15 



The above figures clearly show that there are wide differences in the 

 solubility of the dry matter and in the quantity of alcohol precipitate 

 (dextrin) and reducing- substances (sugars) in the foods examined. The 

 percentage amount of the solids of the farinas, wheat germ, and granu- 

 lated oatmeals dissolved is about equal, while the partial cooking to which 

 the rolled oats and wheat were incidentally subjected in the process of 

 manufacture, has not been sufficient to materially increase the solubility 

 of these foods. Or, if, as some contend, diastase is present in very small 

 quantities in raw grain, possibly the solubility of the uncooked foods has 

 been influenced by enzymic action. 



Among the foods sold as being cooked sufficiently to be ready to 

 serve, it will be observed that there are wide differences in the per cent, 

 of solids soluble in water. This indicates that some were much more 

 thoroughly cooked than others. It is also evident that the cooking has 

 not resulted in the formation of any appreciable amount of sugar. The 

 Malt Breakfast Food, which was malted but not cooked, shows a consid- 

 erable amount of sugar, showing that the process was continued far 

 enough to cause a large portion of the solids to pass through the dextrin 

 into the sugar. It is, of course, possible, that sugar was added, but no 

 effort was made to ascertain this point. It may be stated, however, that 

 there was evidence that the food was really malted. 



Among the malted and cooked foods there are also wide differences 

 in the percentage amount of soluble matter. It must be remembered that 

 the amount of malt used and the length of time it is allowed to act must 

 influence the quantity of the starch rendered soluble and also the amount 

 of sugar formed. Some of these foods do not contain as much soluble 

 matter as the foods that were cooked only. The same foods have no 

 more, or very little more, sugar than the uncooked foods, which would 

 indicate that very little change due to malting had really taken place. 

 Certainly there is very little to show that some of these foods have been 

 any more than cooked, and, it will be shown later, that the cooking, as 

 measured by the solubility of the carbohydrates, has not been as thorough 

 as is commonly practiced in preparing the ordinary farinas and oatmeals 

 for the table. Further, it is apparent that the predigestion has not affected 

 the solubility of the proteids, for the water extract of these malted or 

 "predigested" foods contains no more of these valuable food constituents 

 than that obtained from the cooked foods. This is as expected, for the 

 malting process can affect the carbohydrates only and has no influence on 

 the other constituents of the food. 



It is quite conceivable that in the preparation of different lots of the 

 same brand of food, the manufacturer may consciously or unconsciously 

 have allowed the malting process to proceed further with some than with 

 others, or the cooking may have been more thorough. Any such differ- 

 ences in treatment would cause variation in solubility between the differ- 

 ent lots or batches, so that one package of a food may not be as soluble 



