Finding new uses for high-protein malting barley
Malting barley can be a profitable crop for Canadian producers, but barley chosen for malting has to meet stringent quality requirements. Producers’ barley that doesn’t meet these requirements is often rejected for malting grade and sold as the less-profitable feed grade. Dr. Marta Izydorczyk and her team found a new way to add value to barley that’s harvested with protein content too high to receive the malting grade.
The milling and malting Grain Research Laboratory team milled samples of high-protein barley and split them into two commercially feasible high-yielding products:
- a high-fibre and protein fraction that could be used for human nutrition (left in the photo)
- a starchy flour fraction that could be used for adjunct brewing (right in the photo)
The fibre and protein-rich product is enriched in β-glucans, arabinoxylans, ash, proteins and vitamin E and can be used as a food ingredient to help prevent or control many food-related health issues, like:
- obesity
- high blood pressure
- heart disease
- diabetes
- certain types of cancer
Brewers use adjuncts, like corn and rice, to replace some malt barley ingredients for cost savings or to add another feature to the mix. This starchy flour product obtained by milling high-protein barley is a valuable adjunct material for the partial replacement of barley malt. It showed a significant improvement in malt extract without any negative effects on viscosity or filterability.
These new value-added products could help barley producers with a crop that doesn’t meet malting grade as well as benefit consumers and brewers.
Quote:
“Our study showed that barley producers with a crop that’s too high in protein for malting grade could have another option for their crop besides selling as feed. There’s an opportunity for the food industry to produce and use these value-added barley products.”
For more information:
Exploring dry grain fractionation as a means to valorize high-protein malting barley
Izydorczyk M., Nam S., Sharma A., Kletke K. Cereals & Grains Association (2021)