Ayurveda describes the buttermilk as “Takra”. It is the fatless liquid curd. To prepare takra the cream is churned in to butter and the churned buttermilk is called takra. It is the fluid remaining when the fat is removed. Till date it is used as beverage in Indian states and also used for preparing Indian cuisines like “curry”. It is end product of butter making. Now days it is condensed or dried for use in the baking and frozen desserts industry. The low fat content of buttermilk makes it an excellent drink for obese. Now days it is prepared by culture. The buttermilk used now day is prepared by culture and is not the end product of butter making.
The history of buttermilk is very old as far as the ayurveda related text are concerned. The buttermilk is also described in the Vedas and other texts. As per the modern beliefs are concerned the buttermilk is supposed to be produced from the accumulated cream during the world war 2 nd in united states of America. The farmers separated the cream from butter and the liquid residue was buttermilk. The cream that was produced from the butter was often sour and need to be neutralized by sodium salt. With the improvement of the transportation system and the value of the skim portion improved. Now the sweet cream was available (i.e., cream that had not soured) and the buttermilk was not present as end product. This way the high quality butter was produced but the natural process buttermilk production stopped. That’s why the natural buttermilk is not produced nowadays and it is cultured.
The most of the buttermilk is produced by culture. The milk is turned to curd and then it is churned to produce the cream and buttermilk. Buttermilk is low fat skimmed milk with almost 2% of the fat content. This almost same like milk in appearance. The most of the buttermilk produced is produced by the bacterial reaction of the lactobacillus. It is responsible for the formation of the curd from milk. The cultured buttermilk is somewhat thicker than traditional buttermilk but is similar to it in all other respects. The buttermilk is supposed to be containing the 90% water, 5%milk sugar and 3% milk protein and 2% fat. The buttermilk is some salty and sour in test that is due to the lactic acid that is produced because the action of the bacteria. The protein of buttermilk is more easily digestible as compared with milk.
The buttermilk is imparting more benefits to digestive health. Now dasy the pasturised milk is used to produce the buttermilk. Following bacteria’s are used for the culture purpose-Streptococcus lactis, S. cremoris, Leuconostoc citrovorum , and L. dextranicum.
The buttermilk is used for various purposes. Ayurveda has described it as good digestive and carminative drink that is appetizer and used for treating obesity. Normally buttermilk is also useful in the acidity related complications. In such complication it is advisable to take a glass full of buttermilk with added “lavan bhaskar” preparation to it. The buttermilk is also useful in the complication of digestive disorders. It is advisable to take buttermilk if one is not adapted to digest milk. Buttermilk is having very good results in the obese conditions. It is described as if one is taking buttermilk for 15 to 25 days in morning meals with simple gruel preparations it will help him/her a lot to reduce weight.
Apart form this there are certain medicines and diet preparation s prepared from the buttermilk. The takrarishta is such type of preparation and the curry type preparation called as Takrapind and more are described in the ayurveda related text.
Following are some general tips to take Takra as health supplement-
- The buttermilk must not be too salty or sour in taste.
- The buttermilk must not be given to the pregnant lady and those who are prone to the pitta sensation.
- The buttermilk must be avoided if the patient ids having peptic ulcers.
- Those who are suffering from hypertension must not take the buttermilk.
So friend this could be a better health drink alternative for you.
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