Role of starter culture in cheese

manufacturing
– Production of cheese depends on fermentation of lactose by lactic acid bacteria
(LAB) to form mainly lactic acid.
– This process imparts
 Flavor to cheese curd,
 Assist in the formation of rennet coagulum by causing shrinkage of the curd,
 Moisture expulsion and
 Promotes characteristics texture formation during cheese making.
– Low pH of fresh cheese curd (5-5.2) helps to suppress the growth of pathogenic
and spoilage bacteria and preserves the products.
– Lactic acid bacteria also imparts
 Traces of flavorful aromatic compounds
 Their proteolytic activity and lipolytic activity (lesser) aids in the maturation of
cheese.
 Role of starter culture in cheese
manufacturing
– Lactic acid bacteria also produces
 Low oxidation-reduction potential (Eh) , necessary for the production of
sulphur compounds like methanethiol; contribute to aroma of Cheddar
cheese..
– In old days the fermentation of lactose in milk for cheese making depended
on natural contamination of the milk with LAB from environment.
– In the modern time, where huge amount of milk is processed into cheese a
rapid and reliable fermentation is needed.
– Since Pasteurization kills the natural LAB hence it is replaced by LAB
deliberately inoculated into cheese milk.
– Selected strains, with predictable acid development and production of
flavorful products are used as starters to obtain a steady rate of acidity
throughout the curd making process.
 Types of Starters
– Lactic acid bacteria are used as starter in cheese making including;
Streptococci, Leuconostoc and Lactobacilli.
– Selected strains of these genera are used as
 Combined cultures or
 Single strains cultures or
 Mixtures of single strain culture .
– Mesophilic starter (optimum temperature 20-30°C) are used to produce a
wide variety of cheese.
– For Hard cheese, selected strains of Str. cremoris gives cheese of good
flavor and are free from off-flavors, but if paired with strains of Str. lactis
can shorten the manufacturing time.
– Streptococcus lactis sub-sp. diacetylactis or Leuconostoc which produce
CO2 gives desired open texture for mold ripened cheese or slight eye
formation for Dutch cheese with the production of diacetyl a flavorful
compound.
 Types of Starters
– Thermophilic starters (optimum temperature 37-45°C) are used for
production of cooked cheese varieties (e.g. Swiss and Parmesan), where
the starter must withstand a high cooking temperature of ≥45°C and grow
at relatively high temperature.
– It is quite essential to have a satisfactory starter which
 Produces sufficient acid at a rate required for particular making process,
 Doesn’t produce off-flavors or bitterness
 Provide conditions in the curd which are suitable for typical flavor
development.
– Starters multiply during cheese making from about 10^7 cfu/ml in milk to
10^8-10^9 cfu/g of curd; growth checked by salting stage.
 Types of Starters

– All strains of starter bacteria are inhibited by antibiotics for e.g.

Penicillin, Aureomycin etc. which may be present in milk following
the treatment of cows for mastitis.
– Penicillin is the most powerful drug and 0.05-0.10 unit/ml milk
affects the growth of starter bacteria.
– These antibiotics can be detected by assay tests.
– Many strains of starters are inhibited by agglutinins and
peroxidases, naturally occurring in some milk.
– Such strains grow better in pasteurized milk as the inhibitory
substances are inactivated by the heat treatment.
 Lactic acid bacteria Employed as Starter Cultures
Bacteria Examples of Usage
1.Mesophilic Starters†
Streptococcus cremoris, Streptococcus lactis or Hard pressed cheese, e.g. Cheddar, Gouda.
Str. lactis Mold-ripened e.g. Stilton
Str. lactis sub-sp. diacetylactis Soft ripened e.g. Camembert, Feta, many others
Leuconostoc spp. Soft, Unripened, e.g. Coulommier, cottage cheese,
Str. cremoris Quarg, Cream cheese
Str. lactis sub-sp. diacetylactis
L. cremoris

2.Thermophilic Starters†† Swiss-type cheese, e.g. Emmenthal; Italian, very hard

Streptococcus thermophilus with Lactobacillus e.g. Parmesan;
helveticus, Lactobacillus lactis or Lactobacillus Semi-soft, smear types, e.g.
bulgaricus Limburger

3. Mixed Starters Italian pasta filata type e.g. Mozzarella, Provolone

Str. Lactis, Str. thermophilus or Str. faecalis and Lac.
bulgaricus
† Optimum temperature 20-30°C
†† Optimum temperature 37-35°C
 Ripening of Cheese

– Ripening involves changes in chemical and physical properties

of the cheese along with characteristics flavor.
– Fresh, young or “green” cheese curd is tough and rubbery.
– Consists of protein, fat and moisture in varying proportions
depending on cheese, along with small amount salt, lactose,
lactic acid, whey protein and minerals.
– During ripening; curd is gradually digested by enzymes and the
mature cheese acquires firm or plastic or soft body texture of
particular variety.
 Ripening of Cheese
– Major chemical changes responsible for ripening are:
1. Fermentation of lactose to lactic acid, small amounts of acetic and propionic
acid, CO2 and diacetyl
2. Proteolysis and
3. Lipolysis
– These changes are brought about by enzymes from
I. Lactic acid bacteria of the starter culture
II. Miscellaneous, non-starter bacteria in milk
III. The rennet, rennet paste or rennet substitute used in the milk
IV. Milk itself and
V. Other micro-organisms growing within or on the surface of the cheese.
– These metabolic changes are accompanied by the development of
characteristic flavor
– Affected by the size and composition of the young cheese, and are controlled
by the conditions of temperature and humidity at which the cheese ripened
and stored.
 Ripening of Cheese

– For e.g.
 Block stacking of warm cheese on pallets and block stacking of pallets can
influence temperature and flavor differences between blocks of cheese
from the same making vat.
 Some varieties like Emmenthal, Camembert and Stilton requires special
periods of controlled temperature and humidity for ripening process,
during which bacterial and fungal activity produces specific changes in the
body, texture and flavor of cheese.
 Ripening followed by storage, for the hard cheese like Cheddar and
Parmesan constant storage temperature is required throughout the
ripening period and maturation may extend over many months.
Ripening of Cheese
– Major changes during Ripening of Cheese
A. Changes in Body, texture and Flavor
 Body: means consistency of cheese, includes attributes such as firmness,
elasticity, plasticity and cohesiveness.
-Transformation of tough, rubbery curd is brought about by enzymic
digestion of the casein, cheese becomes softer and if moisture is high
crumbly texture is achieved.
- Large amounts of acid developed during manufacturing produce crumbly,
brittle curd and body of such cheese is described as “short” (lacks
elasticity).
- This is defect in some types of cheese for e.g. Cheddar and Emmenthal
where acid development is carefully controlled while it is desirable in
Stilton and Roquefort.
 Ripening of Cheese
– Major changes during Ripening of Cheese
A. Changes in Body, texture and Flavor
 Texture : Describes the structure or presence of holes within the cheese.
- Close texture refers to cheese with no holes while cheese with holes is said
to have open texture.
- Where this occurs from failure of curd particles to fuse together, it is
described as mechanical openness and if more than slight it is defect.
- For e.g. In Blue-veined cheese an open texture is necessary to allow growth
of molds throughout cheese.
- If open texture occurs from unacceptable gas production it is a defect.
- However, moderate openness due to gas production is character of some
cheese like Limburger and Gouda and essential for Emmenthal and
Gruyere.
Ripening of Cheese
– Major changes during Ripening of Cheese
A. Changes in Body, texture and Flavor
 Flavor: Ripening of cheese involves development of desired flavor, aroma
compounds by the action of mos and enzymes which break down protein, fats
and carbohydrates and in some cases, metabolize lactic acid, lactate and
citrate.
- Various products of protein hydrolysis as well as fatty acids and their esters or
ketones may be present in varying amounts in the cheese.
- This produces a complex mixture of component which give the required
balance of flavor, characteristic for the variety.
- Starter bacteria dies out during ripening as do most other organisms present in
the curd, like Enterococci and Leuconostoc.
- Only lactobacilli may be present in fresh curd in small numbers, multiply and
these may be present in fresh curd in small numbers, multiply and reach levels
of 10^6 to 10^8/g in cheese in 3-6 wks,
 Ripening of Cheese
– Major changes during Ripening of Cheese
B. Chemical and Bio chemical changes:
 Most lactose disappears from hard cheese (30-40% moisture) within first
few days of manufacture, but this time may be longer in soft, high
moisture cheese (50%).
 Fermentation of lactose by starter bacteria produces mainly lactic acid,
with some volatile acids, ethanol and small amounts of other by-
products.
 Some lactic acid combines with basic radicals in the cheese to form salts
and in some varieties like Emmenthal where starter includes propionic
acid bacteria, secondary fermentation of lactic acid with production of
propionic acid , acetic acid and carbon dioxide occurs.
Ripening of Cheese
– Major changes during Ripening of Cheese
B. Chemical and Bio chemical changes:
 Most part of nitrogenous material in the young cheese is present as water-
insoluble protein but as ripening proceeds, part or all of this is hydrolyzed by
enzyme action to more simple, soluble compounds
Protein Proteoses Peptones Peptides Amino acids
(insoluble) (---------------------Soluble-------------------------)
 Mos may reduce amino acids to ammonia and organic acids or oxidize them
to form CO2 and amines.
 Extent of proteolysis and formation of resulting compounds helps to
establish the character of mature cheese.
 Soft cheese like Camembert, Brie and Limburger undergoes extensive
proteolysis and formation of water soluble compounds like peptides, amino
acids and ammonia along with high moisture content of these varieties is
responsible for soft velvety texture.
Ripening of Cheese
– Major changes during Ripening of Cheese
B. Chemical and Bio chemical changes:
 Hard cheese like Cheddar and Emmenthal undergo much less proteolysis and
only some 25-35% of protein is made soluble; in a well matured cheese high
proportion of the breakdown products is in the form of peptides and amino
acids.
 Renin can breakdown casein to water-soluble compounds (Proteoses and
Peptones) but microbial enzymes bring about further breakdown with formation
of amino acids and ammonia.
 In Hard cheese mos present are mainly lactic acid forming cocci and rods which
are dispersed throughout the whole of the cheese mass, these produce
extracellular proteinases.
 When these cells die out and autolyse intracellular enzymes are released,
ripening progresses evenly through whole cheese.
 In soft quick ripening cheese most proteolysis is done by extracellular
proteinases released by mos growing in the surface.
 Ripening of Cheese
– Major changes during Ripening of Cheese
B. Chemical and Bio chemical changes:
 Molds plays important role in the proteolysis of some cheese (e.g. Blue-veined
cheese Stilton) and surface mold-ripened cheese (e.g. Brie and Camembert).
 Fat decomposition is not extensive, but some hydrolysis do occur during ripening,
important products are volatile lower fatty acids (butyric, caporic, caprillic).
 Lipolytic enzymes in cheese may have come from milk , mos or from enzymes
preparations added in the milk (e.g. coagulant of bacterial and fungal origin)
 Milk lipase active only in cheese made from raw milk.
 Strains of lactobacilli and other bacteria liberate, upon autolysis, intracellular
lipases, which accounts for most lipolytic activity in hard cheese (Cheddar,
Emmenthal).
 Molds growing in or on the surface of cheese (Stilton or Camembert) are sources of
lipolytic enzymes .
 Rennet extract has little lipolytic activity but rennet paste are actively lipolytic ,
hence used in manufacture of Parmesan cheese.