Manufacturing Outlines and Applications of Selected Cheese Varieties 297melt functionality. This unique characteristic
permits paneer ’ s use in Indian cuisine, and it
lends itself to the preparation of fried cheese
snacks. The moisture content of paneer is no
more than 70% and the fat content is at least
50% fat on dry matter basis. Skim milk
paneer contains not more than 70% moisture
and not more than 13% fat on dry matter
basis.
Paneer Cheese Process : Paneer is typi-
cally made from buffalo milk in South Asia.
It is made by heat and acid coagulation of
the casein component of standardized milk.
Through various interactions it entraps
almost all of the fat, most of the denatured
whey proteins and colloidal salts, as well
as part of the soluble milk solids (in propor-
tion to the moisture content retained). The
typical chemical composition of paneer is
53% to 55% moisture, 23% to 26% fat, 17%
to 18% protein, 2% to 2.5% lactose, and
1.5% to 2% minerals. Paneer is marble white
with a slightly spongy body and close - knit
texture. It has a mild sweetish - acidic nutty
fl avor.
The paneer production process is illus-
trated in Figure 11.5. The milk used for
paneer should be standardized to a fat/solids -
not - fat (SNF) ratio of 1 : 1.65 to achieve a
minimum of 50% FDM in the fi nished
product. Therefore, the starting milk must
have a minimum of 5.8% milk fat. In India,
buffalo milk or blended milk is preferred
because it provides higher fat (6%) and SNF
(9.5%) than cow ’ s milk. In the West, the
quality of paneer made from cow ’ s milk is
quite acceptable. Cow ’ s milk is normally
blended with 0.1% calcium chloride dihdrate
to ensure good yield. High - quality paneer
with 42% FDM can be obtained from milk
that contains 3.5% fat and 8.5% SNF.
Nevertheless, it is advantageous to standard-
ize the milk to a protein/fat ratio of 1.2 with
nonfat dry milk. Paneer has a soft, meaty
texture and a pleasant, creamy fl avor. Low -
fat paneer is also available, with fat in the
range of 24% FDM. Although skim - milkCow ’ s milk is preferred for making
chhana, and the pressing of the curd is
restricted to that obtained by gravity after
draining of the whey in a cheesecloth/muslin
bag. Longer draining time gives a hard
product. Depending on its end use, chhana
may be soft or hard. The texture varies from
smooth and pasty to crumbly. For example,
soft chhana is needed for the confection raso-
golla, while the confection sandesh requires
the hard variety. These two confections
account for the majority of Chhana produc-
tion, and optimum functionality is required
in each case.
Chhana, like ricotta is made in kettles.
Cow ’ s milk is brought to near boiling and an
appropriate acidulant is quickly added to the
hot milk to bring the pH of the mixture to 5.4.
The curd settles to the bottom and whey is
removed by fi ltration through a strainer lined
with cheesecloth. The curd is cooled in
running tap water. Chhana is then used in
sweetmeats and other Indian confections.
The coagulants that are used are lime or
lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid, lactic acid,
fermented milk, and whey. A solution of
citric acid (0.5% to 1.5%) or lactic acid (1%
to 2%) is appropriate to lower the pH of hot
milk to 5.4. The interaction between the tem-
perature of coagulation and fi nal pH affects
the yield and quality of chhana. For cow ’ s
milk, a temperature of 80 ° C (176 ° F) at pH
5.4 is optimal, whereas for buffalo milk,
70 ° C (158 ° F) at pH 5.7 is desirable. A higher
coagulation temperature imparts graininess
and hardness to the texture, and lower tem-
peratures result in sticky chhana, which
drains signifi cantly slower.
Paneer Cheese: Paneer, a non - melting
cheese used for cooking and frying, is another
acid - coagulated product of hot milk. It
resembles chhana in its manufacture, but
differs in that it is lightly pressed into blocks.
It resembles tofu in appearance and texture,
but possesses a distinct fl avor of its own. Due
to its ability to withstand cooking and frying
temperatures, paneer offers outstanding non -