SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION ON PRODUCTION AND QUALITY EVALUATION OF LUGDI: A TRADITIONAL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

The present study was aimed to investigate the traditional process of lugdi production, collection of samples and physicochemical analysis of collected samples. The survey revealed that rice (local varieties) or broken rice was used as the main raw material for lugdi preparation. It was further observed that phab was the only inoculum used to carry out the lugdi fermentation. The general production steps in lugdi preparation were cooking of rice (time and water can vary according to place), followed by cooling and mixing of powdered phab. The physicochemical analysis of collected lugdi samples revealed the total soluble solids (TSS) in ranges from 2.5 to 3.9 degrees B, ethanol 4.61 to 5.68%, lactic acid from 0.83 to 1.15%, total phenols from 127.56-168.54 mg/100 mL. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) of lugdi samples also confirmed its richness in protein and phenolic compounds. In nutshell, it is concluded that despite its nutritional and health benefits a wide range of variability has been observed in different samples collected from the same production unit, which should be standardized with the involvement of researchers to get a uniform product.