Fermentos de lactobacilos mesófilos para quesería

MERCANTI, DIEGO J.; MILESI, MARÍA M.; HYNES, ERICA R.

Puerto Alegre, Brasil

Congreso; 9º Congresso Pan-Americano do Leite; 2006

Associaçao Gaúcha de Laticinistas (AGL) - Federaçao Pan-americana do Leite (FEPALE) - Embrapa Gado de Leite

[Publicación del artículo completo y presentación en formato póster] Adjunct cultures of mesophilic lactobacilli can improve cheese quality by increasing flavor, preventing the proliferation of non starter lactic acid bacteria and providing probiotic potential to the food product. In this work, a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum was assayed as adjunct culture by in situ experiments, using a miniature soft cheese model obtained under controlled microbiological conditions. The tested culture rapidly increased up to 108 CFU g-1 and remained constant over 60 days of ripening, while the starter culture population was over 109 CFU g-1, coliform bacteria diminished, and moulds and yeasts slightly augmented. Adventitious lactobacilli in control cheeses (without an adjunct culture) were always below 104 CFU g-1. Proteolysis of the cheeses significantly increased with ripening time, as evidenced by electrophoresis, nitrogen fractions, peptide mapping and free amino acids profiles. Cheeses with and without added lactobacilli had similar proteolysis patterns, except for free amino acids profiles. Those showed an increase in the individual amount of  several amino acids, such as Asp, Arg, Ala, Pro, Leu and Phe, and a global augmentation in the total content of free amino acids in cheeses with the adjunct culture. The aroma of the cheeses with and without lactobacilli, assessed by a triangular sniffing test, significantly differed. Key words: mesophilic lactobacilli – adjunct cultures – cheese quality Palabras clave: lactobacilos mesófilos – cultivos adjuntos – calidad de quesos