HOME-MADE CURD

Home Made Curd:
CURD/DAHI/PERUGU/THAYIR can easily be made at home and it is a part of staple food. It is a natural probiotic and an excellent baby-food. I have read several posts in many groups asking on the preparation of curd at home. Hence I came up with this post, though it sounds too simple. Many sources/cooking blogs refer to the preparation of curd as preparation of yoghurt and many readers kept questioning me on how to prepare it at home. My answer was yoghurt needs a live culture of bacteria in milk which according to me is not feasible at home. It was with my knowledge of school education. I wanted to know in detail about curd vs yoghurt, I kept writing to each one who says they use yoghurt but I didn’t receive any answers to my queries across the net. Hence I went in search of the difference between CURD and YOGHURT/YOGHURT. I read around 50 pages and it was really difficult to get exact conclusions. But still, I have summarised my points of understandings (Experts, please correct me if I am wrong anywhere. I will be happy to learn).

• Curd and yoghurt are not the same. There are used interchangeably. Their preparation steps might be similar but they differ a lot.
• Curd can be easily made at home(explained stepwise below) whereas yoghurt is generally made in industries at large scale or at homes following a brief process.
• Curd and yoghurt are a result of fermentation. But yoghurt is obtained by fermentation/inoculating certain bacteria (starter culture), usually, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, into milk followed by incubation and coagulation by bacteria. A typical yoghurt-making culture contains four to six strains of bacteria. Each company’s exact mix of microbes, however, is a closely guarded secret, says a yoghurt maker.
• Both curd and yoghurt can be prepared with pre-existing curd/ yoghurt.
• There is a huge misconception/wrong usage of these two terms. Few say yoghurt is the western form of denoting curd. But it is not exactly. The process differs 100%(as per my understanding).
• Wiki refers to curd making process similar to that of PANEER/COTTAGE CHEESE making.
• Both are dairy products and rich in nutrition. Even lactose intolerant people can consume both.

Hope that’s convincing enough to clarify that CURD IS NOT SAME AS YOGURT. Let’s move to the making of home-made curd. I am providing all the tips which I carry from my elders in curd making.

Ingredients:

• Milk-1 cup(boiled)
• Curd-Few drops to 1 tsp

Procedure:

1. Boil milk and bring it to lukewarm temperature. Transfer a cup of milk to a vessel.

2. Take few drops of existing/old stock of curd.

3. Mix it well with the milk.

4. Close the vessel with a plate. Let it ferment for 6 to 12 hours.(depends on atmospheric temperature)

5.Once the curd is formed, refrigerate and use within 24 hours.

Notes:

Bring the boiled milk to a temperature which is tolerable by your palm before adding curd.

If your atmospheric temperature is too hot, fermentation will be completed within 4 to 6 hours.

If your atmospheric temperature is too cold, place the vessel in a warm place and it will take overnight.

Thick curd can be obtained from high-fat milk or by skimming milk.

You can remove the malai layer before making curd if you wish.

The milk must neither be too hot nor too cold.

The pre-existing curd should be brought into room temperature.

The colour depends on the quality of the milk.

The thickness depends on the type of the milk.

Use a clean vessel for making curd every time.

You can place the milk+curd vessel in a casserole/near stove if your atmospheric temperature keeps varying.

This is safe for babies from 6 months .Use fresh home made curd at room temperature.

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Few more facts on CURD & YOGURT:

Yogurt:

Yogurt is a dairy product commonly used in the Americas, UK and Europe. In Western culture, the milk is first heated to about 80 °C (176 °F) to kill any undesirable bacteria and to denature the milk proteins so that they set together rather than form curds. The milk is then cooled to about 45 °C (112 °F). The bacterial culture is added, and the temperature is maintained for 4 to 7 hours to allow fermentation.

Curd (दही) :

This is pretty much a homemade version of yogurt popular in India, which is used to make Lassi and Raita.The milk is not pasteurized to make curd. There is no major nutritional difference between curd and yogurt except for the fat. In our country curd and yogurt are used interchangeably. However, this version of yogurt is made at home .

How curd is formed?

Lactobacillus is a genus of bacteria which can convert sugars into lactic acid by means of fermentation. Milk contains a sugar called lactose, a disaccharide (compound sugar) made by the glycosidic bonding between glucose and galactose (monosaccharides). When pasteurized milk is heated to a temperature of 30-40 °C, or even at room temperature or refrigerator temperature, and a small amount of old curd or whey added to it, the lactobacillus in that curd or whey sample starts to grow. These convert the lactose into lactic acid, which imparts the sour taste to curd. Raw milk naturally contains lactobacillus.

Reference:(Difference between curd and yogurt)

http://language-love.blogspot.in/2013/05/what-is-difference-between-yogurt-and.html

www.npr.org

Wikipedia

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