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Elimination of cheese bitterness
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Imbalanced flavour development in fermented dairy products can often be corrected by the application of special strains. Typically, this relies on the application of strains producing a desired flavour compound or removing an off flavour The power of the targeted selection approach for industrial strain development is exemplified by the development of a debittering starter culture. A bitter off-flavour may occur in many food fermentations and is often caused by unbalanced proteolysis resulting in the accumulation of certain hydrophobic peptides with a strong bitter taste. It has been shown that PepN produced by L. lactis is capable of degrading a bitter peptide that accumulates in bitter cheese. Extensive screening programmes have resulted in the identification of strains that produce high levels of PepN. Strains that combine the high PepN activity with other beneficial characteristics have been shown to eliminate the bitter taste in certain cheese products. Some of these strains are currently being marketed as commercial starter cultures. |
