IJSRP, Volume 4, Issue 9, September 2014 Edition [ISSN 2250-3153]
L. H. Liyanage, W. A. D. V. Weerathilake, M. R. D. M. Senanayake, G.J. Panagoda
Abstract:
Nowadays typical starter cultures are very expensive and because of this reason people tend to use a small amount of curd from a previous batch as the starter culture. But doing this continuously causes quality reduction of curds. When consecutive curds are used as starter cultures, wild cultures can be prominent because of dilution of Lactic Acid Bacterialconcentration. Therefore, major objective of this study was to prepare a freeze dried starter culture using dried Malabar tamarind (Garcinia gummi-gutta) fruits to avoid such situations. In addition, there was a necessity to check whether there is a difference between curds prepared with commercial culture and newly developed culture regarding consumer preference for sensory attributes. And also it was important to know the microbial composition of the end product. From the first sensory evaluation, the best inoculation rate of Malabar tamarind pulp was chosen and the curd made from it was compared with curd made from commercial starter culture in the second sensory evaluation.