Maltose sometimes referred to as malt sugar, a disaccharide (double sugar) formed when starch is broken down by enzyme action, as when barley is malted (see malt), and also in the process of digestion. Maltose is only one-third as sweet as sucrose—ordinary sugar—but its energy value is the same. The enzymes that form it belong to the group known as amylase or diastase; an example is ptyalin, found in saliva. Another enzyme, maltase, splits maltose into two molecules of glucose. Brewers and bakers classify grain by its ‘maltose figure’, a measure of how much maltose it will produce.
