Edible preparations for flavouring, seasoning, colouring, and like purposes are obtained by causing a pentose such as xylose or arabinose, or a mixture of pentoses to react in the presence of water with materials containing albumen decomposition products contained in or derived from milk, yeast, or malt for example malt mashes worts or extracts, cellular juices of yeast and albuminous constituents of sour skimmed milk, whey or malt germs or extracts thereof. Sugars having a shorter carbon chain such as glycerine aldehyde, paraldehyde and dioxyacetone may be employed in partial substitution for the pentoses. To increase the content of albumen decomposition products, the albumen-containing substances may first be subjected to a bacterial acid fermentation, e.g. a lactic or acetic acid fermentation, or both, as by means of leaven bacteria. The reaction between the albumen decomposition products and the pentoses and other sugars proceeds at ordinary temperature, but heating to a moderate temperature, e.g. 40--50 DEG C. or even higher is advisable to accelerate the reaction. Heating to 100 DEG C. or over may be employed where no detrimental changes are produced thereby and the enzyme content of the product is not important, or one part of the product can be heated in this way and another part not heated or heated only to temperatures at which the enzymes are not injured. In examples: (1) a mixture of 20 kg. of pressed yeast, 5 kg. of xylose and 5 kg. of dextrose syrup is heated to about 50 DEG C. for a few minutes, cooled and the syrup obtained stored for some time, e.g. 14 days, to develop a fruit-like smell and taste; this change can be accelerated by inoculating the materials with lactic acid or other acid bacteria. A darker product is obtained by heating to 40--60 DEG C. for half an hour or more. The syrup may be used as a food or for addition to confectionery, baked goods, sweetmeats, &c., and as an assistant in fermentation, e.g. in baking white bread &c. and making malt and beer. By heating to 90--100 DEG C. a viscous product having a chocolate-brown colour is obtained and may be used for the same purposes as the syrup. A pleasing flavour is obtained by adding \ba1/2\be kg. of monocalcium phosphate or of tartaric acid before heating. The syrup may be converted into powder form by vacuum or roller drying or drying by atomization or by addition of substances which take up water, a temperature below 60 DEG C. being used if the enzymes and vitamines are not to be affected; (2) malt having a strong aroma is obtained by adding 0,1--10 per cent of pentose or a mixture of pentoses, e.g. by spraying on the green or dried malt, and by heating to 50--110 DEG C. or higher, if desired in stages, according to the colour and aroma required. Malts which have undergone albumen decomposition at 30--50 DEG C. before kiln drying are improved in taste by adding 5--10 per cent of xylose and completing the kiln drying at moderate temperatures. The pentoses may be replaced by mixtures of malt germs or their extracts or yeast or yeast plasma with pentoses, and these mixtures may be subjected to heat treatment before use, e.g. at 50 DEG C. for 1--5 hours, or 90--100 DEG C. for \ba1/4\be hour or longer according to the aroma or colour desired. Air-dried green malt or malt which has been lightly dried at low temperature can after addition of mixtures so prepared be kiln dried at a very low temperature giving a malt having a strong aroma and colouring power and rich in enzymes; (3) an extract or wort prepared from p green or kiln dried malt is treated with a pentose, or a mixture of pentose with nitrogenous compounds as in example (2), e.g. 5--10 kg. of xylose are worked up with extract from 50 kg. of malt; (4) to obtain a strongly aromatic compound having good colouring properties 2--4 parts or more of xylose are employed with 1 part of albumen decomposition products. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 comprises also the use in the process besides pentoses of other sugars having a short carbon chain, and polypentoses, products intermediate between pentoses and pentosans produced by breaking down pentosans, low molecular pentosans, and other pentose compounds. The lactic acid fermentation may be replaced by addition of fermentation lactic acid with or without fermentation acetic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, &c., or by an alcoholic fermentation. The alcoholic fermentation may be replaced by addition of a liquid rich in sugar and albuminous materials which has been fermented by yeast. In example (3) above, if the product is to be added in preparing beer, vat yeast may be added before the heating. The low molecular pentosans or polypentoses may be obtained by heating dry extracted sugar beet slices with water for 3 hours at 3 ats. pressure, pressed washed beet yeast or an extract of malt or malt germs are added and the mixture is heated to 50 DEG C. or higher to give a syrup which may be used as in example (1) above. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.ALSO:Edible preparations for flavouring, seasoning, colouring, and like purposes are obtained by causing a pentose, such as xylose or arabinose, or a mixture of pentoses to react in the presence of water with materials containing albumen decomposition products contained in or derived from milk, yeast, or malt, for example, malt mashes, worts or extracts, cellular juices of yeast and albuminous constituents of sour skimmed milk, whey or malt germs or extracts thereof. Sugars having a shorter carbon chain such as glycerine aldehyde, paraldehyde and dioxyacetone may be employed in partial substitution for the pentoses. To increase the content of albumen decomposition products, the albumen-containing substances may first be subjected to a bacterial acid fermentation, e.g. a lactic or acetic acid fermentation, or both as by means of leaven bacteria. The reaction between the albumen decomposition products and the pentoses and other sugars proceeds at ordinary temperature, but heating to a moderate temperature, e.g. 40-50 DEG C. or even higher is advisable to accelerate the reaction. Heating to 100 DEG C. or over may be employed where no detrimental changes are produced thereby and the enzyme content of the product is not important, or one part of the product can be heated in this way and another part not heated or heated only to temperatures at which the enzymes are not injured. In examples, (1) a mixture of 20 kg. of pressed yeast, 5 kg. of xylose and 5 kg. of dextrose syrup is heated to about 50 DEG C. for a few minutes, cooled and the syrup obtained stored for some time, e.g. 14 days, to develop a fruit-like smell and taste; this change can be accelerated by inoculating the materials with lactic acid or other acid bacteria. A darker product is obtained by heating to 40-60 DEG C. for half an hour or more. The syrup may be used as a food or for addition to confectionery, baked goods, sweetmeats, &c., and as an assistant in fermentation, e.g. in baking white bread &c. and making malt and beer. By heating to 90-100 DEG C. a viscous product having a chocolate-brown colour is obtained and may be used for the same purposes as the syrup. A pleasing flavour is obtained by adding 1/2 kg. of monocalcium phosphate or of tartaric acid before heating. The syrup may be converted into powder form by vacuum or roller drying or drying by atomization or by addition of substances which take up water, a temperature below 60 DEG C. being used if the enzymes and vitamines are not to be affected; (2) malt having a strong aroma is obtained by adding 0,1-10 per cent of pentose or a mixture of pentoses, e.g. by spraying on the green or dried malt, and by heating to 50-110 DEG C. or higher, if desired in stages, according to the colour and aroma required. Malts which have undergone albumen decomposition at 30-50 DEG C. before kiln drying are improved in taste by adding 5-10 per cent of xylose and completing the kiln drying at moderate temperatures. The pentoses may be replaced by mixtures of malt germs or their extracts or yeast or yeast plasma with pentoses and these mixtures may be subjected to heat treatment before use, e.g. at 50 DEG C. for 1-5 hours, or 90-100 DEG C. for 1/4 hour or longer according to the aroma or colour desired. Air-dried green malt or malt which has been lightly dried at low temperature can after addition of mixtures so prepared be kiln dried at a very low temperature giving a malt having a strong aroma and colouring power and rich in enzymes; (3) an extract or wort prepared from green or kiln dried malt is treated with a pentose, or a mixture of pentose with nitrogenous compounds as in example (2), e.g. 5-10 kg. of xylose are worked up with extract from 50 kg. of malt; (4) to obtain a strongly aromatic compound having good colouring properties 2-4 parts or more of xylose are employed with 1 part of albumen decomposition products. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 comprises also the use in the process besides pentoses of other sugars having a short carbon chain, and polypentoses, products intermediate between pentoses and pentosans produced by breaking down pentosans, low molecular pentosans, and other pentose compounds. The lactic acid fermentation may be replaced by addition of fermentation lactic acid with or without fermentation acetic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, &c. or by an alcoholic fermentation. The alcoholic fermentation may be replaced by addition of a liquid rich in sugar and albuminous materials which has been fermented by yeast. In example (3) above, if the product is to be added in preparing beer, vat yeast may be added before the heating. The low molecular pentosans or polypentoses may be obtained by heating dry extracted sugar beet slices with water for 3 hours at 3 atmos. pressur