Manufacture of Italian Caciotta-type cheeses with adjuncts and attenuated adjuncts of selected non-starter lactobacilli

Selected Lactobacillus paracasei FC2-5, Lactobacillus casei LC01 and Lactobacillus curvatus 2770 were used for cheese making as adjunct cultures (AC) or attenuated adjunct cultures (AAC). AAC were obtained by sonication treatment. Italian Caciotta-type cheeses were manufactured on an industrial plant scale, including control cheese (CC) without AC, and ripening was lasted 60 days at 10 °C. AAC did not increase the production of lactic acid compared with the CC. AC acidified during manufacture and throughout ripening, affected the moisture and texture of the cheese. As shown by the plate count and confirmed by RAPD-PCR, the cell numbers of non-starter lactobacilli varied between cheeses manufactured with AC or AAC. The major differences between cheeses were the accumulation of free amino acids and the synthesis of some key volatile components. As shown by PT-GC/MS analysis, the levels of ketones, secondary alcohols and sulphur compounds were highest in the cheese manufactured with AAC.