Factors Affecting Quality and Yield of Paneer
1.Type of Milk
2.Quality of Milk
3.Type, Strength and Temperature of Coagulant
4.Heat Treatment of Milk
5.Coagulation Temperature
6.pH of Coagulation
1.Type of Milk
Paneer prepared from buffalo milk will have desirable frying properties, body and texture as compared to cow milk. The cow milk paneer is too soft, weak and fragile and during cooking it tend to disintegrate. However cow milk and buffalo milk at 50:50 yields better product than cow milk. Paneer made from skim milk has chewy, rubbery and hard body.
To obtain paneer of good quality, the milk must be fresh and free from off falvour. Growth of psychotrophic organisms should be minimized to restrict the off-flavour development. Acidic milk having a titratable acidity of more than 0.20% lactic acid yields a product of inferior quality. The milk with COB positive and low acidity (sweet curdling) is not suitable for paneer making. Paneer made from such milk has weak body and texture, more moisture, acidic smell and not safe for human consumption.
Product yield and moisture retention are directly influenced by the type and concentration of the acid and the mode of delivery and blending into the hot milk. Citric acid is generally Used as a coagulant. Lemon or lime juice or vinegar imparts a typical flavour to the product. 1% solution of citric acid yields good quality of paneer. Sufficient acid is added gently but quickly blended with the milk (within 1 minute) to reach ideal ph of coagulation. Normally 1.8 to 2.0 kg citric acid is required for 1000L of milk coagulation High acid concentration imparts acid flavour, hardness and causes greater solids loss. Whey cultured with Lactobacillus acidophilus at a level of 2% and incubated overnight at 37°C can be used as a substitute for citric acid.
This is one of the technological requirements of the process which affect the sensory and microbiological quality of paneer. The objective of heating the milk is to prepare the milk for rapid iso-electric precipitation, control the moisture content, develop typical body and texture, create conditions conducive to the destruction of pathogenic and other microflora present in milk and ensure safety as well as keeping quality of the final product. The milk is heated to 90°C without holding or 82°C for 5 minutes in order to maximize the total solids recovery. Whey proteins especially ß-lactoglobulin and a-lactalbumin form a complex with Қ-casein and retain with the curd thus increase the yield of the product. The high heat treatment imparts desirable cooked flavour by controlled liberation of sulphydryl compounds.
It influences the moisture content of the paneer, an increase in temperature from 600 °C To 860 °C decreases the moisture in paneer from 59 to 49%. At 700 °C, paneer has the best organoleptic and frying quality in terms of shape retention, softness and integrity.
The optimum pH of coagulation of milk at 70°C is 5.30-5.35 for better product quality and maximum recovery of solids when made from buffalo milk. The moisture retention in paneer decreases with the fall in pH and consequently the yield also decreases. At pH more than 5.35 the paneer is very soft with fragile and crumbly body. Optimum pH when cow milk is used for paneer preparation is 5.2.
