QS GEN

Researchers at the Laboratory for Food Products Technology of the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazaNARU) have developed new varieties of traditional dry cottage cheese called, “Kurt”. It can be made from cow, goat, or camel’s milk. It is concentrated sour milk (kayak) and has been in use in the Central Asian region for centuries. Nomadic tribes developed “Kurt” to preserve milk for a long period of time. In its new form, they could carry milk on their long journeys on horseback.

Recently, we visited the Laboratory for Food Product Technology at KazNARU Agro-Tec Hub where Professor Dr. Yerenova Bibipatyma showed us the new varieties of ‘Kurt” that their team has developed. Professor Yerenova informed us that the University has a patent for the new varieties of “Kurt” which it has developed after analyzing the health benefits of adding new content to “Kurt”.

“Kurt is a unique product that contains a large number of vitamins, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Microorganisms that are present in fermented milk products increase their biological value, calcium speeds up metabolism and strengthens bone tissue, vitamin A improves the functioning of the visual system, vitamin E helps to saturate the body with oxygen, reduces the aging process of cells, vitamin D helps reduce the likelihood of cancer cells,” said the Professor.

Scientists at the KazNARU Innovation Center for Technology and Food Quality have developed a component composition and a method for producing “Kurt” from cow, camel, goat, and sheep milk with the use of enriching additives of plant origin. The uniqueness of the newly developed “Kurt” by KazNARU lies in the use of enriching additives of plant origin (blackcurrant, raspberry, sea buckthorn, spinach juice, spirulina extract), which provide high nutritional and biological value and long shelf life.

Professor Yerenova says that the inclusion of blackcurrant juice in “Kurt” provides antimicrobial, neuroprotective, hypotensive, immunomodulatory, and diaphoretic effects of varying severity, as well as powerful anti-radiation, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can be useful in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Blackcurrant is rich in vitamins C (0.25%), B1 (0.2%), B6 (0.4%), and E (0.7%), due to the high concentration of ascorbic acid, said Professor Yerenova.

Blackcurrant juice gives the new “Kurt” an attractive light purple color with a lilac tint, a delicate aroma, slightly sweet and sour taste.

Raspberry juice addition to “Kurt” is another innovation. Raspberry is known for lowering the level of carcinogens in the body, it’s good for our liver, activates metabolism, and may help in lowering blood sugar. Raspberry juice gives Kurt an attractive rich purple-pink color, a pleasant aroma, and a delicate sweet aftertaste.

Another variety of KazNARU “Kurt” contains sea buckthorn juice, which has a juicy color and aroma. Sea buckthorn can be useful for gastric and duodenal ulcers as it helps in reducing acidity in the stomach. Sea buckthorn may also help in cancer prevention, lowering cholesterol levels and strengthening immunity.

The sea buckthorn juice gives “Kurt” an attractive and rich natural pale orange color with a predominance of sea buckthorn aroma, light sea buckthorn sourness harmonizes with the traditional milky taste.

A variety of KazNARU “Kurt” contains spinach, which has a high content of iron and several health benefits. “Kurt” enriched with spinach juice, has an attractive appearance, an unusual color – light green, and an unobtrusive aroma with a pleasant aftertaste.

Yet another variety of KazNARU “Kurt contains spirulina extract as an enricher. Spirulina has a large amount of the blue pigment phycocyanin, the only known substance that can stop the growth of cancer cells. Spirulina is a safe marine microalga that provides enriched nutrient soil to maintain optimal health and well-being and is an essential element in the prevention and comprehensive treatment of diseases of the heart, blood vessels, digestive system, anemia, thyroid, liver, and kidney pathologies.

Kurt with spirulina extract acquires a rich dark green color without a specific smell and taste.

Under the method developed at KazNARU laboratory, “Kurt” is dried in a ventilated room at a temperature of 20-25°C and a relative humidity of 60-65% for 36 hours. Under optimal conditions, the new compositions of “Kurt” can be stored for more than 24 months without any particular loss of consumer properties since the absence of sucrose and an abundance of acidic compounds creates an unfavorable environment for various microflora.

KazNARU experts believe that once it receives the certification, KazNARU “Kurt” will be ready for industrial production and exports.

The knowledge of and ability to deal with global challenges have been promoted by the Model-UN series of workshops at Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazNARU). During the seminars, students and junior faculty members became young international experts in the field of UN Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They discussed many different issues including such topics as global food security, the impact of climate changes on regional and global agriculture including such important commodities as grain production, improvement of education among children, and many other topics.

Throughout the year, the participants of the Model-UN workshops dedicated the activities to the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan joining the United Nations in 1992, and they organized the events within the framework of activities of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) program at KazNARU. The main goal included popularizing the knowledge about SDGs, searching for mechanisms for involving young people in the implementation of SDGs, and developing new skills and competencies. The Model UN trainers have also worked on the development of creative imagining, soft skills and critical thinking, and such skills like diplomacy and negotiations. The workshops were conducted with the support of diplomatic missions in Almaty city (including the USA and some other countries) and the United Nations Information Office (UNIO) of the UN Department of Global Communication.

The Rector of KazNARU Tlektes I. Yesbolov pointed out that the researchers at many universities in the Silk Way region pay great attention to research on sustainable development and green economy. These research projects and practical recommendations could contribute to solving many global challenges at the local, regional, and even global levels. In this context, there is the increasing role of young graduates and scientists, who need to develop practical skills and competencies in order to transfer the results of their research experiments into practical projects. In this context, KazNARU accumulated solid and unique experiences such as the reproduction of plants through special technologies to make those plants more sustainable to bacteria and climate changes. University experts also conducted some studies on improving the management of scarce surface, underground and torrential water resources. “Our students and young scholars should have skills and navigate competencies for dealing with those problems” – said Dr. Yesbolov.

Indeed, the urgency of global challenges requires urgent and innovative solutions. In this context, undergraduate and graduate students should acquire knowledge by experimenting in laboratories and experimental fields and by working directly with industries. It is very important to transform universities toward – what Johann Wissema called – the “third-generation University,” where students and scientists together work on not only creating knowledge but practical implementation of the knowledge. Therefore, the Model UN movement is emerging as one of the mechanisms for the development of practical skills and competencies, the ability to orient in the modern world and deal with global challenges with concrete actions.

Prof. Rafis Abazov, Director of the Institute for green and sustainable development and the author of research on Model-UN phenomena believes that Model-UN could become one of the important parts of student life and extracurricular activities. First, it brings together active youth into various local, national, and international networks. Secondly, it popularizes knowledge about the SDGs and mobilizes young people to address and solve many global challenges at the local level, especially the campus level. Thirdly, the development of the educational component of Model UN includes the strengthening of such skills as creative thinking, creative approaches to developing and implementing social innovation projects, and improving communication competencies to work with colleagues at local, national to international levels. He quoted “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

The photo is courtesy of Rafis Abazov, Institute for green and sustainable development, KazNARU

Tag: Kazakh National Agrarian Research University

KazNARU wins patent for developing new varieties of “kurt”

Model-UN at KazNARU teaches students to deal with global challenges