Surati
Surati (or Panir) cheese, which is made from buffalo's milk, is perhaps
the best known of the few varieties of cheese made in India. It is named
for the town of Surat in the Gujarat district, Bombay Province. The
cheese is uncolored and is characterized by the fact that it is kept in
whey
while it cures and is trans****ted in whey in large earthen containers. It
is
supposed to have therapeutic properties.
The making process is simple. lactic starter is added t fresh, whole
milk (preferably pasteurized), and rennet is added at a temperature of
about
95 F. An hour later the curd is ladled in thin slices into small, clean
bamboo baskets that are dressed on the inside with salt. Additional salt
is mixed with the curd. The baskets of curd are placed on a draining rack
to drain (and shrink) for about an hour, and the cheeses are inverted in
the
baskets. The whey that drains from the cheeses is strained, and the
cheeses
are removed from the baskets and ripened by floating them in the whey,
at a temperature of 75 t0 80 F., for 12 to 36 hours. Then they are ready
for consumption or ****pment. Each cheese weighs about 4 ounces. About
38 pounds of cheese is obtained from 100 pounds of buffalo's milk
containing
6 percent of fat.
from USDA Agr. Handbook No. 54, Cheese Varieties and Descriptions,
by George P. Sanders, issued Dec. 1953
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