:
