298 Chapter 11
minutes, nearly all of the curd chunks sink to
the bottom. At this point, a strainer is fi tted
into the outlet of the cheese vat, the whey
drainage valve is then opened, and the whey
fl ows into a surge tank partitioned by a
strainer to retain any curd fi nes escaping
from the cheese vat. Hot whey accumulates
in the second section of the surge tank from
which it is pumped out, cooled to 4 ° C (39 ° F),
and stored in a whey tank for further
processing.
The curd is transferred to hoops lined with
cheesecloth. The hoops have perforations on
all sides to facilitate whey expulsion. Hoops
may vary in size from 2 to 10 kg in capacity.
Unsalted paneer is traditionally used for culi-
nary purposes. Prior to placing the lid on the
hoop and applying pressure, extra curd is
added to facilitate block formation. The
hoops are pressed with a hydraulic press to
exert a low pressure (9.8 kPa) onto the curd.
The pressing time is generally around 10 to
15 minutes, after which the wrapped blocks
of paneer are ejected from the hoop for quick
cooling. Moisture content, shear strength,
and porosity of paneer is a function of the
pressing conditions.
The wrapped blocks are cooled by immer-
sion in cold water or 5% salt solution at 4 ° C
(39 ° F) for two to three hours. The blocks
absorb enough water during dipping to
develop paneer ’ s typical body and texture.
Cooling also facilitates handling during
cutting and wrapping for retail sale. Pack-
aging materials include coextruded lami-
nates of moisture barrier and oxygen
barrier fi lms, polyethylene sachets, and heat -
induced shrink fi lm. It is advantageous to
freeze paneer packages for distribution over
long distances and storage for extended
periods.
Paneer yield ranges from 21 to 23 kg
(containing 51% to 54% moisture)/100 kg of
buffalo milk, corresponding to 63% to 67%
milk solids recovery in the paneer. With
cow ’ s milk, the yield is around 17% to 18%.
The process for making paneer has beenpaneer with 13% FDM is feasible, the product
has a chewy, rubbery, and hard body.
Typically, milk is standardized to 3.9% to
4% fat and 13% SNF; low - heat nonfat dry
milk is used to obtain the protein/fat ratio of
1.2. Calcium chloride is added at the 0.1%
level. The milk is heated in a plate heat
exchanger from 4 ° C (39 ° F) to 85 ° C to 90 ° C
(185 ° F to 194 ° F) and pumped into a water/
steam jacketed cheese vat and allowed to
cool to 70 ° C to 75 ° C (158 ° F to 167 ° F) in
about 10 minutes, prior to acid blending.
Many industrial processes use citric acid
as a coagulant. Glacial acetic acid is also
used by some manufacturers. The type and
concentration of the acid and the mode of
delivery and blending into the hot milk
directly infl uence product yield and moisture
retention. Citric acid monohydrate is gener-
ally used as 1% solution at 70 ° C (158 ° F).
Generally, approximately 2 g of citric acid
monohydrate is required to coagulate 1,000 g
of milk. Suffi cient acid is gently but quickly
blended with the milk (within one minute) to
bring about full coagulation. At this point,
clear, greenish yellow whey separates out,
allowing the curd to sink to the bottom. The
pH of the whey should be 5.7 to 5.9. It is
important not to stir the vat contents after
coagulation to allow formation of large
aggregates of curd.
Paneer obtained at a coagulation tempera-
ture of 70 ° C (158 ° F) has the best organolep-
tic quality as well as the most desirable frying
quality in terms of shape retention, softness,
and maintenance of integrity. Variation in the
pH of coagulation has a profound effect on
processing and quality parameters. For
example, when the coagulation pH is
increased from 5.1 to 5.4, the moisture
content of paneer increases from 50% to 59%
and the yield increases from 21% to 25%.
Sensory quality is considered to be best at pH
5.30 to 5.35, the recommended pH for
coagulation.
The coagulated milk is allowed to sepa-
rate into curd and clear whey. After 10