I've had enough of horse racing and linguistics anyway. So what is malt, then? And why do so many bagel and other bread recipes call for it? In fact malt isn't so much a thing as it is a process. "Malting" is a word that means the same thing as "sprouting", or perhaps more precisely, "germinating". It happens when a seed, notably a grain like barley, is exposed to water and a temperature of around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The seed, which is composed of an embryo (the germ) and a food supply (the endosperm) begins to grow. Which is to say the embryo begins to send out a shoot, at which point various enzymes in the seed switch on and begin slicing the long-chain starch molecules in the endosperm down into simple sugars the embryo needs to fuel its growth. Typically these enzymes produce sugars faster than the shoot can consume them, giving us humans a big opportunity.

On the one hand, one may simply dry malted barley (stopping the malting process but without deactivating the enzymes) and then grind it into powder. The result is so-called diastatic malt powder, a grain-sugar mixture that still has active enzymes in it, enzymes which are capable of breaking down starch when they're mixed with water (the word "diastatic" comes from the Greek diistanai, which means "to separate"). Diastatic malt is useful for baking types since it boosts the sugar content of bread (both by itself and as a result of the action of enzymes), enhancing taste and darkening crust (which occurs as a result of caramelization). Almost impossible to find in stores, diastatic malt usually has to be custom-ordered.

If one were to dry the malted barley and then toast it (which destroys the active enzymes but creates a nice yummy flavor), the result is non-diastatic malt powder. This is the stuff that's usually combined with sugar and dry milk to make malted milk powder. People add it to chocolate shakes to make "malteds", mix it with cocoa powder and sugar and form it into balls, or simply add it to hot water and/or milk and drink it.

If one were to dry the malted barley, then toast it, then mash it to goo and cook it, the result would be malt syrup (at least after it was filtered). Malt syrup is a sticky molasses-like liquid that you can find in health food stores under the name "barley malt". Healthy food types use it as a "natural" sweetener, though there's really nothing any more "natural" about malt syrup as compared more conventional syrups, it's just composed of different kinds of naturally occurring sugars (mostly maltose and glucose). It's about half as sweet tasting as sugar, though it has every bit as many calories.

Bakers use malt syrup for the same reasons they employ diastatic malt, to enhance flavor and color, but of course without adding active enzymes to their dough, which depending on the recipe, might not be either welcome or necessary.

Don't know how many of you tuned in for the Belmont Stakes yesterday, but the big story there was that Big Brown not only lost the Belmont Stakes, his jockey Kent Desormeaux declined to run him anywhere near his capacity for the last quarter mile or so. He simply eased him out of contention in the home stretch. What happened? Nobody knows. Big Brown was by all measures as healthy as the day he won the Derby here in Louisville. However three big races in five weeks is a demanding schedule for even the strongest horse. It was also quite hot, the dirt on the track was deep, and of course the Belmont Stakes is the longest of the Triple Crown races at a mile and a half. Any or all of them could have been a factor. Maybe it was simply that, as my 4-year-old has become fond of saying these last two weeks, he didn't "feel like it".

Congratulations to Da' Tara and jockey Alan Garcia, who won a stunning 38-1 upset.

Seems the blog drew all sorts of expertise over the weekend, including this comment from a Brazilian linguist by the name of Angela (who also happens to be a bagel enthusiast):

I've just read your post on the (possible) origins of the word 'bagel'. Just so it happens I baked bagels today (no malt syrup or malt powder though. These are hard to find in Brazil) and, believe it or not, I am a linguist! So I thought I'd write to tell you something about why or how things get their names.

When a new item is introduced into a culture, it obviously needs to be named in this culture's language. Sometimes the item is translated into something more familiar; in Portugal, for example, the spring roll is called "crêpe chinês". Even though crêpes are not deep-fried, and definitely not rolled up like spring rolls, it's the closest concept that the Portuguese have of the original thing.

In some other cultures, the tendency is to add the original word to the vocabulary, just pronouncing it differently. That's what usually happens in English: spaghetti means spaghetti, banana means banana and caviar means caviar.

Then there's the bagel. Now, I'm no food historian, but as a linguist I do have a hunch. Sometimes, a word can be changed due to what we call "folk etymology". That's when someone makes a wrong analogy about the origin of a word, but then it becomes popular and well-accepted as the right etymology. (here's a link to a better explanation + examples on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_etymology)

So I'm guessing that the bagel had another name when it "came to America", but then, some time later, someone made the connection between its shape and the yiddish word. Specially in New York, the yiddish community must have been really big at that time, so that could easily explain the facts. Then some folks thought they'd vindicate the position of "the creators of bagel", coming up with different explanations and origins -- thus all the fighting.

The point is: just because the yiddish word is "more similar" to the thing itself and to its current name, doesn't mean that the bagel was a jewish creation. So we're back where we started. As a linguist I can't really tell you the origins of bagel, I can only tell what's the probable origin of the word in English. How about that? :D

Those of you who've been reading me long enough to remember my posts on southern biscuits know that I've always felt a little defensive on that topic. I have, after all, spent almost all of my life up north. Who am I to move south and start telling people what to do? Happily over the weekend a reader by the name of Sue — from Texas no less — checked in to give my technique her stamp of approval, as well as offer an excellent tip.

I am enjoying your blog immensely! I am from Texas and was curious about your method for biscuits...you have it down perfectly. The last thing I do before they go into the oven (and no self-respecting true southern biscuit baker would leave this out...) melt 1-2 tablespoons of (salted) butter (fresher, the better) in your pan (in the oven, of course) while you finish cutting out your biscuits. As soon as the butter has melted and warmed--not hot--take your pan out of the oven, set each biscuit in the melted butter, then turn over and put it in its appointed place. The butter creates a nice, golden and crispy crust on both sides....YUMMMM! Uumm...I have to go make biscuits now...

Thanks Sue! I'll add this tip to the permanent link on biscuits over on the right.