how to make yogurt Curd is a dairy product made by curdling milk with rennet or and edible acidic substance like lemon juice or vinegar. Curd is also popularly known as Yoghurt. The liquid portion called whey is drained off. Milk that has been left to sour (raw milk alone or pasteurized milk with added lactic acid bacteria or yeast) will naturally produce curds. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins to tangle into solid masses, or curds. The rest, which contains only whey proteins, is the whey. In cow's milk, 80% of the proteins are caseins. Curd products vary by region and include cottage cheese, quark (both curdled by bacteria and sometimes also rennet) and paneer (curdled with lemon juice). The word can also refer to a non-dairy substance of similar appearance or consistency, though in these cases a modifier or the word curdled is generally used (eg, bean curds, lemon curd, or curdled eggs). In Asia, a curd is essentially a vegetarian preparation using yeast to ferment the milk. In few places of Indian subcontinent, particularly in North India, buffalo milk is used for curd due to its higher fat content, making a thicker curd. The quality of curds depends on the starter used. The time taken to curdle also varies with the seasons, taking less than 6 hours in hot weather and up to 16 hours in cold weather. In the industry, an optimal temperature of 43 °C for 4--6 hours is used for preparation. In India, the word curd is frequently used to mean yoghurt. In South ...

• published: 18 Sep 2007
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• author: vahchef