The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-06-12
MAGIC OF THE BARLEY GRAIN
THINGS HOUSEWIVES SHOULD
KNOW ABOUT DftSTASE.
first Aid 10 the Growing Plant and 70 the
Brewer- TransfOFmRtioa u Barley
lnto Nsalt and Its Jse IN the Household
the Elements Prem Liquid bread.

Into WRlt and Ita Ise IN the Household
the Elements Prem Liquid bread.
Saw DIEGO. Cal. June Barley
Every housskeeper knows what pearl
harley H. little white hinty BOdulss
that help out on soups and from which
barley water can he made; but that is
a. far a. the housekeeper usually gsts
Barley ranks among the cereals and.
grows pretty much A. do wheat. rye and
oats II IL rich in starch aud carbohy-
drates and contains lees gluten than
wheat. II contains in abundance an
element only fesbly present In wheat.
rye and oats. the starch and gluten digest
ing diastass.
Al grain and seeds contain diastAss,
and Il they did not termination could
not take place and the grain planted In the
earth wOuldrot and disappear. A growing
s.'ed must be- fed jus, az the growing body
must bs fed. and in each case the food
must hs made soluble by a diResting
process.
When a grain Of harley IL put in the
earth the first thing the barley does Ia
70 absorb moisture from the ground
and become soft The warmth Of tho
sun kissed earth. thu oxygen 81 the AIR
and the latent moisture start tho dormant
germ in the SEED into life Growth be-
gins. To grow means 20 he fed and that
little green plant peeping out from the
Sod is being fed. not AZ once. from the
earth through roots, AZ II will be In
few days. but from stored nourshment
The question arises; How does that
gram Of harley become soluble. 80 much
10 a. 70 permit the little shoot 90 draw
in sustenancs9 Here comes into play the
diasiase. the ferrnent or digestive agent
that 80 transforms the contents Of the
grain a. 20 make II easy Of assimilation
by the hungry little plant. The raw
starch is by this diastass changed into
dextrose. sometimes called grape sugar.
and the gluten in tho grain is 30 changed
a. 20 become peptOne, soluble and ready
for assimilation.
When the plant has used up the con-
tents Of the husk and there is no more
10 be had II throws out little roots and
begins TO absorb from the fertile earth
allft requires.
When you take a grain Of barley and
steep Il IN water until Il IL soft and then
keep it warm until II sprouts and then
instead Of allowing the disatass 10 use
itself up you check the further growth
by heating the grain to say 40 degrees
Fahrenheit you dry It and change the
harley 90 malt. The harley was as
hard 40 flint and too firm 20 crush be-
tween the teeth. The grain Of malt
brushes readily under the teeth and the
powdery contents are sweet-a trans
formation brought about by the digestive
action Of the diaatase ia the grain
In due course the brewer became aware
of the value Of harley and turned IL into
sweet malt. which when ground into -four
and stepped in water gave him tho basis
for heer. He has the maltstsr steep
Thousands Of bushels Of barley In water
until soft. then this sOdden barley Ia
spread upon hollow tiled carefully heated
hoora and there the wet grain h dis
crsatly turlsd 20 allow Of free contact
with the air. and the same termination
goes on upon the maltstsr's floor A. in the
warm ground. The little green shoot
starts growing she dias,ase begins its
digestive work. the raw starch turns into
dextross by degrees and the gluten changes
N psptone. soluble forms Of food.
When the growth has sprouted % say
three-eighths or perhaps one-half an inch
in length the heat IL increased In the malt
ioor up 70 l20 degrees Fahrenheit OF even
higher II required. the grain dries. tho
little green shoot ahrivels into q brown
thread and there IL tho malt The manu-.
iaoturer may turn thin malt'by a simple