Chhena () or chhana () is a kind of acid-set cheese originating in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

that is made from

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...

Dalby, A 2009, ''Cheese: A Global History'', Reaktion Books, p. 73, Kapoor, S & Kapoor, A 2006, ''Sanjeev Kapoor's No-oil Vegetarian Cooking'', Popular Prakashan, p. 118, or

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

milk by adding food acids such as

lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

and calcium lactate instead of

rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease, protease enzyme that curdling, curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, su ...

and straining out the

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard c ...

. Chhena is pressed and may be further processed to make

paneer Paneer (), is a fresh acid-set cheese, common in cuisine of South Asia, made from cow milk or buffalo milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting soft cheese made by curdling milk with a fruit- or vegetable-derived acid, such as lemon juice. Pa ...

, a form of

farmer cheese Farmer's cheese is pressed curds or an unripened cheese made by adding rennet and bacterial starter to coagulate and acidify milk. Farmer's cheese may be made from the milk of cows, sheep or goats, with each giving its own texture and flavor. ...

, or formed into balls to make

desserts Dessert is a course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create des ...

such as khira sagara, chhena kheeri, rasabali and ras malai, as well as

sweets from the Indian subcontinent Mithai (sweets) are the confectionery and desserts of the Indian subcontinent.mithai'') such as chhena jalebi, chhena gaja,

chhena poda Chhenapoda () () is a cheese dessert from the Indian state of Odisha. ''Chhena poda'' literally means ''Burnt Cheese'' in Odia, referring to its caramelised crust exterior and soft, spongy texture with slightly smoky notes. It is often describ ...

, pantua, rosogolla, and sandesh. For the sweets, mostly cow milk chhena is used. Chhena is produced in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and

eastern India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

, and it is generally made from

or buffalo milk. In India, it is a legal requirement for Chhena to have no more than 70% of moisture content, and 50% of milk fat in dry material The production of chhena in India was estimated to be 200,000 tonnes annually in 2009. Production is highest in the state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, while consumption is highest in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. Sahu and Das conducted a study of milk consumption in India and found that 6% of milk produced in India is used in the chhena production process. It is closely related to paneer cheese as they both share a similar production process, but it is kneaded when it is still warm in the manufacturing process. The result is a cheese with a 'smooth, whipped-cream consistency', unlike paneer, which is firm.

History

The

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

, the oldest scriptures of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, contain a reference to 'dadhanvat', which has been translated as referencing an 'abundance of

curd Curd is obtained by Denaturation (biochemistry), coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a Kefir cheese, ...

s'. Chitra Banerji states that in the life of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, a later manifestation of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, there is reference to

dairy product Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

s such as 'milk, butter,

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from South Asia. It is commonly used for cooking, as a Traditional medicine of India, traditional medicine, and for Hinduism, Hindu religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by ...

and

yogurt Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...

', but not to chhena. Catherine Donnelly, author of ''The Oxford Companion to Cheese'' (2016), mentions that Vedic literature refers to cheese production made with the aid of barks of palash tree (

Butea monosperma ''Butea monosperma'' is a species of '' Butea'' native to tropical and sub-tropical parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is also known as flame of the forest, Bengal kino, dhak, palash, and bastard teak. Revered as sacred by Hindus, it is ...

), fruits like jujube (

Ziziphus mauritiana ''Ziziphus mauritiana'', also known as Indian jujube, Indian plum, Chinese date, Chinese apple, ber and dunks is a tropical fruit tree species belonging to the family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused with the closely related jujube, Chinese ju ...

) and creepers like putika with coagulating enzymes, "as well as Dadhanvat, a cheeselike substance made with and without pores". According to Catherine Donnelly, these plant substances may have contained rennet-like enzymes and notes that the "Vedas may include some of the earliest known references to rennet-coagulated cheeses". ''Lokopakara'' text dated to the 10th century gives two recipes for coagulated cheeses made from buffalo milk for making sweets using plants and roots. According to the text, buffalo milk was coagulated using roots of

amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual plant, annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some names include "prostrate pigweed" an ...

plant or leaves of marsh barbel ( hygrophila auriculata); the soft cheese produced in this manner was called ''Haluvuga''. In the second recipe, buffalo milk was coagulated with Indian mallow ( abutilon indicum) or country mallow (

sida cordifolia ''Sida cordifolia'' ('ilima, flannel weed, bala, country mallow or heart-leaf sida) is a perennial subshrub of the mallow family Malvaceae native to India. It has naturalized throughout the world, and is considered an invasive weed in Africa, Au ...

) and was made into balls for sweets. The

Manasollasa The ' also known as ''Abhilashitartha Chintamani'', is an early 12th-century Sanskrit text composed by the Kalyani Chalukya king Someshvara III, who ruled in present-day Karnataka. It is an encyclopedic work covering topics such as polity, gove ...

, one of the medieval Indian cooking texts, was written during the reign of King Somesvara III in the 12th century. The Manasollasa details souring milk and draining the curds to make chhena and using them as a base for sweets. The text goes on to stipulate mixing the cheese with rice flour and shaping it into various balls, and then deep-frying to make sweets. Based on texts such as ''

Charaka Samhita The ''Charaka Samhita'' () is a Sanskrit text on Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine). Along with the '' Sushruta Samhita'', it is one of the two foundational texts of this field that have survived from ancient India. It is one of the three w ...

'', BN Mathur wrote that the earliest evidence of a heat-acid coagulated milk product in India can be traced to 75–300 CE. Sunil Kumar ''et al''. interpret this product as the present-day paneer or chhena. According to another theory, the Portuguese may have introduced the technique of "breaking" milk with acid to Bengal in the 17th century. Before their arrival in 1517, curdling cow's milk was considered

taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

to the adherents of Hinduism in Bengal. Before the arrival of the Portuguese in Bengal, sweets were made with khoa, or

condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...

which was solidified. Bengalis learnt how to prepare cheese for the Portuguese, which inspired chhena. Thus, according to this theory, Indian acid-set cheeses such as

and chhena were first prepared in Bengal, under Portuguese influence. A type of smoked cheese called Bandel Cheese was introduced by the Portuguese in Bengal, which is distinct from chenna and paneer. Chhena cheese-based sweets were created by confectionery makers known as 'moira'/'moyra' in Bengal. The Halwai

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

has long been associated with the production of chhena-based products. It is traditional for Bengalis to end a meal with a sweet, which is known as 'madhurena samapayet'. Today, some traditional sweet makers such as Annapurna Bhandar in New Delhi continue to make fresh chhena in their stores as a base for their products with locally sourced milk. Sandesh

In the 1990s, chhena was largely produced in country milk sheds by farmers and sent by road and rail to manufacturers. Batch methods of production are utilised by smaller producers, with their methods and resulting products having different characteristics and flavours compared to commercially produced products. The most popular product produced with chhena is sandesh, a dessert. In recent times, chhena products have become a niche, competing with introduced foreign foods and desserts.

Liberalisation Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used ...

globalisation Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

and

privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

are actively reshaping the Indian cheese industry. Traditional producers of chhena-based products are under pressure from foreign countries such as the United States of America seeking bilateral trade deals with the Indian government, especially as European-style cheeses such as

mozzarella Mozzarella is a Types of cheese#Semi-soft cheese, semi-soft non-aged cheese prepared using the ('stretched-curd') method with origins from southern Italy. It is prepared with cow's milk or buffalo milk, taking the following names: * or mozz ...

become more popular. Producers argue that they would not be able to compete with international dairy firms as they would have to comply with stricter

sanitary Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

and

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals, and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have bee ...

standards, which would vastly inflate costs of production. Dairy farmers in India are fiercely opposed to liberalisation of the dairy sector, as they fear job losses and the collapse of small industry which still produces traditional dairy products like chhena.

Production

India's yearly production of chhena is estimated to be 200,000 tonnes as of 2004. Traditionally, chhena is made in a

karahi A ''karahi'' is a type of thick, circular, and deep cooking pot, similar in shape to a wok, from Northern South Asia. It is used in Indian cuisine, North Indian, Pakistani cuisine, Pakistani, Afghanistan cuisine, Afghan, Nepalese cuisine, Nepale ...

, utilising a method similar to ricotta cheese production. The Food Safety and Standards Regulation of India states that chhena is to be made from cow or buffalo milk, or a blend of both milks, and the coagulation can be completed with 'sour milk, or lactic or citric acid'. Aged acidic whey from previous batches can also be substituted in the coagulation process to prevent waste of ingredients and streamline the production process. The cheese is prepared by first boiling the chosen milk for 10 minutes, and then introducing an acid or aged acidic whey from a prior batch when the milk has slightly cooled at 75–80 degrees Celsius. Following this step, the whey separates and floats to the top of the pan. The whey is then removed by sieving the resulting curd, the chhena, through a

muslin Muslin () is a cotton fabric of plain weave. It is made in a wide range of weights from delicate sheers to coarse sheeting. It is commonly believed that it gets its name from the city of Mosul, Iraq. Muslin was produced in different regions o ...

cloth. The pressing of the resulting curd mostly relies on gravity to separate it from the whey,Hui, Y.H. 2007, Handbook of Food Products Manufacturing, Wiley, Hoboken, N.J, p. 639 but weighted boards can also be used to speed up the process. The longer the chhena is drained, the firmer the resulting final product becomes. Chhena is typically made in a small-scale batch process, but it is possible to make it with a continuous process like

ricotta Ricotta () is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein h ...

cheese in commercial production settings. Homemade rasogolla

In the case of sweet production, the cheese is drained, kneaded on a wooden board and mixed with sugar and a binding agent such as

arrowroot Arrowroot is a starch obtained from the rhizomes (rootstock) of several tropical plants, traditionally ''Maranta arundinacea'', but also Florida arrowroot from ''Zamia integrifolia'', and tapioca from cassava (''Manihot esculenta''), which is of ...

semolina Semolina is the name given to roughly milled durum wheat mainly used in making pasta and sweet puddings. The term ''semolina'' is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or ma ...

flour. It is common now for machines to be used for the

kneading In cooking (and more specifically baking), kneading is a process in the making of bread or dough, used to mix the ingredients and add strength to the final product. It allows the process of baking to be shortened by developing the gluten more qu ...

process. The chhena is then rolled into balls ready for use in confectionary making. Some of the popular sweets and desserts that use chhena as their base include rasogolla, sandesh, chum-chum, chhana murki, chhana podo, Ras malai, chhana balushahi, and khorma/belgrami. Chhena has also been blended with

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

and made into a commercial

refrigerated Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

spreadable cheese. The chhena production process can be used to create a

bioplastic Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources. Timeline of plastic development, Historically, bioplastics made from natural materials like shellac or Celluloid, cellulose had been the first plastics. Since the end of ...

which presents future innovation opportunities for the technology sector of India. However, this has raised

ethical Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied e ...

concerns domestically regarding food security for the wider population, as segments of the population struggle with rising food prices and

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

. Nutritious beverages can be created from the whey that is typically discarded in the production process of chhena by fermenting it with bacteria cultures "

Streptococcus thermophilus ''Streptococcus thermophilus'' formerly known as ''Streptococcus salivarius ''subsp.'' thermophilus'' is a gram-positive bacteria, gram-positive bacterium, and a lactic acid fermentation, fermentative facultative anaerobic organism, facultative ...

NCDC-74 and Yoghurt culture YC-470". Lactic bacteria can ferment

lactose Lactose is a disaccharide composed of galactose and glucose and has the molecular formula C12H22O11. Lactose makes up around 2–8% of milk (by mass). The name comes from (Genitive case, gen. ), the Latin word for milk, plus the suffix ''-o ...

into

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has the molecular formula C3H6O3. It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as wel ...

, which means that people with dairy intolerances would be able to consume the beverages. The whey can also be used to make puras, otherwise known as pancakes. The whey must be of high quality and handled hygienically, otherwise the created products may have undesirable qualities and become not suitable for consumption. Three million tonnes of whey is produced each year in the chhena production process and it is typically dumped into the environment, where it is a substantial problem as a

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effect, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

as it has a high amount of organic matter in its mass.

Character

The consistency of the finished cheese product has been shown to differ depending on the method utilised to create the cheese. Levels of milk fats under 4% create 'hard and rubbery' chhena, whilst levels over 5% result in greasy properties in the products created from it. Buffalo milk in the production process of chhena on average tends to create a larger amount of the cheese product compared to cow's milk. However, if it is not mixed with cow's milk the result is often 'hard, chewy, rubbery', with an 'uneven

texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Image texture, the spatial arrangement of color or intensities in an image * Surface texture, the smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface c ...

'. It is also possible to produce chhena with soy milk, with favourable results achieved in a blend with 75% cow's milk added. Milk composition and milking season also have a significant impact on the quality of the chhena produced. Chhena typically has a texture like 'whipped

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh, so it differs from other soft cheeses such as Brie and Neuf ...

', and varies from smooth, pasty to crumbly. Chhena is composed of fat,

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

, vitamins A and D, and is low in sugar. Chhena produced from cows milk is 'light yellow in colour, has a moist surface, soft body and smooth texture', while chhena produced from buffalo milk in comparison is 'whitish in colour'. Chhena made from these milk sources has a 'sweetish, mildly acidic taste'. Production in higher temperatures results in a cheese that is grainy and hard, while lower temperatures produce a product which is sticky, and dries slowly. Chhena typically is bland in taste and has an easily malleable texture. Experiments have been conducted to try to utilise chhena in the manufacturing of other products, including a spread consisting of finely processed chhena, butter and salt.

Storage

Without adequate cold storage and safe handling, chhena spoils easily due to its high moisture content.Agrawal, A.K, Sandey, K.K & Sinha, G 2015, 'Drying of Chhana using Solar Energy: Physical and Thermal Properties of Dried Chhana', International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology, vol. 3, no. 20, p.1 Kulkarni states that ' thermoduric and

thermophilic A thermophile is a type of extremophile that thrives at relatively high temperatures, between . Many thermophiles are archaea, though some of them are bacteria and fungi. Thermophilic eubacteria are suggested to have been among the earliest bact ...

bacteria are not destroyed in the boiling process' in the manufacturing of chhena, which is a significant problem. The tropical climate and high humidity of India also contribute to the short shelf life of the products. Refrigeration makes a significant difference to the shelf life of the product, but it is quite uncommon and not readily available. Unsuccessful studies were carried out by Agrawal, Sandey, and Sinha in turning the chhena into powder to preserve it as a dried good and prolong its shelf life, as the reconstituted product was unsuitable for use. Bladholm writes that chhena cheese-based sweets should be 'refrigerated and eaten within 2–3 days'.

Quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach plac ...

is a significant issue in India, but food inspectors do not have the power to prosecute those engaging in

adulteration An adulterant is a substance secretly added to another that may compromise the safety or effectiveness. Typical substances that are adulterated include food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals or fuels. Definition Adulteration is the practice of secre ...

of products in the pursuit of increasing profits or selling base ingredients that are below accepted standards. Chhena can be adulterated with

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diet ...

by dishonest manufacturers, which can result in

diarrhoea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

and abdominal discomfort. Improper handling of chhena, and the products that it has been made from, have been proven to also contaminate products made from it. A study by Maity, Jumar and Misra (2011) found the presence of

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escherichia'' that is commonly foun ...

in 67% of chhena based sweet samples in Kolkata. E. coli in chhena-based products is resultant from 'unsanitary production, handling, storage and transportation', and is prominent in softer sweets as they have less sugar to preserve the cheese base and higher amounts of moisture. These products are often sold without

packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coo ...

and are produced on a small scale.

References

{{Reflist Curd Indian cheeses Bangladeshi cuisine Acid-set cheeses Cow's-milk cheeses Bengali cuisine Odia cuisine

History

Production

Character

Storage

See also

References