Characteristics of natural isolates of lactic acid bacteria selected for construction of starter culture for semi-hard cheese Trapist type

Abstract

Starter cultures (S12, S19 and S21) for semi-hard cheese of the Trapist type were constructed by using natural isolates of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that were mostly isolated from home-made cheese. These starter cultures caused rapid acidification under technological conditions of cheese manufacture and greatly contributed to the ripening of the products. Incubation of these starter cultures under a temperature gradient showed that the treatment stimulated the curd cooking phase. The reduced cell viability was probably due to heat stress during the heat treatment of curd during the temperature gradient. All semi-hard cheeses produced using these starters had good flavor and a few small eyes.