MANUFACTURING OF MALTED MILK

 You all must have heard about Malted Milk food. But do you know how malted milk is processed? Today we will discuss Manufacturing of Malted milk food. Malted milk food is a product that basically contains milk solids, malt extract and cereal grain flour. It was first developed by William Horlicks of Racine,Wisconsin, U.S.A in 1883, but was commercially marketed in 1887. The main reasons behind this product’s success are its nutritive value, convenience, digestibility and palatability. 

 
The preparation/process of malted milk generally revolves around four major steps:

I. Mash Liquor Production: The malted barley provided by Barley Malt Suppliers is first  sieved to remove dust. It is then crushed using an in line roller mill and mixed with high-grade wheat flour. After the mix is ready it is conveyed to mash tanks, where water (at 40°C) is continuously added to prepare uniform slurry. The slurry is continuously heated and stirred at a certain temperature which gradually increases to 70°C within about 40 min and is held at 70°C for about 35 min. The starch is then broken down by diastase, present in malted barley, into maltose,dextrin and malto-dextrins, while the complex cereal proteins are converted into simpler protein substances. The slurry temperature is gradually raised to 78°C and held at this temperature for about 20 min to stop further activity of enzymes and also to achieve maximum cereal solids (28-30%). The resultant mash is passed through a centrifugal separator to remove the insoluble husk and what we obtain is a clear liquor, known as ‘wort’.
 
ii. Mix preparation: The wort derived from the first step is mixed with predetermined quantities of standardised milk, diluted (85°C) malt extract, sugar, salts, minerals and vitamins in a tank specifically used for mix preparation. Milk solids help increase the nutritional value of the product by providing high quality nutrients like fat,proteins, minerals and vitamins and enhances flavour and energy level of the final product. Malt extract suppliers provide the desired level of colour and typical caramelised flavour to the finished product. In this mix salts are also added to optimise product pH to improve digestibility, enhance flavour and to provide essential salts, especially calcium.

iii. Evaporation and drying: The mix is concentrated in the vacuum evaporator at about 26% solids until one half to two-thirds of the water content has been removed. The product is then transferred to a steam jacketed evaporator provided with stirring gear, where a high vacuum is maintained, agitation being constant in order to facilitate the removal of the water and to prevent excessive caramelisation. The concentrated mass with an average of 80% solids is finally dried within a level of 2% moisture to a sponge-like, swollen mass usually in a vacuum tray dryer. Then the dried product is cooled in an air-conditioned room to avoid moisture pick up, scrapped off the trays and milled into fine powder. The milled product is conveyed to inline mixers to mix salts, dry vitamins and minerals and is then packed in bottles.
 
iv. Spray Drying of Malted Milk: The malted milk food is generally prepared by tray-drying method under vacuum as mentioned above and hence adds to the cost. Spray drying method on the other hand will reduce the cost of product owing to high volume of continuous and automated operation.  In view of product quality and hygienic standards, the spray-drying process is a potential future technology for drying malt-milk based food products to meet national as well as international requirements.

Only a small fraction of milk produced in India has found its place in malted milk manufacture. Though a potential market exists for malt based milk beverages and Malt Extract Liquid in India, very few factories and companies like Mahalaxmimaltextract  have undertaken its production.

For more information about: Malt Extract Please visit at http://www.mahalaxmimaltextract.com/