''Datshi'' ''(
Dzongkha
Dzongkha (; ) is a Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman language that is the official and national language of Bhutan. It is written using the Tibetan script.
The word means "the language of the fortress", from ' "fortress" and ' "language ...
:''དར་ཚི;
Wylie: dar-tshi) is a traditional
Bhutan
Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia, in the Eastern Himalayas between China to the north and northwest and India to the south and southeast. With a population of over 727,145 and a territory of , ...
ese
cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavour and a creamy, heterogeneous, soupy texture, made from skimmed milk. An essential step in the manufacturing process distinguishing cottage cheese from other fresh cheeses is the additio ...
commonly produced from cow milk. It is a naturally fermented milk product produced using the back-slopping method. To make Datshi,
Dahi is first prepared from raw milk, the Dahi is then processed into Mar (artisanal butter) by churning in a special wooden container called Theki. The Mar is collected and the liquid residue, called Mohi, is gently heated.
The heating causes
casein
Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...
to coagulate and the Mohi starts forming clumps. The Datshi is collected in a cloth and squeezed to eliminate extra whey and then rolled into appropriate sized cheese balls.
[{{Cite journal , last1=Nair , first1=Anooja , last2=Choden , first2=Dechen , last3=Pradhan , first3=Monika , date=May 2022 , title=Chemical composition and microbial quality of Datshi and Zoety , unripen cottage cheese of Bhutan , journal=Food Science & Nutrition , language=en , volume=10 , issue=5 , pages=1385–1390 , doi=10.1002/fsn3.2715 , pmid=35592292 , pmc=9094472 , issn=2048-7177]
Datshi is widely produced and consumed on a daily basis in Bhutan. It is a Bhutanese staple and is often used as a key ingredient in most Bhutanese curries.
For example: the famous Bhutanese cuisine
Ema datshi uses Datshi as the cheese and hence the name. It is also used in various other dishes such as Kewa Datshi and Shakam Datshi. In 2018, 74% of produced milk was utilized in the production of dairy products. The main dairy products produced were Mar, Datshi and Chugo, with Datshi being the most produced followed by Mar and Chugo. Bhutan currently does not export Datshi since the local demand outweighs supply.
Matured Datshi, known as Zoetay (Dzongkha: ཟེ་ཏོད, Wylie:ze-te), is also widely consumed in Bhutan. It is made from storing fresh Datshi in loosely covered containers/plastic or tree leave wraps at room temperature. The Datshi develops a pungent odour and a slimy, gelatinous exterior layer which is the Zoetay.
References
Bhutanese cuisine
Culture of Bhutan