2.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit we should be able to:
• understand the principle involved in the manufacture of khoa, rabri and basundi.
• prepare khoa, rabri and basundi by conventional methods.
• acquaint with the design and operation of continuous khoa making machine.
• control the factors that affect the quality and yield of khoa, rabri and basundi.
2.1 INTRODUCTION
The manufacture of khoa, rabri and basundi is largely in the hands of private traders
(halwais). They use highly primitive techniques essentially based on their experience.
The scale of production is too small, each batch comprising of about 4-5 litres of
milk. The equipment used for manufacture of these heat-desiccated dairy products
18 are made up of iron or cast iron or mild steel. The conventional methods used by
halwais for the manufacture of khoa, rabri and basundi though are simple and cost Methods of Manufacture
and Factors Affecting
affective, they suffer from several inherent limitations. Some of these are given as Quality of Products
below:
• Wide variations in chemical, microbial and sensory qualities from batch to batch.
• Small scale batch processes unsuitable for commercial adoption
• Low heat transfer coefficients causing equipment to be bulky
• Unsanitary operation due to open atmospheric desiccation
• Excessive strain and fatigue on the operator
• Poor packaging
• Limited shelf life of the product
Now, the technology of these products has been standardized. In case of khoa,
continuous khoa making units have also been developed, and are presently being
used by many organized dairies as well as by some large private traders.
Fig 2.1 Double Jacketed Stainless Steel Kettle for Preparation of Khoa/Basundi
i. Quality of Milk
Species of animal: Buffalo milk is preferred for preparation of khoa over cow
milk due to following reasons:
Organoleptic quality of buffalo milk khoa is much superior than cow milk khoa,
because of its pleasantly sweet and creamy taste, soft body and texture with uniform
grains. The colour of buffalo khoa is also whitish or creamy white, which is more
attractive. On the contrary, cow khoa has salty taste because of presence of higher
amounts of chloride (0.10% in cow milk as against 0.07% in buffalo milk) and its
body is hard and dry due to low fat content. The free fat content, which provides
some greasy appearance to the khoa and considered desirable attribute for sweet
making, is also higher in buffalo khoa (about 60% of total fat) than cow khoa (less
than 50% of total fat). The yield of buffalo khoa is also more as mentioned earlier
because of higher total solids in it. Buffalo khoa is more suitable for making sweets
than cow khoa.
The organized dairy sector normally receives mixed milk. The quality and yield of
khoa prepared from mixed milk falls in between that of buffalo milk khoa and cow
milk khoa.
Use of colostrums: Colostrums milk has extremely poor heat stability and its
chemical composition is different from normal milk. Khoa made from such milk has
deep yellow colour and very big size clotted lumps unsuitable for sweets making.
Use of concentrated milk: The use of concentrated milk having more total solids
requires less moisture removal for khoa making and thus exposed to heat treatment
for less time. This results into lesser heat denaturation of milk proteins and under
development of typical heated/cooked flavour in khoa. Therefore, khoa made from
concentrated milk has somewhat bland flavour.
Fat content in milk: A minimum of 4% fat in cow milk and 5% fat in buffalo milk
is essential to prepare khoa conforming to legal (PFA) rules. The most pleasing
aroma and taste in dairy products including khoa is attributed to butterfat. Therefore,
the higher fat content in milk produces khoa of better quality not only in terms of
flavour, but also the desirable body and texture. Khoa made from low fat milk
possesses flat flavour and hard and dry body that lacks typical soft and mellowing
characteristic.
Milk Acidity: The fresh milk produces khoa with good flavour and texture. Pindi
khoa can only be made from fresh milk having acidity in the range of 0.14 to 0.16%
as lactic acid. More than 0.17% acidity in milk produces khoa of grainy texture. The
size and hardness of grains increases with the increase in acidity. However, for the
manufacture of Danedar khoa, acidity upto 0.18% developed by addition of an
acidulant is optimum. In addition to grainy texture, khoa prepared from high acidity
milk, developed due to natural sourcing, has acidic/sour flavour. Such khoa is
unsuitable for making of good quality sweets.
Presence of adulterants/neutralizers: Adulteration of milk with water reduces
the total solids contents of milk, thereby requiring more time for evaporation of this
extra moisture to obtain khoa of desired solids. This is possible by exposure of milk
to heat treatment for longer duration, resulting into development of brown colour in
khoa. The yield of khoa will also be lowered in proportion to the amount of water
added for adulteration of milk. 21
Heat Desiccated Products • Starch is added to milk to increase its total solids, particularly when adulterated
with water. Khoa made from such milk is normally pasty with doughy taste.
The yield however is higher in this case.
• Neutralization of high acid/sour milk is a regular practice in India. Use of
neutralized milk produces khoa with improved texture having grains of very
small size or no grains at all. But the flavour cannot be improved. Khoa made
from neutralized milk has either salty or soapy or sour flavour, depending on
the extent of neutralizer used and the level of souring (acidity) in milk before
neutralization. The moisture retention in khoa made from neutralized milk is
higher and so also the yield.
ii. Speed of Stirring
The speed of stirring should be optimum. It depends on the type of machine/method.
In case of traditional method, the optimum speed is about 100 rpm, whereas, in
continuous system, it is slightly more (upto 200 rpm). The optimum speed of stirring
prevents burning of milk solids and helps developing desirable body and texture in
khoa. Low speed results into burning of khoa, whereas, the higher speed makes the
product pasty and sticky.
iii. Temperature of Desiccation
To obtain good quality khoa, milk should be maintained at the boiling temperature
till it reaches a pasty consistency and then lowered to about 95oC. Normally at this
stage, the heating is discontinued. Continued heating at higher temperature at advanced
stage of khoa making results in undesirable flavour (cooked) and texture (hard and
dry). The colour of such product is also brown. Slow heating is not only more time
consuming but also produces sandy texture and brown colour.
iv. Homogenization of Milk
Normally milk is not homogenized for khoa making. But under certain circumstances,
such as use of recombined milk or for increasing the fat by adding butter oil or
butter, homogenization of milk becomes essential. Khoa prepared from homogenized
milk is brittle and lack cohesiveness. The moisture retention in such khoa is also
more, which results into softness and higher yield.
Check Your Progress I
1) State the limitations of traditional methods of making heat desiccated dairy
products.
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2) a) At what concentration of milk solids during khoa making, the coagulation of
milk proteins start? b) How desirable grains are developed in danedar khoa?
and c) How much milk is taken in each batch for khoa making in a traditional
method?
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22
3) a) What is the average yield of khoa made from cow and buffalo milks? b) Methods of Manufacture
and Factors Affecting
Which type of milk produces better quality khoa in terms of flavour and Quality of Products
texture? and c) What are the characteristics of khoa made from cow
milk?
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4) Discuss the effects of neutralization/adulteration and vigorous scraping of milk
on the quality of khoa?
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Concentrated milk having 40-45% total solids is pumped into the inlet of the ISSHE
at the desired flow rate by adjusting the capacity of the feed pump. At the start of the
operation, the inclination of ISSHE permits formation of a pool of boiling milk,
critical for development of desired heated or slightly cooked flavour in khoa.
Subsequently, fresh concentrated feed enters the pool of boiling concentrates, while
an equivalent mass continuously leaves the pool as semi-solid mass (khoa). The
scraper repeats the process of removing coagulated particles from the heat transfer
surface and mixing them back into the pool of heated milk. The coagulated particles
absorb milk resulting in the agglomeration and formation of characteristic khoa texture.
The inclination of the scraper provides interface between metal, milk and air, which
enhances the heat coagulation of proteins which is essential for simulating desired
flavour and texture in khoa. The process of khoa making as it takes place in a
karahi is replicated in the ISSHE. The wet coagulated particles are pushed ahead
by the screw conveyer. At the end of the process run, supply of concentrated milk is
stopped and warm water is circulated. It can produce about 40 kg khoa per hour,
but installing more such units can increase the capacity.
Thin film scraped surface heat exchanges: TSSHE unit for continuous
manufacture of khoa was developed at National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal.
The constructional features of this unit have been shown in Fig. 2.3. In this unit, the
two SSHEs are arranged in a cascade fashion. The rotor of the first SSHE is provided
with four variable clearance blades and operated at 200 rpm. Standardized buffalo
milk is concentrated in this SSHE in the range of 40-45 per cent T.S. This concentrated
milk then enters the second SSHE, which has a different kind of rotor arrangement.
It has two variable clearance blades and two helical blades, which operate at a
speed of 150 rpm. Both the SSHEs are double jacketed and fitted with steam
supply line, pressure gauze and vapour outlet. Contrary to the ISSHE, the cylinders
in this unit are placed horizontally, one after the other. Milk is fed into first SSHE
with a centrifugal pump, whereas, the concentrated milk from first SSHE to second
24 SSHE moves by gravity. It can produce about 50 kg of khoa per hour
Methods of Manufacture
and Factors Affecting
Quality of Products
1. Balance tank
2. Milk pump
3. Rotameter
4. Thin film SSHE
5. Scraper assembly
6. Milk inlet
7. Steam in
8. Vapour outlet
9. Khoa outlet
10. Rotor drive
11. Control panel
12. Condensate out
V – Valve
Fig 2.3: Thin Film Scraped Surface Heat Exchanger for Continuous Khoa Manufacture
Addition of malai
Sweetened concentrated milk
Rabri
Packaging
Fig 2.4. Flow diagram of a improved method of rabri making
Buffalo milk is preferred for preparation of rabri because it contains higher fat content
that is responsible for the formation of a thick layer of malai. Steam heating of milk
is recommended because it will enable better control of temperature and prevent
development of flavour defects, like smoky and burnt. After adding malai to
sweetened concentrated milk, the flavouring ingredients (cardamom) and dry fruits
(almond, cashew nut etc.) can be added. Rabri prepared by this method should be
immediately chilled and packaged under hygienic conditions to prevent post-
manufacturing contamination.
iii. Large Scale method of rabri making
Scraped surface heat exchangers (SSHE) are presently used for the continuous
manufacture of khoa. Since rabri is also a heat-desiccated product like khoa, though
to lesser extent, SSHE can be used for pre-concentration of milk to the solids level
as of rabri. The flaky texture, which is an integral and desirable attribute of rabri and
produced by adding malai, can be simulated by incorporating similar fibrous and
flaky material in from of shredded chhana/paneer to this concentrated milk. The
method developed on this concept has been shown in flow diagram (Fig.2.5). 27
Heat Desiccated Products Buffalo milk
SSHE
Shredded chhana/paneer @ 5% of
final product Rabri
Fig. 2.5. Flow diagram of a large-scale method for preparation of rabri
Standardization
Cooling (<10oC)
Packaging
Refrigerated storage
28 Fig. 2.6 Flow diagram of the manufacture of basundi
Though both types of milk can be used for basundi making, buffalo milk is preferred Methods of Manufacture
and Factors Affecting
over cow milk. The initial quality of milk should be good. It is desirable to adjust fat Quality of Products
and SNF ratio of 0.50 for cow milk and 0.70 for buffalo milk for producing basundi
of same composition throughout the year. Open pan evaporation with vigorous
scraping produces basundi with granular consistency (due to denaturation of protein).
However, if a homogenous and smooth consistency product is needed, the
concentrated product should be homogenized at a pressure of 75 kg/cm2 and at
65oC. The product is stored under refrigerated conditions.
Check your Progress 3
1) Name the ingredient responsible for typical flaky texture. Which processing
step is responsible for developing this ingredient?
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2) a) To which level milk is concentrated in rabri making? b) How much sugar is
added in rabri? c) Which type of milk is preferred for rabri making? and d)
Which type of kettle is desirable for preparation of rabri by traditional method?
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3) Name the unit that can be used for large-scale production of rabri. How the
typical flaky texture can be simulated in this method?
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4) a) What should be fat and SNF ratio for making basundi?; b) What should
be the final concentration of solids for basundi making? and c) How
much and at what stage sugar is added for basundi making?
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De, S. (1980). Outlines of Dairy Technology. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
IS: 4883 (1980). Specification for khoa. Bureau of Indian Standards, Manak Bhavan,
New Delhi.
Rangappa, K.S. and Acharya, K.T. (1974). Indian Dairy Products. Asia Publishing
House, New Delhi.
31
Heat Desiccated Products Check Your Progress - 2
1. i. Mechanization means exclusion of manual operation from the process. In
conventional khoa making scraping and agitation of milk is done manually.
In mechanized khoa making it can be achieved by either fixing power
operated scraper or rotating the body of kettle having fixed scraper
assembly. In this way manual scraping of milk is replaced by mechanized
scraping.
ii. The benefits of mechanized system are the convenience in operation,
hygienic production and consistent quality of khoa. The only draw back is
that proper scraping, when milk is excessively thickened (pat-formation
stage), is not achieved and manual scraping at that stage has to be adopted
for obtaining quality product.
2. i. Continuous khoa making units that are adopted by dairy industry are:
inclined scraped surface heat exchanger (ISSHE) and thin film scraped
surface heat exchanger (TSSHE).
ii. The feed for ISSHE is concentrated milk having 40-45% total solids (fat:
SNF ratio of 0.56-0.6 : 1) whereas in case of TSSHE both buffalo milk
and concentration milks can be used as feeds.
iii. About 50 kgs khoa per hour can be prepared on each continuous khoa
making units.
3. i. The main parts of ISSHE are: Feed balance tank, positive displacement
pump, scraped surface heat exchanger assembly, rotor assembly, drive
mechanism, vapour outlet, steam inlet valves, steam trap, etc.
ii. The inclined configuration is the specific constructional feature of ISSHE
machine. This position makes a pool of concentrated milk at the inlet
(base) and its boiling as in case of conventional karahi.
4. - We can produce khoa of uniform quality
- Low operational losses
- Low energy consumption
- Automation possible
- CIP possible
Check Your Progress - 3
1. i. Malai (clotted cream) is responsible for imparting typical flaky texture in
rabri.
i Malai can be obtained by following step:
Malai Process continued till about 10% of the Removal of this skin on Formation of a skin
initial volume of milk removed cooler side of kettle on the surface
33