Storage study of Pre-Cooked and Post-Cooked Tungrymbai (Fermented soy food of khasi hills, Meghalaya)

Tungrymbai is a traditional fermented food of Khasi and Jaintia tribes of Meghalaya. In this study Tungrymbai was analyzed for physico-chemical and microbial quality of pre-cooked and post-cooked samples prepared by using Lactobacillus fermentum and Lactobacillus plantarum culture combination in 1: 1 ratio at 1, 2 and 3% culture combination. Shelf-life of the product was carried out by storing at 6˚C and 33˚C for 4 days. pH was found to decrease while titratable acidity increases as the number of storage days increases. Protein content was highest in Tungrymbai with 3% cell biomass. pH and titratable acidity was more in pre-cooked samples, whereas protein content was more in post-cooked samples. Lactobacillus count was found in all the samples, yeast and mold was observed only in the 4^th day of storage and coliforms was absent in pre-cooked samples. However, microbes were absent in post-cooked sample I and only Lactobacillus strain were detected in post-cooked samples II which indicates that the cooking procedure and heat intensity while cooking affect the Lactobacillus strains. Therefore, awareness can be created for the preparation method of Tungrymbai without cooking the product, to get the beneficial properties of Tungrymbai prepared with Lactobacillus strains.