TRADITIONAL DAIRY PRODUCTS

Lesson 26. SHRIKHAND- METHODS OF PRODUCTION, PACKAGING AND PRESERVATION

Module 7. Fermented dairy products

Lesson 26
SHRIKHAND- METHODS OF PRODUCTION, PACKAGING AND PRESERVATION

26.1 Shrikhand

26.1.1 Product description

Shrikhand is a popular fermented, sweetened, indigenous dairy product having semi solid consistency with typical sweetish-sour taste. It is very popular in the state of Gujarat, Maharashtra and part of Karnataka. It is prepared by mixing chakka with sugar, color, flavor, spices and other ingredients like fruit pulp, nuts etc. to form soft homogenous mass.

Table 26.1 FSSR (2011) / BIS standards for shrikhand

PFA: In fruit Shrikhand milk fat on dry matter basis not less than 7.0% and protein on dry matter not less than 9.0%.

26.2 Traditional Method of Making Shrikhand

Traditionally shrikhand is prepared by boiling cow or buffalo or mixed milk and cooled to room temperature (30°C). Heated and cooled milk is added with previous day dahi at the rate of 0.5 to 1 %. Milk is left undisturbed overnight at room temperature to set firmly. It is then stirred and hung in a muslin cloth for 10 to 12 hr to drain off whey. The curd mass obtained after removal of whey is called as chakka. Chakka is then added with calculated amount of sugar, color, flavour and other optional ingredients like fruits, nuts, spices, herbs and served chilled.

The chakka obtained from whole milk/ standardized milk has smooth body, whereas the one obtained from skim milk is little rough and dry. When whole milk is used for chakka making, high fat loss occurs in whey thereby affecting the recovery of fat in chakka. Therefore, it is preferred to use skim milk for chakka making and then mixing of cream or unsalted butter to adjust the fat in the finished product. Homogenization of milk leads to slow drainage of whey giving higher moisture content in chakka and a product with very soft consistency (not liked by the consumers). Conventionally made chakka varies from batch to batch with regard to moisture and acidity. Moisture content affects the yield, consistency and composition, whereas acidity affects the taste and quantity of sugar to be added.

26.3 Industrial Production of Shrikhand

With a view to overcome some of the limitations of the traditional method and to partially mechanize the shrikhand production, a semi-mechanized large scale production is employed. hrikhand is the first traditional milk product for which large scale production technology was adopted. The first modern plant has been established at the Baroda District Cooperative Milk Producers Union ltd. Baroda Dairy has adopted a process which involves use of basket centrifuge for speedy draining of whey and a planetary mixer for kneading and mixing of ingredients.
For industrial production of shrikhand, fresh skim milk is used as a raw material.

Use of skim milk has got many advantages as listed below

• Fat losses are eliminated

• Faster moisture expulsion

• Less moisture retention

Skim milk is heated to 85°C for 30min, cooled to 30°C and inoculated with LF-40 culture containing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactococcus Lactis var. diacetilactis at the rate of 1.0 – 1.5%. After the required acidity of 0.8 to 1.0 is reached, the curd is taken into basket centrifuge or quarg separator to remove whey from the curd. The curd mass or chakka is taken into planetary mixer or scraped surface heat exchanger. Sugar at the rate of 80% w/w, calculated amount of plastic cream (80% fat) to give at least 8.5% FDM in the finished product are added and mixed thoroughly. Optinal ingredients like color, flavor, fruits, nuts etc. can also be added at this stage. Then it is packed at room temperature and stored at refrigeration temperature.

Tabel 26.2 Chemical composition of shrikhand

26.4 Packaging of Shrikhand

As shrikhand is a semi solid product, heat sealable polystyrene cups of 100g to 1000g capacity are commonly used for packing shrikhand. However, small manufacturer sell the product in wax coated paper board boxes.

26.5 Shelf Life of Shrikhand

Due to both high acid and sugar levels, shrikhand has a fairly long shelf-life of 30-40 days at 8°C and 2-3 days at 30°C. The shelf-life depends largely on the initial level of contaminating organisms particularly yeast and moulds. The shelf life of shrikhand can be increased by addition of potassium sorbate 0.05% or by thermization at 65°C for 10 min coupled with addition of 0.02% sorbic acid. For industrial purposes pasteurization of shrikhand at 65°C/10min and subsequent freezing can increase the shelf life upto 12 months at -26°C.

Fig. 26.1 Industrial method of shrikhand manufacture

26.6 Innovations

• Use of basket centrifuge or quarg separator for the production of Chakka - use of basket centrifuge increased the curd production to 80kg/hr. The quarg separator has got the capacity to produce 2,500kg of curd per hour. This permits to scale up the production upto 8 tonnes/day and minimizes the batch to batch variation with respect to moisture content and thereby quality of the product.

• Use of planetary mixer or Scraped surface heat exchanger for mixing chakka with sugar and other optional ingredients. These processes not only produce homogenous mixture but also increase the production capacity to 40 to 500kg per batch.

• Starter culture – different combination of lactic strains have been developed to produce superior quality of shrikhand e.g. Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus lactis var. diacetylactis, and Leuconostoc cremoris in the ratio of 1:1:1, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus in the ratio of 1:1. The LF-40 culture containing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis + Lactococcus Lactis Var. diacetilactis has received wide acceptance by many shrikhand manufacturers.

• Manufacture of shrikhand using UF-chakka.

• Manufacture of fruit flavored shrikhand.

• Manufacture of shrikhand using low calorie sweeteners.

References

Aneja, R.P., Vyas, M.N., Nanda, K. and Thareja, V.K. 1977. Development of an Industrial process for the manufacture of shrikhand. J. Food Sci. Technology.14:159-163,
Aneja, R.P., Mathur, B.N., Chandan, R.C. and Banerjee, A.K. 2002. Technology of Indian Milk Products. A Dairy India Publication, Delhi, India