From whey lemon to paneer burger, a veritable treat

KVASU students make and market food items as part of course

Students of the College of Dairy Science and Technology (CDST),Mannuthy under the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University , engaging in preparing innovative food products at KVASU’s dairy unit at Mannuthy.

The final-year B.Tech. Dairy Science and Technology students of the College of Dairy Science and Technology (CDST) under Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) have come out with a host of dishes to please your taste buds.

These include innovative items such as Vechur probiotic yoghurt, fruity low-fat yoghurt, herbal-Nannari sip-up, special buttermilk, hundred per cent natural grape and mango ice creams and special gulabjamuns; dairy-based snacks such as paneer square and paneer burger; and beverages such as whey lemon, whey melon, and whey grape ball.

Experiential learning

The students have made the items as part of an experiential learning programme of their course, in tune with the guidelines of Indian Council of Agriculture Research.

“During the seventh semester of the course, each student has to undergo 60 days’ hands-on training programme known as ‘experiential learning programme’ where the students are trained to be an entrepreneur,” says G. Girish Varma, Faculty Dean, CDST.

Five groups

“The 40 students of the batch has been divided into five groups for the purpose and each group is given seven days for research and development work. Each group has to develop at least four innovative products, of which three should be dairy-based,” Dr. Rajkumar, project coordinator and Associate Professor at CDST, added. Once the plan is accepted, the products are manufactured in bulk as per the norms of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

All facilities have been provided by the university at its dairy pant. Seed money has been given by the college PTA, which has to be reimbursed at the end of the programme.

The university and its dairy plant will be given 5% of the profits and the rest will be shared among students. Thus, this programme goes hand in hand with the ‘earn while you learn’ concept, T.P. Sethumadhavan, Director of Entrepreneurship of KVASU, said. The programme would help students understand important entrepreneurial lessons, including accounting, Dr. Sethumadhavan said.

The products will be available at two university outlets — at Pookode in Wayanad and Mannuthy in Thrissur, besides the university stall at the Thrissur Pooram exhibition.