What does malted mean?
Malted is an adjective describing something made from, containing, or flavored with malt. Malt is grain, usually barley, that has been soaked in water and allowed to dry, allowing enzymes to convert some of the grain’s starch into fermentable sugar. The resulting product has a characteristic sweet, nutty, slightly biscuity flavor and is central to brewing, where it is called malted barley. In everyday food language, “malted milk” refers to a drink made by combining milk with barley malt and sugar or another sweetener. The word can also describe grain that has undergone the malting process, especially in technical and industrial contexts. It is especially useful when discussing beer, brewing, traditional milk drinks, and the transformation of ordinary grain into a fermentable ingredient.
Made from or containing malt; especially, converted into malt by steeping and drying, or flavored with malt.
"The brewery uses malted barley in its traditional porter."
The established expression “malted milk” denotes a sweetened milk drink flavored with malt.
Past tense and past participle of malt: to convert grain, especially barley, into malt by soaking it and allowing it to dry.
"The barley was malted before it was milled for brewing."
This form is most often used in technical descriptions of malting and brewing.
Malted barley carries the sweet, biscuity flavor familiar in beer, malted milk, and some confections.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of malted
The adjective derives from the English noun malt, with the suffix -ed indicating that the grain has been treated as malt. “Malt” is an old English word inherited from Germanic, with cognates in German Malz and Dutch mout. Related English forms include malting, maltster, and maltose, the last of which names the sugar produced from starch through the action of enzymes.
Related word forms
How malted is actually used
The adjective is common in food, brewing, and technical descriptions. “Malted milk” is a fixed expression in both British and American English; other combinations such as “malted barley” are especially common in brewing and malting contexts.
Easily confused with malted
Malt is the germinated, dried grain used in brewing and food production, while malted describes grain that has been treated to become malt or a product containing malt.