Probiotic Crescenza Cheese Containing Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus acidophilus Manufactured with High-Pressure Homogenized Milk

P. BURNS; F. PATRIGNANI; D. SERRAZANETTI; G.C. VINDEROLA; J.A. REINHEIMER; R. LANCIOTTI; M.E. GUERZONI

JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE

American Dairy Science Association

Lugar: Estados Unidos; Año: 2008 vol. 91 p. 500 - 512

0022-0302

High pressure homogenization (HPH) is one of the most promising alternatives to traditional thermal treatment for food preservation and diversification. Its effectiveness on the deactivation of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in model systems and real food is well documented. To evaluate de potential of milk treated by HPH for the production of  Crescenza cheese added of commercial probiotic lactobacilli, four types of cheeses were made: HPH- (from HPH treated milk), P- (from pasteurized milk), HPH-P- (HPH treated milk plus probiotics) and P-P- (pasteurized milk plus probiotics) cheeses. An acidificant starter of Streptococcus thermophilus was used for cheese production. Compositional, microbiological, physico-chemical and organoleptic analysis were carried out at 1, 5, 8 and 12 d of refrigerated storage (4ºC). For the 4 cheese types, gross composition (protein, fat, moisture and pH) was within the limits reported for traditional Crescenza cheese. The HPH treatment of milk increased the cheese yield in about 1%. Probiotic bacteria showed good cell viability. At day 12 of storage, counts of L. paracasei A13 were similar to initial counts (ca. 8 log orders) while L. acidophilus H5 exhibited in HPH-P cheese a cell viability higher than it showed in P-P cheeses (7.2 log orders and 6.0 log orders at day 12, respectively). The hyperbaric treatment had a significant effect on free fatty acids (FFA) release and, whereas cheeses made from pasteurized milk showed less complex FFA profile. Probiotic cultures affected proteolytic cheese patterns. No significant differences were found for the sensory descriptors salty and cream among HPH- and P-cheeses as well as for acid, piquant, sweet, milky, salty, creamy and overall acceptance among HPH-, HPH-P- and P-P-Crescenza cheeses. The results of this work suggest that high-pressure homogenization of milk can represent an useful tool to develop new functional Crescenza-like cheeses, with modified sensory and structural characteristics with respect to traditional ones, and may be ripened in a shorter period of storage, expanding the functional product gamma in order to satisfy the heterogeneous consumer demand.