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Preparation of Chyang, an ethnic fermented beverage of the Himalayas using different raw cereals
Swati Ray, D.J. Bagyaraj, G. Thilagar, Jyoti Prakash Tamang
PII: S2352-6181(15)30017-2
DOI: 10.1016/j.jef.2016.11.008
Reference: JEF 88
To appear in: Journal of Ethnic Foods
Received Date: 4 October 2015 Revised Date: 17 November 2016 Accepted Date: 27 November 2016
Please cite this article as: Ray S, Bagyaraj D, Thilagar G, Tamang JP, Preparation of Chyang, an ethnic fermented beverage of the Himalayas using different raw cereals, Journal of Ethnic Foods (2017), doi: 10.1016/j.jef.2016.11.008.
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Preparation of Chyang, an ethnic fermented beverage of the Himalayas
using different raw cereals
Swati Raya,b, D J Bagyaraj^* G Thilagara, Jyoti Prakash Tamangc
a Centre for Natural Biological Resources and Community Development, #41, RBI Colony,
Anand Nagar, Bangalore - 560 024. b Haldia Institute of Technology, ICARE Complex, Hatiberia, Haldia 721 657. c Department of Microbiology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, 6th Mile, Tadong
737102, Sikkim, India * Corresponding Author Email: dj b agyaraj @ gmail.com Telephone : +91 9448465368
Running title: Study of Chyang ABSTRACT
Bachground: The traditional drink of the North-eastern parts of India, Chyang or locally known Kodo ko jaanr is one of the most nutritious drinks. The mild-alcoholic sweet flavoured beverage because of high calories, vitamin content, beneficial lactic acid bacteria and yeast is considered more as food than an alcoholic beverage. The substrate traditionally used for its preparation is barley or ragi.
Methods: This paper mainly deals with the preparation of Chyang using different substrates such as ragi only or ragi in combination with wheat, sorghum and rice in the ratio of 3:1.
Results: After performing aerobic and anaerobic fermentation of these combinations of substrate using the culture Marcha, a milky white beverage was obtained having a thin precipitate. Different tests like pH, titrable acidity, alcohol percentage, microbial count and sensory analysis of the beverages were performed.
Conclusion: The tests suggest the combination of ragi + sorghum to be the best substrate in terms of total quality and overall acceptability.
Keywords: Chyang; Kodo ko jaanr; Marcha; Ragi; beverage.
1. Introduction
Ethnic foods are defined as foods originating from a heritage and culture of an ethnic group who use their knowledge of local ingredients of plants and/or animal sources [1]. Chyang or Kodo ko jaanr is one of the most nutritious and traditional drinks in the Himalayan region of India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet in China [2, 3]. Chyang is said to be the best remedy to ward off the severe cold of the mountains. It reputedly has many healing properties for conditions such as common cod, fevers, allergic rhinitis, and alcoholism among others. Toxicological data suggests it as non-toxic and safe for human consumption. Among the ethnic beverages of the region, the mild-alcoholic sweet flavoured Chyang because of high calories, vitamin content, beneficial lactic acid bacteria and yeast is considered more as food than an alcoholic beverage. It quenches thirst, gives energy and provides nutrition. Chyang forms part of socio cultural life of the people in the region. Drinking and making offerings of Chyang are part of many pan-Tibetan social and religious occasions, including settling disputes, welcoming guests, and wooing. The traditional method of preparation of Chyang may vary from one region to other using barley chiefly as the substrate; the alternate substrate is ragi [4]. In the face of increasing population and stagnant wheat and rice productions, millets can be a promising alternative in solving the problem of food insecurity and malnutrition. The quality of protein is mainly a function of its essential amino acids. Finger millet contains 44.7% essential amino acids [5] of the total amino acids, which is higher than the 33.9% essential amino acids in FAO reference protein [6].
The duration of fermentation of this beverage may vary with seasons; as 3 days for summer and 10 days for winter. For obtaining a stronger one, with high alcohol content, the duration can be extended according to the need. After the fermentation process is complete, the pots are emptied and transferred to wooden drums, and then water is added till it gets submerged, kept for 2-5 h and filtrate collected 2 to 4 times. The liquid part is consumed after a day and the solid part is used as animal feed [4]. It is rich in calcium, phosphorus and vitamins riboflavin, niacin, cyano-cobalamine, pantothenic acid and live beneficial microflora and calorific value of 580 kcal/ lit [2,7].
Marcha is one of the commercially available traditionally prepared mixed cultures used for the preparation of some ethnic fermented bevergaes of the Himalayas such as Bhaati Jaanr, and Kodo ko jaanr [8, 9]. Yeasts Saccharomyces bayanus; Candida glabrata; Pichia anomala; Saccharomycopsis fibuligera; Saccharomycopsis capsularis and Pichia burtonii
are present in Marcha. Among these yeasts Saccharomyces bayanus, Candida glabrata and Pichia anomala are involved in the production of ethanol. Pichia burtonii has high amylolytic activity. In addition to yeast, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and filamentous moulds Mucor circinelloides, Rhizopus chinens are also present in Marcha [10,11,12]
It may be worthwhile to further investigate the possibility of improving the quality and nutrition value Chyang. In this paper, we have analysed some of the essential quality and sensory parameters of Chyang by using ragi as the substrate singly and in combination with other cereals.
2. Materials and Methods
Ragi or finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is also one of the traditional substrates for the preparation of Chyang. In the present study, along with ragi, whole grains of wheat, rice and sorghum were mixed in the ratio of 3:1 to get three other types of substrates (Fig 1).
About 200g ragi; for other substrates 150 g ragi + 50 g other cereals (wheat, rice or sorghum)
Cereals washed thoroughly about 2-3 times and water drained off
Again water added and cooked for 30 min at 100°C and excess water drained off
Grains air dried and Marcha, about 2% by substrate weight added aseptically to the cooked
substrate and mixed thoroughly
Mixture transferred to 2 L sterile bottle which are closed by muslin cloth.
Kept for two days for saccharification at 28±2° C in aerobic condition
After 2 days, the mouth of the bottle was closed by parafilm and sealed to maintain the
anaerobic condition
Kept for 8 days at 28±2°C for fermentation at anaerobi c condition
After completion of 8 days, water extraction of the beverage done by adding lukewarm water at
the rate of 2ml/g of fermented substrate
For each extraction is kept for 15-20 min and performed for 2-3 times for each sample
The liquid portion is separated by filtration known as Chyang
The solid portion is separated and kept aside for cattle feed Fig 1. Flow sheet of preparation of Chyang
After the completion of the beverage making some tests were performed to check different parameters using standard analytical methods [4,13]. The pH was measured using calibrated digital pH meter (Eutech Instruments pH tutor). Titrable acidity of the samples was determined by using standard method as per Association of Analytical Chemistry (AOAC) manual. Estimation of alcohol percentage of the samples was done by specific gravity bottle using standard method as per [14]. Microbial quality of the samples was determined by standard Plate Count (SPC) method using Nutrient agar medium [15]. A group of 10 panellists were chosen for the sensory evaluation of the beverages based on 5 point Hedonic scale [9] in terms of colour, aroma, texture, taste and general acceptability. The panellists were asked to give numbers 1 to 5 for each parameter which indicates not good, fair, good, very good and excellent. Based on this evaluation, the best substrate to produce the beverage has to be finalized.
3. Result and Discussions
The method of Chyang preparation involved repeated stirring and at the end of cooking, the grains were found to be split open. A little bit of sliminess was also observed in the cooked grains. Rice, being the softest grain, got more cooked and swelled as compared to other grains due to gelatinization of starch. When Marcha was added to air dried substrate and fermented for 2 days under aerobic condition, a fruity smell developed in the mix. After anaerobic fermentation for 8 days partial liquefaction of the grains was seen. Fermentation not only improves the taste but also at the same time enriches the food value in terms of protein, calcium and fibre, B vitamins, in vitro protein digestibility and decreases the levels of anti-nutrients in food grain [16,17,18, 19].
On opening the seal for extraction with lukewarm water, a mix of fruity and ethanol smell was obtained with a considerable amount of gas production, mostly carbon-di-oxide. When extraction was performed for 3 times, every time a milky white dense extract was obtained and with each extract the viscosity of the liquid decreased. On blending, it formed a uniformly mixed beverage but when kept for a certain period of time, some portion of the beverage tend to precipitate leaving a less viscous liquid above. Under refrigerated conditions, the thickness of the layer of precipitate was more.
Table 1
pH, titrable acidity, percent alcohol and bacterial count of Chyang as influenced by different substrates.
Substrate pH of the sample Percentage titrable acidity of the sample Percentage alcohol of the sample at 26 °C Bacterial count after 24-72 h incubation (cfu/ml)
Ragi 3.66 0.60 1.60 13 x 106
Ragi + Wheat 3.60 0.40 2.49 19 x 106
Ragi + Rice 3.58 0.44 4.02 105 x106
Ragi + Sorghum 3.65 0.35 1.94 21 x 106
The pH of the Chyang from different substrates was more or less similar for ragi+rice, ragi alone, ragi+wheat and ragi+sorghum. The titrable acidity of the samples varied with ragi alone with the highest and ragi+sorghum with the lowest measured in terms of lactic acid. Considerable amount of acid present in the final product helps in the preservation of the beverage. Here the titrable acidity is measured in terms of lactic acid as the starter culture contains some lactic acid bacteria (Table 1). For measuring the alcohol percentage the actual sample distillate was used. The alcohol percentage was highest in the substrate ragi+rice, and lowest in ragi alone as the substrate. The values for alcohol percentage were measured as per AOAC chart (Table 1).
One ml of the samples at 106 dilution was plated on Nutrient Agar medium and incubated at 30°C for 24 to 72 h. The microbial count in terms of cfu/ml was highest in the substrate ragi+rice and lowest when ragi alone was used as the substrate. It could be seen that the microbial counts for the three samples ragi, ragi+wheat and ragi+sorghum are to some extent comparable; only the sample ragi+rice gave much higher number of colonies (Table 1). The time taken for the appearance of colonies was also noted. In case of ragi+ rice the colonies appeared first followed by ragi+sorghum and ragi. Ragi+wheat took the maximum time to show any remarkable colony growth. No growth on the control plates showed that there was no contamination from outside. Colonies in all the plates were white in colour, transparent or opaque, smooth or rough and sometimes textured or slimy.
Table 2
Sensory evaluation of Chyang by panellists.
Substrate Colour Aroma Texture Taste General Acceptability
Ragi 3.2 2.9 3.4 2.7 2.9
Ragi + Wheat 3.2 3.2 3.5 3.2 3.3
Ragi + Rice 3.2 2.4 2.7 2.6 2.4
Ragi + Sorghum 3.2 3.3 3.8 3.2 3.5
Sensory evaluation of the beverages based on 5 point Hedonic scale (average of 10 panellists): 1 = Not good; 2 = Fair; 3 = Good; 4 = Very good; 5 = Excellent
In the sensory evaluation almost all the panellists detected very high amount of alcohol as well as acid when ragi+rice was used as the substrate. In ragi+wheat alcohol was more detectable than acid while ragi alone as the substrate did not get any special points mentioned by the panellists. For ragi+sorghum they felt that there is less alcohol and less acid smell and for most of them it was quite pleasant. In terms of colour all the beverages got almost the same number of points; in aroma, texture, taste and general acceptability categories ragi+sorghum scored the maximum (Table 2). The panellists suggested that addition of sugar or salt with some sort of flavour may enhance further the taste and quality.
4. Conclusions
Fermented beverages can be kept for a longer period of time without adding any type of preservatives due to the production of much acid and alcohol which can act as natural preservatives. In the present work, a comparative study was made using different substrates for preparing Chyang. After fermentation and analysis of the products it can be concluded that ragi+sorghum is a better substrate for preparing Chyang compared to ragi alone as the substrate. Natural or artificial flavours, colours or preservatives can be added to increase its appeal as a commercial drink and also to extend the shelf life of the product. Though Chyang is a traditional drink of North-eastern parts of India, the results of the present study suggests
that it can be promoted to be produced in other parts of India like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra where ragi and sorghum are grown considerably.
Acknowledgement
Heartiest gratitude to Indian Academy of Sciences (IASc), Bangalore, Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi and National Academy of Sciences (NASI), Allahabad for making this project a success. Special thanks to the Centre for Natural Biological Resources and Community Development, Bangalore for providing research facilities.
Conflicts of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest.
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Ragi grains Sorghum grains
Cooking the grains Mixing cooked grains with marcha
Fermentation Extraction with luke warm water
Filtration of Chhang Chhang
