Abstract:
Curd is a fermented milk product obtained from coagulation of cow or buffalo milk
or a mixture thereof by the activity of lactic acid bacteria. Buffalo milk curd is a
very popular indigenous fermented milk product of Sri Lanka produced by
traditional small scale farmers. The study was conducted to collect information on
cottage curd production in Matara district of Sri Lanka. Purposive sampling
technique was employed to select the DS divisions in Matara considering the cost
effectiveness, feasibility of the study and number of curd producing farmers.
Twenty five curd producing farmers in selected DS divisions were interviewed. A
pre-tested interview schedule was employed to collect information on cottage curd
production and awareness and preference towards the use of an improved culture for
the production of quality curd. Majority (92%) involved in curd processing were
female members of the family and animal caring was totally done by males. All the
processors utilized cultures from previous day batch of curds prepared by them. A
majority of the processors (68%) added 5 ml of culture/pot (range 2.5ml - 10 ml).
Sixty percent knew the reason for the addition of culture while none of them knew
what the culture contained. However, all of them knew that a good culture gives a
better quality curd. 44% detected failures of curdling. A majority (64%) of them
mentioned that it was due to the use of an old culture and as a remedy all of them
added new culture. Total cost for the culture/pot varied from Rs. 0 to 19.40 (average
Rs. 3.84). None knew the SLS requirements for curd. Sixteen percent checked final
product quality while others (84%) did not. Only 28% preferred to buy improved
culture for the production of quality curd and liked to pay Rs. 9/curd for culture,
while others (72%) believed only on the culture prepared by them. None of the
processors were aware of the culture developed by Veterinary Research Institute
(VRI) and further, they did not use any other improved culture. Even though, 40%
of the processors detected the defects on curd before the expiry date, all the
processors were satisfied with their product quality. It is concluded that the
traditional thinking pattern of the majority (72%) of curd processors prevent
introduction of improved culture for the quality curd production. However, strong
extension education programmes would be suggested to popularize it among the
processors.
