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REFRIGERATION

Food storage

How to store curd (dahi) and yoghurt

Curd is milk fermented by lactic acid bacteria. The acidity gives it some protection, but it keeps fermenting as long as it is warm, which makes it sour, watery and eventually unpleasant. Once set, curd should be chilled promptly to 0 to +4 °C to slow the culture and hold flavour. Packaged dahi and yoghurt should be kept cold from the moment of delivery. In restaurants, curd is also a base for raita, marinades and lassi, so poor storage shows up across many dishes at once.

  • Chilled0 to +4 °C

Do

  • Move set curd into the fridge as soon as it reaches the right firmness. Leaving it out longer makes it sour within hours in summer.
  • Store curd in covered food-grade containers. Use a clean, dry spoon each time; wet or used spoons introduce yeasts and moulds.
  • Keep packaged cups and pouches on shelves with good airflow, not against the evaporator where they can partly freeze and separate.
  • Make raita in small batches through the day rather than one large batch in the morning. Keep it chilled and covered until served.
  • Label kitchen-set curd with the time it was set and moved to the fridge, and use it within the period your plan allows.

Avoid

  • Do not mix old curd into a fresh batch to top it up; you carry any contamination forward.
  • Do not keep curd in metal vessels that react with acid, such as unlined copper or brass.
  • Do not store marinade made with curd and raw meat on a shelf above ready-to-eat foods.
  • Do not serve curd with surface mould, pink or orange spots, or a yeasty, fizzy smell.

In Indian conditions

Many Indian kitchens set their own curd daily from a little of the previous batch. In summer it can set in a few hours at kitchen temperature; in winter it may need a warm corner. Either way, move it to the fridge once set. In 40 °C-plus kitchens, a curd bowl on the counter for lunch service will sour noticeably, so keep it in an undercounter fridge near the pass. Sweet-shop and dairy counters selling loose dahi should keep the display cabinet closed between servings. Packaged dahi in a glass-door cooler should be kept away from the door, where warm air enters every time a customer opens it.

General good practice for commercial kitchens and shops. Where your FSSAI licence conditions or food-safety plan set stricter limits, follow those.