Vol. 12, Special Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
Rejeesh R, Beena AK, Ligimol James, Sudheerbabu P, Rajakumar SN, Rachana CR and Subith C

Abstract:
Naturally fermented milks are always a hub of diverse microflora. The diversity of autochthonous microflora associated with these products are linked to many factors like the type of milk, starter microflora, environment and processing practices. The lactic acid bacteria isolated from the household curd samples collected from rain fed areas of Idukki and Wayanad districts of Kerala were used in the study. IDK 120 (MT 211513), the isolate from Idukki, was capable of producing curd with good physico-technical attributes like good lactic feel with negligible syneresis at 37 °C. The culture WYD 1501 (MK 793581), the isolate from Wayanad, performed similarly at 35 °C. Both isolates succeeded in yielding coagulum with good textural attributes in their optimum growth conditions. Texture profile analysis indicated that IDK 120 curd possessed a firmness value of 175.65±11.99 g, and WYD 1501 a value of 180.46±39.71 g, both of which significantly lower than 317.16±16.92 g, the value of control curd manufactured using commercial mesophilic dahi culture NCDC 159. The cohesiveness value of IDK 120 matched with that of control dahi, while that of WYD 1501 was significantly higher than control. Unleashing the credentials of indigenous flora of naturally fermented milks will enable commercialisation of such starters. This can also contribute to development of defined multiple strain authentic starters for development of fermented foods with added attributes. The isolates IDK 120 and WYD 1501 are deposited in ICAR-Veterinary Type Culture Collection (VTCC) with accession numbers VTC DM 648B and VTC DM 592B respectively.