Whey removal characteristics during conventional production of chhana

Abstract

Whey removal phenomena generally studied in terms of whey removal rate, chhana weight and moisture content during chhana production process. Despite all these above factors, moisture content concerned to be the important one to maintain its soft texture and suitability for manufacturing of diversified products. The present study was undertaken to identify best model to express whey draining process so as to predict the relevant characteristics such as moisture ratio, moisture content and moisture removal rate. Whey removal rate was pursued for different cow milk quantities (5, 10, 15 and 20 kg) using delayed straining technique for gravimetric removal of whey from the chhana mass. Among the mathematical models, Logarithmic model was found best in describing the whey draining characteristics and predicting the moisture ratio of chhana. Whey removal characteristics provides important insights for the development of equipments for chhana production, downstream processing equipments for whey and online sensors for monitoring the process that regulates the moisture content and final quality of chhana and chhana based products. The novelty of the work lied on the incorporation of mathematical modeling to the chhana production process.