Influence of starter and adjunct lactobacilli culture on ripening of miniature washed-curd cheeses

Ten strains of Lactobacillus were tested as adjunct cultures in combination with two different Lactocococcus lactis starters in miniature washed-curd cheeses manufactured under controlled bacteriological conditions. Growth of lactobacilli seemed to depend on the strain used, but was not influenced by the starter strain (either L. Lactis subsp. Lactis IL416 or L. Lactis subsp. cremoris AM2). Lactococcal counts in miniature cheeses with AM2 starter and added lactobacilli were higher than in control cheeses without lactobacilli. Consistently good survival (similar to100% after four weeks) was observed for IL416, regardless of the presence of adjunct culture). In contrast, AM2 starter cell viability decreased slowly over the same time period. Gross composition and protein analyses were performed on the miniature cheeses. Our results indicate that production of soluble nitrogenous compounds was influenced by the lactobacilli adjunct, and depended on the starter strain. We conclude that the use of different combinations of starter and adjunct cultures can result in marked differences in bacterial populations and product properties. Such studies may be used to choose the combination of strains necessary to obtain a product with particular properties.