Characterization of <i>Dadih</i>: Traditional Fermented Buffalo Milk of Minangkabau

Dadih or dadiah is traditional fermented buffalo milk of Minangkabau, which occurs spontaneously. Dadih is commonly served as ampiang dadih, or other dishes. The microbiota found in dadih are dominated by lactic acid bacteria, and yeasts are also found. The lactic acid bacteria provide functional value, such as antimicrobial, hypocholesterolemic, antimutagenic, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory properties, as well as being the source of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as an anti-stress agent and folate. Nevertheless, many challenges were observed in dadih production, including the limitation of buffalo milk production due to decreasing populations of buffalo in the last two decades, unstandardized dadih production due to the spontaneous fermentation in natural bamboo tubes, and safety problems as no heat treatment is applied in the production of dadih. These problems impede the development of dadih production, thus is it important to improve buffalo cultivation through artificial insemination programs, using different types of milk and pasteurization processes in dadih production, and incubator development to accelerate the fermentation period