Development of Thabdi milk sweets of Gujarat State, India utilizing Ghee residue as an ingredient

Thabdi an ethnic khoa based milk sweet of Gujarat State, which is famous for its characteristic colour texture and flavour, was prepared using ghee residue as an ingredient in order to provide a way to effectively utilize the by-product. Ghee residue was added in milk at different rates viz. T1 (control), T2 (2%), T3 (4%), T4 (6%), T5 (8%) and T6 (10 %). Addition of ghee residue in milk for making Thabdi was found to significantly (P?0.05) increase the fat, protein and ash content, Free fatty acids (FFA), Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value and acidity significantly (P?0.05) decreased the hardness of the products. Addition of ghee residue resulted in elimination of the 40 min holding period generally used for making Thabdi. Sample T4 (containing 6 % ghee residue) yielded the most acceptable product in terms of sensory attributes of product. It had a glossy brown colour, soft body, uniform grainy texture and pleasing rich nutty caramel flavour. During storage of sample T4 at cabinet temperature (20±1oC) and room temperature (37 C), the acidity, FFA, HMF (Hydroxymethyl Furfural), TBA and hardness increased significantly (P? 0.05) and sensory scores, moisture, water activity and pH decreased significantly(P? 0.05). It can be concluded that the most acceptable quality Thabdi could be prepared by addition of ghee residue at the rate of 6 % w/w of milk with improved shelf-life of 28 days at 20±1oC and 14 days at 37±1oC as compared to 21 and 12 days for control respectively. Thus, Thabdi sweet prepared with the use of ghee residue as an ingredient will provide a way to effectively utilize the by-product.