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Cheese from India, Gujarat

Topli nu paneer (Surati paneer)topli nu paneer

Milk, made principally from buffalo milk, is set with crude rennet and the curd is ladled in thin slices into small salted bamboo baskets, where it drains and shrinks. The cheeses are then kept steeped in whey through making, storage and transport. It is a fresh rennet curd; a 1942 study added a lactic starter.

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo fixed batch. The 1942 trials used 5 lb of milk per run, with 4.0–10.0 ml of rennet per 100 lb of milk.
Milk, traditionally fresh buffalo milkThe 1942 study found milk of about 6 % fat gave the best body and flavour[kothavalla1942][kothavalla1942-t]
RennetCrude rennet in the traditional cheese; the 1942 trials used a standard liquid rennet extract[kothavalla1942-intro][kothavalla1942]
Lactic starter (Streptococcus lactis)Used in the 1942 trials; the traditional cheese is made with crude rennet and salt[kothavalla1942]
Salt, on the baskets and between layers of curd[kothavalla1942][kothavalla1942-intro]
StarterStreptococcus lactis culture in the 1942 trials

Total time across the recorded steps: 31 min – 2.3 h

Start
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77.8 °C

What changes: The milk is heated briefly before the starter and rennet go in

Step 1 of 5
Heat the milk
Time
0.3 min
Reported
Temperature
77.8 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Streptococcus lactis

The trials pasteurised toned milk to destroy its microflora so the added lactic starter could grow unimpeded.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

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

At a glance

Milk, made principally from buffalo milk, is set with crude rennet and the curd is ladled in thin slices into small salted bamboo baskets, where it drains and shrinks. The cheeses are then kept steeped in whey through making, storage and transport. It is a fresh rennet curd; a 1942 study added a lactic starter. Made in 5 steps over 31 min – 2.3 h. The longest step, add starter and rennet, takes 31 min – 2.3 h (Kothavalla ZR 1942) and runs at 29.4–37.8 °C (Kothavalla ZR 1942). Streptococcus lactis (now Lactococcus lactis), as a pure-culture starter in the 1942 trials does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step31 min – 2.3 hMeasured[kothavalla1942-t]Add starter and rennet
Temperature29.4–37.8 °CMeasured[kothavalla1942-t]Add starter and rennet

What makes this one different

Topli nu paneer is set with rennet, drained in small salted baskets and kept steeped in whey through storage and transport. The 1942 authors say this sets it apart from all other Indian cheeses.

Milk
Traditionally buffalo milk with crude rennet and salt
Storage
Kept and sold steeped in whey

Related ferments

Safety

The 1942 trials pasteurised the milk at 172 °F (77.8 °C) for about 20 seconds before adding the starter. In a 2017 optimisation study the finished cheese averaged 71.26 % moisture and 1.32 % salt (abstract). The CDC says pregnant women, newborns, people 65 or older and people with weak immunity should avoid unheated queso fresco-type and similar fresh, soft cheeses, whether made with pasteurised or raw milk.

History and sources

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

In 1942 the Imperial Dairy Institute, Bangalore, studied Surati cheese to standardise its making. It had then been sold for over half a century in Bombay, Surat, Poona and other towns, carried in whey in earthen pots.

  1. [kothavalla1942-intro] Kothavalla ZR, Verma HC (1942). Studies in the manufacture of Surati cheese. Indian Journal of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry 12, p. 297 (National Library of Scotland, India Papers)paper
  2. [kothavalla1942] Kothavalla ZR, Verma HC (1942). Studies in the manufacture of Surati cheese, p. 298, methods (National Library of Scotland, India Papers)paper
  3. [kothavalla1942-t] Kothavalla ZR, Verma HC (1942). Studies in the manufacture of Surati cheese, p. 300, Tables I and II (National Library of Scotland, India Papers)paper
  4. [gol2017] Gol J.B., Rao K.J. 2017, Study of parameters for process standardisation of Surati panir manufacture, Indian Journal of Dairy Science 70(3) (abstract)paper
  5. [cdc-listeria] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Listeria Infectiongov