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Leroy ks | Im sure someone else can explain better. But the mills we go to check falling numbers The way I understand it is it checks how stiff the dough will be.
They grind it up into flour make a paste and see how far a hydrometer will fall in
Oh heck here it is
Wish I had Wikipedia in school instead of having to go to the library and look up
Btw just helped my 8 year old with common core math wth is that stuff
Google is great for that stuff
The Falling Number method is uncomplicated, but requires an apparatus which follows the international standards. Such an apparatus consists of a water bath, a test tube, a stirring rod, and a stirring device. The test was performed manually when first employed, test instrumentation today is mostly automated.
To analyze a grain sample it first needs to be ground to a powder; a flour sample can be analyzed as is. The sample is put into the test tube; distilled water is added, and the tube is then shaken vigorously to achieve a homogeneous mix. The tube is then placed in the boiling water bath, and the operator begins to stir the sample. Simultaneously the starch begins to gelatinize and the slurry becomes more viscous. The mixing ensures the gelatinization is homogeneous in the slurry, crucial for consistent test results. An additional effect of the high temperature is that the alpha-amylase enzyme contained in the grain begins to break the starch down into glucose and maltose, thereby reducing the viscosity of the slurry. The amount of starch break-down is directly proportionate to the alpha-amylase activity, meaning that the higher the activity of the alpha-amylase, the lower the viscosity will be.
After 60 seconds of mixing, the stirrer is dropped from the top of the test tube, and the operator measures the time it takes for the stirrer to reach the bottom. That time, measured in seconds, is the Falling Number. When the stirrer is dropped, its speed and thus the time it takes it to fall to the bottom, will be determined by the viscosity of the slurry. In other words, the more sprouted the grain was the higher the alpha-amylase activity will be. The higher the alpha-amylase activity the lower the viscosity of the slurry. The lower the viscosity of the slurry the faster the stirrer will fall to the bottom. That is why more sprouted grain results in a lower Falling Number as Falling Number is the time it takes the stirrer to fall to the bottom | |
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Barley For Brewing Companys Questions
