Ethnic preparation and quality assessment of Chhurpi, a home-made cheese of Ladakh, India

Abstract

Chhurpi is a traditional cottage cheese found in different hilly regions of India including Sikkim, Darjeeling, Ladakh, etc. The main aim of this study was to explore the preparation process, microbial, and chemical compositions of chhurpi in Ladakh. There are mainly two types of chhurpi found in Ladakh: soft and hard (sun dried). Results showed that yeast, mold, lactic acid bacteria, and Bifidobacterium sp. were the major participating microbes in Ladakhi chhupri. The amount of riboflavin (162.71 μg/g), thiamine (64.48 μg/g), and vitamin C (23.53 μg/g) were higher in soft chhurpi than the hard chhurpi. However, lactic acid and acetic acid contents in hard chhurpi (0.23 mg/g and 0.16 mg/g, respectively) were higher than the soft chhurpi (0.12 mg/g and 0.06 mg/g, respectively). It also contains a very good amount of protein (60–63%) and carbohydrates (23–24%); and a low amount of fat (7–8%). Very low amounts of ethanol and methanol were also detected. This study clearly demonstrated that microbial interaction during fermentation of milk makes it more nutritious as it enriches the fermented material with vitamins and organic acids.