FOOD SCIENCE AND PROCESSING 3 (2+1)

Lesson 7 : Specific Cereals

Malted Wheat

The process of malting consists of the following steps:

Malted cereal flour is inexpensive and can be made at home as well as commercially. Malt is used in brewing and in the preparation of malt extract for pharmaceutical purposes and in the preparation of malted milk powder.

1. Glutamic acid: It is derived from wheat. A familiar compound of glutamic acid is “mono sodium glutamate,” a salt-like product generally available and used to bring out the flavour of other foods or seasonings.
   
   


2. Wheat germ: Wheat germ is about 2-3% of wheat grain. It has a high nutritional quality, comparable to animal proteins. Presently wheat germ is not separated during milling, as it has a poor shelf life of only a few days and is lost in bran fraction. Commercial germ samples contain 25-30 % protein, 9-11 % oil and 10-15 % sugars. Toasting or steaming of the germ increases the shelf life. Germ can be used in bakery products and in weaning foods.


3. Wheat bran: It increases the stool weight by increasing the water holding capacity of the bran. Wheat bran prevents constipation and may lower the risk of colon cancer.


4. Triticale: it is a hybrid cereal from a cross between wheat (Triticum) and rye (Secale). The grains have 14-18 % protein. The flour is suitable only for biscuit making bread making quality of triticale could be considerably improved by blending with equal quantity of maida.