From mashing to malt extract

Barley malt extract is a well-known flavour enhancer in chocolate products. Malt extract can lift and complement the flavor of cocoa. It provides a distinctive malty-sweet taste and can amplify the inherent chocolate notes, creating a more complex and appealing flavor profile.

Tradionally, powdered light malt extract has been chosen by the chocolate industry. Other malt extracts will complement darker types of chocolate with acid & more roasted flavour notes.

Specific malt extract types will boost the milky flavours and nutty flavours in product already containing milk or nuts. Some malt extract will also boost or complement caramel notes in products containing notes from caramel.

Malt extract is not limited to having good boosting effect in chocolate products. Confectionary fillings for various applications can also get a lift. The product can with malt extract be perceived to the consumer as more premium with a more complex flavour profile.

Malt extract in Salty & savoury snacks

Barley malt extract rich, malty, slightly sweet background note that enhance the overall savory profile. This depth can round out salty, cheesy, or umami flavors, making flavors taste fuller and more complex.

Malt extracts high content of maltose and other reducing sugars, malt extract promotes the Maillard reaction and caramelization during baking, frying, or toasting. This helps savory snacks develop a more attractive golden brown surface and a slightly roasted, “toasty” character.

Malt extract is hygroscopic, meaning it helps retain moisture, which can improve crispness retention or prevent certain savory baked snacks from becoming too dry or brittle. In crackers, extruded snacks, or baked bases, it can contribute to a cleaner, more uniform bite and slightly smoother mouthfeel.

Typical applications where malt extract is used in this category include snack pretzels, crackers, savoury biscuits, grissini, rusks to name a few.

Barley malt extract in plant based foods can be a valuable building stone in creating new plant based food recipes.

Darker liquid malt extract can help to mimic the savoury/meaty taste that is associated with meats like beef or pork.

With Harboe’s special malt extracts you get a tool that gives a rounded complex roasted and acid taste profile with many taste notes to give plant based products a fuller flavour profile.

Malt extracts helps plant based alternatives to get closer to the taste consumers associate with meats.
Product like Plant based Nuggets, plant based ‘chicken’ fillets, plant based ‘fish fingers’, falafel, etc… can be benefited in applications where you need more color.

The malt extract has an amber colour, which fits well in plant based applications where you want to imitate chicken color and give the product a more golden color after frying to give a cooked or toasted appearance.

Barley malt extract can partially replace cocoa powder-up to 20-30% in some formulations-without compromising product quality. This substitution can significantly reduce raw material costs, especially when cocoa prices are high.

Color matching, different pH, sweetness, solids, fat: malt extract and different cocoa powders are not 1:1. Recipe adjustments is needed to make the switch/reduction of cocoa powders using malt extracts.

Both liquid and powdered malt extracts can be used for cocoa powder reduction depending on the application. If it is a cocoa powder based product recipe there is a high chance of an economical return by applying malt extract to reduce the amount of cocoa powder in your recipe.

Harboe Ingredients has an extensive range of products for cocoa reduction:

– Powder malt extract – light to black

-Liquid malt extract – light to black

Barley malt extract is naturally complimenting and improving products with cereal origin. One could argue that the sugars inherent in malt extract is more a natural ingredient in this category than cane or beet sugar that is widely used as a sweetener. The cereal taste and sweetness of malt extract improves very well the cereal taste already there in the recipe.

In breakfast cereals malt extract adds a mild malty sweetness and golden color to cereals and can reduce the need for refined sugar.

Texture is by creating a protective sugary shell that extends bowl life and crunch.

In muesli, malt extract enhances flavor with caramel-like notes and binds oats, nuts, and fruits for better cohesion without overpowering natural tastes. Darker malt extracts can help with the coloring of the product for instance in cocoa based products.

Malt extract acts as a viscous binder in cereal & müesli bars, improving chewiness and shelf stability as a natural humectant.