Module 7. Channa

Lesson 17

YIELD OF CHHANA-PACKAGING AND PRESERVATION OF CHHANA, SHELF LIFE AND DEFECTS

17.1  Yield of chhana

Yield and quality of chhana depends on the type of milk, heat treatment given to milk prior to acidification, acidity of milk, coagulation temperature, strength of coagulant and residence time of the coagulated chhana-whey mixture before separation of coagulated milk solids from whey.

Total solids present in milk especially fat and casein influence the yield of chhana, which from cow milk is 15 to 17% and from buffalo milk is 81 to 20%.

17.2  Shelf Life of chhana

Chhana is an extremely perishable due to its high moisture content. At room temperature, it does not keep longer than a day. Under refrigeration, the shelf life can be extended up to six days. Packaging materials used to pack chhana have a role in extending the shelf life. The cow milk and buffalo milk chhana stored in tin cans and cellulose film/LDPE was found acceptable upto 3 days at 37°C, and 20days at 4-5°C. Since fresh chhana is preferred for making sweets of good quality not much research efforts have been made for extending the shelf life.

17.3  Packaging of Chhana

Due to the high heat treatment during the production of chhana, the microbial load is very low in fresh products. It is the post processing contamination that takes place during handling and storage, which leads to sharp increase in the population of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. Packaging plays an important role to protect and preserve the quality of the products for long time. At present chhana is manufactured in rural households and packaged in bamboo baskets lined with leaves or parchment paper or polyethylene film and it is locally sold to retailers. This kind of packaging is not effective and adequate. Chhana should be protected from microbial contamination, light and oxygen using appropriate packaging system.   Vegetable parchment paper can be used for packaging of chhana but not so effective in extending the shelf life. Chhana packaed tin cans showed maximum protection against chemical deterioration. Cellulose film/LDPE laminates and alluminium/LDPE laminates also exhibit maximum protection to chhana against chemical deterioration. Most of the chhana is used for making chhana based sweets, and prepared freshly whenever it is required.

17.4 Defects in Chhana

17.4.1  Flavour defects

Defect	Causes	Prevention
Smoky	Use of smoky fire for boiling of milk	Use non smoky fire for boiling of milk
Sour	Use of high acid milk. Use excessive amount of coagulating acid / sour-whey	Use fresh milk Use proper amount of coagulant
Rancid	Fat hydrolysis due to lipase action during storage (at room temperature or above)	Store chhana at low temp (4 to 6°C)
Stale	Excessively long period of storage of chhana at low temp.(5-10°C)	Control microbial growth and early utilization.
Body & texture defects
Hard Body	Inadequate fat content in milk used for chhana production. Inadequate moisture content in chhana due to faulty production	Use optimum fat content in milk Maintain proper moisture content of chhana by adapting correct production technique
Coarse Texture	Use of high acid milk. Inadequate fat content in milk Too-high temperature of coagulation Too-low pH. of coagulation	Use fresh milk Keep optimum fat content in milk Coagulate at optimum temperature Coagulate at optimum pH
Colour & appearance defects
Mouldy Surface	Long storage of chhana, especially in humid atmosphere Excessive moisture content in chhana	Pack the product immediately and reduce the exposure to air Maintain proper moisture content inchhana
Visible dirt / foreign matter	Incorrect or no clarification/filtration of milk Improper cleaning of utensils/equipments Dirty / windy surroundings during manufacture Transport of unpacked chhana	Follow the clarification/filtration method with suitable filters Clean the utensils/equipments properly Manufacture chhana under hygienic conditions Pack chhana in air tight containers and then transport