CURD

Curd, also mosaru or dahi or Thayir or Perugu, is a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product, originating from and popular throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is usually prepared from cow's milk, and sometimes buffalo milk or goat milk. The word curd is used in Indian English to refer to homemade yogurt, while the term yogurt refers to the pasteurized commercial variety known as heat-treated fermented milk.

Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a culture, or any edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then allowing it to coagulate. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins (casein) to tangle into solid masses, or curds. Milk that has been left to sour (raw milk alone or pasteurized milk with added lactic acid bacteria) will also naturally produce curds, and sour milk cheeses are produced this way. 

Alternate name - Dahi, doi, mosaru, perugu, thayir, mee kiri

Course - Homemade yogurt

Place of origin - indian subcontinent

Region or state - South Asia

Associated cuisine - Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka

Main ingredients - Milk, Lactobacillus culture

Ingredients generally used - Sugar

Variations - Mishti doi, Nabadwip-er lal doi, Dhau

USES 

•  Curd produced using rennet are referred to as junket, it has a texture similar to pudding or jelly. Junket are dessert like pudding as well decorated with ingredients such as  semolina, raisins, chopped nuts and other ingredients. This can be baked, or the curd pudding can be used to bake thin custard pancakes.

• Cheese curds, drained of the whey and served without further processing or aging, are popular in some French-speaking regions of Canada, such as Quebec, parts of Ontario, and Atlantic Canada. These are often sold in snack-sized packaging and seen as a typically Canadian food item. Throughout Canada cheese curds are served with french fries and gravy in a popular snack called poutine.

• Curds are also typical of some Germanic-descent regions such as historic Waterloo County in Ontario.

• In some parts of the Midwestern U.S., especially in Wisconsin, curds are eaten fresh without further additions, or they are breaded and fried.

• Curd products vary by region and include cottage cheese, curd cheese (both curdled by bacteria and sometimes also rennet), farmer cheese, pot cheese, queso blanco, and paneer. The word can also refer to a non-dairy substance of similar appearance or consistency, though in these cases a modifier or the word 'curdled' is generally used.

• it improve your digestion.

• its helps in strengthen bones and teeth.

• it boost immunity.

Manufacturing

Curd is made by bacterial fermentation of milk. In this process, lactose in milk is converted into lactic acid by several probiotic microorganisms. The species involved in the fermentation depends on the temperature and humidity of the environment and may include Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus diacetylactis, Streptococcus cremoris, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.

Curd starter is sometimes made with dried red chillies (or their stems) in hot milk. Milk is boiled and then allowed to cool for a while. When lukewarm, dried chili peppers or their stems are added. The reason for this tradition is that dried chillies are rich in a type of lactobacilli, the bacteria that help ferment milk to form curd. The bowl is then kept undisturbed in a warm place for 5 to 10 hours.

After the starter is made, or saved from a previous batch of curd, milk is boiled and cooled. In a separate bowl, curd is mixed with its whey, and then mixed together with the milk. It is then left to sit undisturbed for 5 to 10 hours, until slightly sour, then refrigerated until consumption.

This practice can also be applied for making curd from milk substitutes, such as soy milk.

 Process

                                                                      Raw cow's milk

                                                                                    I

                                                                       Pasteurization 

                                                                     (85*c for 15 mins)

                                                                                    I

                                                                        Heating (100*C)

                                                                                    I

                                                                     Coagulation of milk

                                                                      (add citric acid 1%)

                                                                                    I

                                                                              Cooling 

                                                                              (20-25*C)

                                                                                    I

                                                                            Precolation

                                                                          (6 hours , 4*C)

                                                                                    I

                                                                                CURD

CURD DISHES

Curd is an important part of everyday diet in the Indian subcontinent, both in slow cooked food and fast food. 

Slow (cooked) food

• Curd rice

• Dahi kadhi – curd curry

• Doi maach – fish in curd curry, a Bengali dish

• Dahi baigan/Kathrikai thayir kothsu – Eggplant with curd, south Indian cuisine

• Kadhi bari – a curd curry popular in Northern India and Southern Nepal.

• Perugu Pachadi – a curd-based dip, an Andhra dish

• Thepla – served with plain curd, a Gujarati dish

 Fast food

• Dahi chiura – curd mixed with chiura, sugar and/or seasonal fruits, a Nepalese/Bihari snack

• Lassi – curd mixed with water and sweetener, usually sugar or molasses.

• Chaas/Borhani - curd mixed with water and Sea salt, black salt or Himalayan salt. It is also known as buttermilk.

• Borhani - curd mixed with coriander and mint, a Bangladeshi drink

• Papri chaat

• Dahi puri – a variation of Panipuri, using curd instead of tamarind water

• Dahi bhelpuri – a variation of bhelpuri, with curd on top

• Aloo tikki – plain curd is a side dish for aloo tikki

• Aloo paratha – plain curd is a side dish for aloo paratha

• Mishti doi – curd that is fermented after adding sweetener to milk, usually cane jaggery or date palm jaggery, a Bengali dessert.

• Raita – a side dish for biryani

• Chukauni – a Nepalese side dish made up of curd and potatoes with spices

TYPES OF CURD

• Cottage cheese

• Curd cheese (both curdled by bacteria and sometimes also rennet)

• Farmer cheese

• Pot cheese

• Queso blanco

Curd products vary by region and can range from ultra-probiotic yogurts and kefirs to sweet curds used to top bakery products2. Milk-based curds form when milk is soured, then treated with microorganisms, while sweet curds result when acid is combined with pureed fruit.

Reference - https://sites.google.com/view/dairy-iftbu/index/dairy-products/curd

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                       TANYA SAHU

                       M.S.C (2nd semester)

                       food science and technology