MALT CHARACTERISTICS OF SORGHUM-VULGARE VARIETIES FROM GHANA

Two local varieties, a white type and a red type, of Sorghum vulgare cultivated in Ghana were malted, using a micro-malting method, and their malt characteristics studied and compared to that of a commercial barley malt. The optimal germination time, at 30-degrees-C, to produce a good malt of high diastatic power and extract from local varieties of these varieties was 4-5 days. The local varieties were also found to have high diastatic activities of between 55 and 68% of the commercial barley malt. Hot-water extracts of the well malted sorghum varieties were also found to have higher and sustainable amounts of free amino nitrogen than the commercial malt. The hot-water extracts of sorghum malts were lower than the commercial barley malt, yielding about 66-77% of the barley malt, but contained a higher glucose to malt ratio. In terms of varietal superiority, the white sorghum yielded higher malt extracts than the red type.