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Fermentation Atlas

Cheese from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal

Paneerपनीर

Paneer is not fermented. Hot milk is curdled with citric acid or another food acid, and the curd is pressed in muslin into a firm block, so no microbes take part. It is shown here as a contrast to cheeses that bacteria sour. Made in 5 steps over 8.1 days – 12 days. The longest step, keep cold, takes 8–12 days (Qureshi T.M 2019) and runs at 4–5 °C (Qureshi T.M 2019).

Key numbers
Main step8–12 daysReported[qureshi2019][amini2019]Keep cold
Temperature4–5 °CReported[qureshi2019][amini2019]Keep cold

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceLaboratory makes; one study used 8 l of milk and 2 % citric acid (Qureshi et al. 2019).
8 l (one study's batch)Whole milk · Cow, buffalo or a blend[qureshi2019][umaraw2022]
1–2 % solutionCitric acid · Lactic or tartaric acid, sour whey or alum are also used[qureshi2019][umaraw2022][amini2019]
Starternone; acid and heat set the curd

Total time across the recorded steps: 8.1 days – 12 days

Start
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82–95 °C

What changes: Milk is heated close to boiling, which kills its microbes

Step 1 of 5
Heat the milk
Time
5 min
Reported
Temperature
82–95 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: hot milk.

Flavour
cooked milk
Texture
Not documented
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

heat kills most milk microbes

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Paneer is curdled by acid and heat, not by bacteria or rennet, so it is not a fermented food. Nothing sours or ripens it after making, so it is kept cold from the start.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Malai paneerRicher, softer paneer
  • Smoked paneerPaneer finished with smoke

Safety

Not fermented, so nothing in it holds back spoilage once it is made; keep it cold. The NHS lists paneer among cheeses that are safe in pregnancy.

Hazards the sources name: Coliforms, yeasts and moulds are killed by heating milk at 82 °C for 5 min but can get back into paneer after making.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [qureshi2019] Qureshi T.M., Amjad A., Nadeem M. et al. 2019, Antioxidant potential of a soft cheese (paneer) supplemented with the extracts of date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars and its whey, Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, doi:10.5713/ajas.18.0750paper
  2. [umaraw2022] Umaraw P., Verma A.K., Singh V.P., Fahim A. 2022, Effect of turmeric and aloe vera extract on shelf-life of goat and buffalo admixture milk paneer during refrigeration storage, Foods 11(23):3870, doi:10.3390/foods11233870paper
  3. [amini2019] Amini R.K., Islam M.Z., Kitamura Y., Kokawa M. 2019, Utilization of fermented rice milk as a novel coagulant for development of paneer (soft cheese), Foods 8(8):339, doi:10.3390/foods8080339paper
  4. [nhs-preg] NHS (UK), Foods to avoid in pregnancy (cheese section)gov