Quality of Paneer Made from High Solid Reconstituted Milk as Influenced by Calcium Phosphate Incorporation

A study was conducted to evaluate the quality characteristics of paneer, a directly acidified non-rennet fresh variety of cheese, made from reconstituted milk of higher total solid content so as to produce larger quantities of paneer per batch of milk taken for economical production of paneer. The paneer made from reconstituted milk of higher total solids content is known to produce quality wise inferior paneer. In an attempt to improve the quality of paneer from high solid reconstituted milk calcium phosphate was incorporated at different levels with a view to aid coagulation and improves the texture, cohesiveness and overall acceptability. It was found that the incorporation of different levels of calcium phosphate viz., 1, 1.5 and 2% to the reconstituted milk prior to acidification brought about significant improvement in the yield, total solids recovery, fat recovery, protein recovery and in sensory parameters like appearance, body and texture and overall acceptability scores at all levels of incorporation compared to control. Within the three calcium phosphate levels, 1.5% showed numerical superiority over the other two levels. In order to improve the quality characteristics of paneer from reconstituted milk it is suggested that calcium phosphate at the rate of 1.5% may be added prior to its manufacture.