Re: [compost_tea] malt vs molassaas

From: Nicole Nelson <nnelson8587_at_qwest.net>
Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 14:35:23 -0800


On Monday, February 3, 2003, at 06:48 AM, soilfoodweb_at_aol.com wrote:

> These different food resources are relative in their ability to grow
> fungi. 
>
> Compare white sugar to brown sugar to molasses to malt to soy sauce. 
> Increasing ability to grow fungi as you go along that gradient,
> because of the structural ciomplexity of the sugars and proteins in
> these materials. 
>
> Molasses has some fungal foods, but malt has more fungal food, but
> less fungal food than soy sauce. 
>
> Hope this helps -
>

White sugar is pure sucrose, a disaccharide made up of glucose and
fructose. Brown sugar is sucrose and molasses added back in. While
molasses, or evaporated cane juice, is 40 - 60% sucrose & other sugars
with other substances not yet removed. It is the content of these other
substances that must be attractive to fungi.
http://www.rhhall.ie/bulletins/molasses_4.htm
        Organic matter composition of beet and cane molasses
                                              Beet molasses Cane Molasses
Sucrose 66 44
Fructose 1 13
Glucose 1 10
Betaine 6 -
Amino acids 8 3
Other substances 18 30
Source: Steg and Van der Meer, 1985

Non-sugar Organic Matter
The non-sugar organic matter of molasses accounts for many of its
physical properties, in particular viscosity. It consists mainly of
carbohydrates, such as starch, nitrogen compounds and organic acids.
Generally the total non-sugar organic matter in beet molasses is higher
than in cane.
The proportion of crude protein in standard cane molasses is very low
averaging about 3-5%. In beet molasses, about half the total content of
the non-sugar organic matter is in the form of nitrogen compounds,
particularly betaine and glutamic acid. There is also a significant
quantity of organic acids in cane molasses, the major one being
aconitic acid. Molasses also contains volatile fatty acids averaging
about 1.3%.

MALTING GRAINS
Both malt and soy sauce are made from fermented grains. Raw grain is
mostly composed of complex carbohydrates, or starch, with a small
amount of protein and fats. Further, the grains have low amounts of
essential amino acids and vitamins. Grains as well contain phytates,
which act to bind minerals in the digestive tract, preventing their
absorpsion (Katz and Voigt, 1986: 30).

Malting serves the purpose of converting insoluble starch to soluble
starch, reducing complex proteins, generating nutrients, and the
development of enzymes. Malting begins by soaking grain, usually
barley, in water long enough to begin germination or sprouting. At the
same time, enzymes are developing which break down starches to sugars.
For example the growing rootlet produces the enzyme diatase, which acts
on the starch and breaks it down to the simple sugar maltose. The grain
is then heated in a large oven, called a kiln, which arrests
germination and stops the growth of the grain. The temperature regime
in the kiln determines the color of the malt and the amount of enzymes
which survive for use in the mashing process. Low temperature kilning
is more appropriate for malts when it is essential to preserve
enzymatic (diastatic) power such as pilsner or pale ale malts.
Other grains, such as wheat, rye, soy and oats can be malted. However
wheat malt contains considerably more protein than barley malt, often
13 to 18%, and consists primarily of glutens.  Compared to barley malt
it has a slightly higher extract, especially if the malt is milled
somewhat finer than barely malt.  European wheat malts are usually
lower in enzymes than American malts, probably because of the malting
techniques or the varieties of wheat used.


  During fermentation, yeasts act on the maltose to produce alcohol.
These yeasts greatly enhance the nutritional properties of the dish.
Yeasts are excellent sources of lysine, riboflavin, niacin, and
thiamin, and other amino acids and vitamins. Further, the growing
yeasts reduce the phytate concentration in the grain (Katz and Voigt,
1986: 30). The yeasts will ferment sugars to alcohol in acidic,
anaerobic conditions. The anaerobic conditions are provided by the
yeasts themselves, which produce carbon dioxide as a meta bolic
product- in a sealed container, anoxic conditions will arise. The acid
conditions of the beer are produced by the fermentation action of
lactic acid bacteria, primarily Lactobacillus, Leuconstoc,
Streptococcus, and Pediococcus (Hessel tine, 1979: 368-370). These
bacteria add more nutritional value, in the form of protien, amino
acids, and vitamins, to the food product. Fermented grain foods
generally have a protien content of 8-20%, as opposed to 1-2% protien
in an unfermented grain dish. These fermented foods also have enhanced
values of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, isoleucine/leucine, histidine,
arginine, valine, tryptophan, lysine, tyrosine, cystine, and methionine
(Hesseltine, 1979: 367-371).

Soy Sauce Making Process
Essentially, soy sauce is made from brewing soybeans in a brine
solution. As with other brewing processes such as wine or vinegar, it
is a bio-chemical process making use of appropriate species of microbes
and their enzymes. In the case of soy sauce, the complex proteins in
the soybeans are converted into simpler proteins called amino acids (of
which there are 16 different types) and over 200 different volatile
substances giving it a unique flavor and characteristic aroma. Chinese
soy sauce involves a multiple-stage extraction from the brew. The first
extraction is of the highest quality.



.

Received on Mon Feb 03 2003 - 23:41:40 EST

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