Chemical composition and microbial quality of Datshi and Zoety, unripen cottage cheese of Bhutan

Datshi is an unripen traditional Bhutanese cottage cheese produced commonly from the cow milk. It is consumed in two forms: fresh (Datshi) and matured Datshi (Zoety). The chemical and microbial compositions of both Datshi and Zoety were investigated in this study. The results showed that both Datshi and Zoety contain high moisture: 68.7% and 73.7%, respectively. However, Datshi contains good amount of protein, fat, and ash: 30.1%, 6.6%, and 6.9%, respectively; and in comparison to Zoety: protein (27.7%), fat (3.6%), and ash (2.1%). Regarding the microbial load, total aerobes and yeast and mold in Datshi are 10.5 log cfu/g and 8.3 log cfu/g, and that in Zoety is 11.3 log cfu/g and 9 log cfu/g, respectively. This study clearly demonstrated that chemical and microbial composition changes significantly when Datshi is transformed into Zoety, especially the chemical composition decreases significantly in Zoety. However, to understand the role of microbes in this transformation, further study is required for the identification of microflora of Datshi as well as Zoety.