Changes during ripening of reduced-fat Dutch-type cheeses produced with low temperature and long time (LTLT) heat-treated adjunct starter culture

• Cheeses were produced with addition of starter heat-treated at 65 °C for 10 or 30 min.
• The use of the adjunct heat-treated starter caused acceleration of the cheeses ripening.
• The adjunct starter improved the sensory attributes and textural properties of cheeses.

Reduced-fat Dutch-type cheeses with low temperature and long time (LTLT) heat-treated adjunct starter cultures produced in the dairy industry were analyzed for basic chemical, proteolytic, microbiological, texture and organoleptic characteristics. Cheeses were produced with 1.5% addition of XT-312 starter heat-treated at 65 °C for 10 or 30 min. Particular analyses were carried out after 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks of cheeses ripening. The use of the adjunct XT-312 starter heat-treated at both 10 and 30 min caused acceleration of the ripening process compared to control cheeses. The cheeses were determined for the content of nitrogen soluble at pH 4.6, TCA soluble nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen. The long time of the heat treatment of the additional starter turned out to be effective in improving textural and organoleptic characteristics of the analyzed reduced-fat cheeses.