Influence of different fried spice mix (Cumin, Mustard and Curry Leaves) level and coagulants on chemical and sensory qualities of hard Paneer

Abstract

This study was done to develop spicy paneer with 3 different coagulants (Acetic acid, Lactic acid, and Citric acid) and 3 spices (Cumin, Mustard, and Curry leaves) fried with ghee added with 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% in to the product. Milk was taken from Livestock farm of Eastern University, Sri Lanka. Developed paneer samples were stored under refrigeration temperature for 15 days to check the shelf life of the product and chemical analysis (titratable acidity and pH). Proximate composition and microbial counts of paneer samples were analyzed using the AOAC method. Sensory evaluation was done for spicy paneer samples using nine-point hedonic scale. Yield of paneer samples were significantly affected (p<0.05) by the coagulant. Paneer samples were prepared with Lactic acid reported the highest amount of yield (155 g for 1% spice mix) and lowest value was observed in Citric acid (123 for 1 % spice mix) which was found to be significantly different. Proximate analysis that citric acid product was having highest amount of total solid and fat (48.66%, 25.40%) while acetic acid product was the lowest (37.59%, 20.24%) found significantly different. Also, found that, spice mixed paneer was in an acceptable level for pathogenic micro-organisms. Sensory evaluation result revealed that, coagulants significantly influenced the sensory attributes and paneer produced from citric acid received a higher rank for overall appearance and acceptability. Chemical characteristics (Titratable acidity and pH)of paneer samples became significantly different for paneer with 4% spice mix level with the storage and were in acceptable range, up to one week of storage. Finally, the study concluded that, spicy paneer produced from cow milk with citric acid and4 % spice mix was recommended to have a best product.