Dadih is a traditional fermented dairy food products from West Sumatra. It has a soft white texture which looks like tofu. Dadih is usually made from buffalo milk, but because of the expensiveness and inadequate amount, buffalo milk is replaced with cow's milk. In making cow's milk, Dadih can be done with the addition of starter Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB). The common used LAB is Lactobacillus casei which is isolated from Dadih. Besides L.casei, LAB that can be added for making cow's milk of Dadih are L.plantarum, L.acidophilus and B.bifidum. The addition of some starters are able to increase the formation of lactic acid as well as maintaining consistency in quality and flavor that resemble the buffalo milk of Dadih.
The process of making Dadih from cow’s milk is started by preheating the milk to kill microbial pathogens. Then, one or several microbial starters such as L.casei, L.plantarum, L.acidophilus or B.bifidum are added. The starter is poured into fresh bamboo pieces and covered with banana leaves that have been withered over the fire or plastic. After that, it is placed at room temperature (25-30 Celsius degree) for 24-48 hours. Species of used bamboos are Ampel bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris) and Gombong bamboo (Gigantochloa verticilata). Bamboo is chosen because it contains natural fermentation microbe and has bitter taste in order to avoid ants. Microbes in the bamboo will help in clotting milk into a semi-solid such as pudding or tofu, as well as providing a distinctive flavor to Dadih. Types of selected bamboos are old with approximately 4-5 cm diameter and cut approximately 15 cm.
Dadih using cow's milk is useful as a source of probiotics food because it contains several lactic acid bacteria. Probiotics are foods that contain live bacteria which can help in facilitating the digestive process. The more diverse starter used, the more bacterial content are growth. In addition, cow's milk of Dadih can be easily absorbed by the human intestinal wall. It is also suitable to consume by people who are lactose intolerant because the lactose are converted into lactic acid by lactase during fermentation process.
On the other hand, Dadih which is made by traditional process causes short shelf-life with approximately 3 days. However, nowadays, Dadih can be packaged using PP (polyprophilene) plastic cup in order to extend the shelf-life. Dadih which is packaged in a plastic cup can be stored at room temperature for 8 days, while stored at cold temperature can survive for 24 days.
References
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Taufik,
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yang disimpan pada suhu rendah: karakteristik kimiawi. J. Media Peternakan 27(3) : 88 – 100
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S. dan Risfaheri. 2013. Pengembangan dadih sebagai pangan fungsional probiotik
asli Sumatera Barat. J. Litbang Pertanian 32(1)
: 20 – 29
Usmiati,
S. dan Juniawati. 2011. Karakteristik dadih probiotik menggunakan kombinasi Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus
plantarum, dan Bifidobacterium longum
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Usmiati,
S., W. Broto, dan H. Setiyanto. 2011. Karakteristik dadih susu sapi yang
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