Facts About Nutrients in Curd: It’s Truly Worth It!

Facts About Nutrients in Curd: It’s Truly Worth It!

We all grew up hearing from our parents and grandparents about how excellent curd is for health. Well, it seems that our elders were right. Curd is packed with loads of health benefits and must be included in your daily diet no matter whether you prefer it with hot parathas or steamed rice. Here you can learn facts about nutrients in curd and realize why is it truly worth it.

  • About 80 percent of curd is water. So, you won’t feel dehydrated if you have it daily.
  • Curd is high in protein as about it has about 12 percent protein content.
  • High methionine content in curd is good news as it’s an irreplaceable amino acid that can protect your liver against fat
  • Curd only has about 3 percent carbohydrates and has low levels of lactose. This means people with lactose allergy who cannot digest milk can digest it easily.
  • Natural curd has about 25 percent fat content. These are mono-unsaturated fatty acids which don’t oxidize and are healthy for you.
  • There are fat-free versions of curd available in which the fat is less than 0.2 percent. You can also choose medium fat curd versions (with about 5 percent fat) and fatty curds (with about 9 percent curd).
  • Curd is quite rich in phosphorous and calcium, but their content is higher in the milk.
  • Curd is also loaded with riboflavin, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, and pantothenic acid.
  • Curd is also loaded with organic acids like lactic acid that helps in the absorption of nutrients and microminerals. It also assists in stimulating the functioning of digestive glands.

 

How to Choose the Right Curd?

While choosing curd that is loaded with nutrients, skip curd creams as they are loaded with unhealthy sugars or artificial sweeteners that aren’t good for you.

Some types of curdhave additional ingredients. They are not necessarily bad. Some are added to diversify the product in terms of appearance and flavor while some are added to boost the nutritional value of the curd. Examples of these additional ingredients are fruits, berries, bananas, apricots, cocoa, raisins, etc. So, make sure you do your research.

If you want the curd to provide maximum nutritional value, make sure that you have it fresh and finish it before the expiry date.

In case you can make curd at home, do it. It’s always better to have homemade products rather than factory manufactured ones as with the former, you know of the exact ingredients.

It is quite clear that curd is loaded with nutrients and can play a key role in keeping you healthy. It’s a superfood present at all homes that should be consumed daily for best results!

 

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How to Beat the Heat with Curd?

How to Beat the Heat with Curd?

Summers are possibly the worst time of the year for your digestion and gut health. It’s that time of the year when you don’t feel like eating anything, you want to live off liquids, and you hate the idea of having hot foods. You probably wait for fresh food to turn cold before eating it. In such a scenario, one of the Indian superfoods you can rely on is curd.

Yes, the dairy product created thousands of years ago by curdling milk is still a favorite and a must-have item in many Indian households. If it’s always available at your home too, you are quite lucky as it’s loaded with good bacteria, tastes good and can be had with almost anything, even plain rice.

How to Set Curd?

The process of setting curd is easy. You just need a bit of already set curd or buy a bit from the market. Then you have to boil milk for a few minutes, let it cool down so that it becomes warm and add a tablespoon of curd. Then you can leave it for about 4-6 hours (longer when the weather is cold) and tada, the new curd will be set. Put it right into the refrigerator if you don’t want it to be too sour to consume. In case you need to leave the house when the curd is setting, and you don’t want it to be too sour, it is advised that you put it in a large bowl of water.

The Best Way of Beating the Heat with Curd

Have Curd Rice

No matter whether you are a busy mother of two or a bachelor living alone, you can prepare curd rice every day and have it to keep you cool in the summer heat. Start by cooking or simply boiling rice till its soft and add curd. You can have it as it is or add other seasonings like curry leaves, mustard, chilies, or ginger. Some people even add tomatoes, green mango pomegranate or grated carrots to enhance its taste. In case you want to have a bit of curd rice now and the rest of it a few hours later, add a bit of milk to it.

Make Raitas

If you are more of a chapati person than a rice lover, you can have curd with simple dal roti or roti sabzi as well. Just create raitas. To create raita, you need thick and sweet curd. Begin the process by beating the curd well, adding a few dashes of salt, a bit of chopped green chili, some chopped ginger and a bit of sugar (optional). Then you need to add a vegetable of your choice to it. It can be boiled and diced beetroot, grated carrot, boiled potatoes, grated carrot, chopped onion or some roasted and roughly mashed brinjal. You can also make a combination of two or more of these vegetables as well. Top it off with dry roasted and powdered cumin seed and red chili powder.

Make a Dip

One more idea is to take thick curd and put it in a plastic strainer till all the water is separated. Then you need to beat it well and add pepper and salt. Once the dip is ready,you can add different ingredients like chopped garlic, cheese, tomato puree, herbs or anything else you can think of. You can use this dip to add flavor to raw vegetables you munch of like carrot, radish, etc. You can also add it to dry toast or chips to enhance their flavor.

 

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Pros and Cons of Branded Curd: Should You Buy One?

Pros and Cons of Branded Curd: Should You Buy One?

The curd is one of the Indian superfoods that’s gaining a lot of global attention these days. The result, kids who used to stay away from curd when their grandmothers urged them to have some are now chasing the curd and curd recipes as adults. Thanks to the fact that most of us are often too busy and the exceptional marketing strategies of the big brands, most people are having branded curd instead of making fresh at home.

Here we analyze the pros and cons of branded curd so that you know whether buying it is the right decision or not.

What is Curd?

The curd is a popular dairy product that is obtained by coagulating milk via a process known as curdling. The coagulating process is triggering by using acidic products like vinegar or lemon. The process takes a couple of hours depending on the weather. Branded curd is made in the factory after standardizing, pasteurizing and homogenizing the milk and then adding a culture. At home, you can simply take milk that is already standardized, pasteurized and homogenized, pasteurize it again and then add the culture.

Pros of Branded Curd

Branded curd is usually of a higher quality than homemade curd as the companies need to follow stringent quality standards while making the curd and can only sell it if the end product meets the specific criteria.

The process of buying branded curd is quite simple. You can just buy it at a local store that offers dairy products and has it. No need to wait, you can have it as it is.

You can also trust the branded curd to be excellent in taste and thicker than home-made curd in most cases.

Homemade curd making process can often be a failure, and you may end up losing the ingredients. This won’t happen with branded curd.

Cons of Branded Curd

The cost of branded curd is higher than home-made curd.

Branded curd usually has an expiry date and hence needs to be consumed in a specific time-frame, or it may harm your health.

There is no guarantee that a manufacturer will adhere to the set quality standards or prepare the curd according to the guidelines set by the food authorities. So, you may get a product that does more harm than good.

In essence, it can be said that branded curd has its pros and cons that need to be analyzed thoroughly before you buy it. Though it’s easily available and saves the trouble of making curd at home, it is quite expensive and needs to be consumed as soon as possible. You should choose between homemade and branded curd according to your needs. No matter what choice you make, ensure that you have curd twice a day every day for excellent health benefits!

 

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Curd vs. Yogurt vs. Probiotics: The Ultimate Faceoff

Curd vs. Yogurt vs. Probiotics: The Ultimate Faceoff

Most of us assumed that curd and yogurt were two different names of the same thing. This is not the case. Curd has specific properties that make it unique and so does yogurt. There is one another category people often confuse with curd and yogurt, it is known as probiotics. Now, what are these and how do they differ from curd and yogurt? How do curd, yogurt, and probiotics benefit you? Read on to know this in this ultimate faceoff of curd, yogurt, and probiotics.

Curd vs. Yogurt vs. Probiotics

Curd

Curd is obtained by boiling and cooling the milk and then adding a spoon of curd to it. The curd you add has lactic acid known as Lactobacillus. The bacteria multiply themselves, and you get the curd in a few hours. Curd is loaded with good nutrients like protein and calcium and can work wonderfully for people who are lactose intolerant and hence can’t have milk.

Curd is also an essential element of India’s food menu because it aids the digestion process and offers coolness to negate the effect of spicy foods that most Indians love. The bacterial strength of curd varies from one place to the other. Hence, it’s not a standardized product. You should also know that if the level of these bacteria is too low, the good bacteria might not reach the intestines alive to provide any digestive or other benefits.

Yogurt

Yogurt looks and tastes more or less like the curd, and the process of creating it is similar to the curd creation process. However, there is a big difference in the creation process. When making yogurt, the fermentation of milk is done by adding two strains of bacteria known as Streptococcus Thermophilus and Lactobacillus Bulgaris.

In many cases, more than two strains can also be added. Yogurt is considered to be more homogenous and standardized as compared to curd. So, when you have yogurt instead of curd, it is more likely that the good bacteria will be alive when they reach your gut and help you to have ahealthier gut.

Probiotics

Probiotics are loaded with live microorganisms that if consumed will assist you in having great gut health. If a product has to pass as a probiotic, it must have a specific strain of live bacteria which are resistant to bile, pancreatic juices, and gastric acid.

Hence, they don’t die when coming in contact with either of these and reach your intestines alive. Probiotic is also a standardized product that is loaded with health benefits. Having it daily would make your tummy happy.

In essence, it can be seen that curd, yogurt, and probiotics are quite different and all of them have some health benefits. We would recommend that you include all of them in your diet and see which one works best for you. Once you have the answer, you should make that product a part of your diet andlive a healthier and happier life. Seems easy, right?

Also Read:

  • Pros and Cons of Branded Curd
  • How to beat the heat with Curd
  • Nutrients in Curd

 

Related

Curd – Is your brand the healthiest?

Curd – Is your brand the healthiest?

curd

In India, having curd before an exam or an interview is considered auspicious. Curd is a staple in most of the households in India. We eat it with hot parathas, as sweet lassi or as cooling chaas. There is no denying the fact that Dahi is a health food. It is loaded with nutrition and amazing health benefits. It is rich in phosphorous and calcium and makes teeth and bones stronger. It also helps in building our immunity. But one needs to evaluate the quality of the product before buying curd from the market. Beware before you get hold of that packet. Consumer VOICE tested 11 plain curd and 2 probiotic curds, we found the lead level was not below the acceptable level in one of the tested brands. So, while any number of health benefits are attributed to good old curd, it is good to be aware of the parameters with which to assess the quality, safety, and acceptability of the ones we choose to consume.

Three Reasons Why Branded Curd May Be Better than the Homemade one

  1. The main ingredient that makes curd firmer and gives it a smooth texture is the high SNF content in the milk used. Commercially made curd will have higher SNF content (around 10 per cent), which is attained through techniques applied during manufacturing or through added SNF. Homemade curd will generally have SNF of around 8 per cent–9 per cent, which makes a big difference.
  2. The process followed commercially is highly standardised – for example, for how long to heat milk at what temperature, when to add the culture, for how long to set the curd in incubator, and so on. This is very difficult to follow at home, even if you know the parameters.
  3. The culture used in the commercial production of curd is a monoculture of a single cloned bacterium or it may be a mixture of some specific bacteria. This brings consistency in the texture and taste. At home, we use the culture from the previous curd, which can deteriorate over the period of reuse, and the taste may also change.

The brands which were tested included Ananda, Paras, Britannia, Amul Masti, Mother Dairy Classic, Gowardhan Rich and Thick, Nestle Nourish, Patanjali, Vita, Nova and Madhusudhan. Mother Dairy Advanced Probiotic and Nestle Actiplus Probiotic were also part of the tests. They were tested for lead, cholesterol, fat, carbohydrates and saturated fat content among others. The other important contamination that all the brands were tested for was that of microbiological contamination. Microbiological contamination is a very serious issue for milk products. Due to improper or poor hygienic condition during the manufacturing process, microorganisms may occur in the finished product which might result in food-borne diseases.

To get the full report of the test, grab a latest copy of Consumer VOICE Magazine.

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