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Cheese flavour formation: the lysis approach
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Innovations in the cheese market often focus on the acceleration of cheese ripening and the diversification in cheese flavour. In both cases, lysis of the cheese starter plays a crucial role. Bacterial lysis ensures the involvement of the intracellular starter enzymes which affect cheese flavour formation. An example is the release of debittering enzymes after lysis of the cell wall. A European consortium with partners including NIZO food research and the industrial starter culture supplier CSK food enrichment, has studied fundamental aspects related to the phenomenon of lysis. A large number of highly lysis sensitive and insensitive strains were compared and the role of starter lysis in accelerated flavour formation and e.g. debittering capacity was determined. The strain comparison was based on specimen obtained from the unique and well-documented lactic acid bacteria culture collection of NIZO food research. Various starter cultures that accelerate and/or diversify cheese ripening are now commercialized by CSK. At present, the consortium is investigating the application of these starter cultures as flavour generating cultures in low-fat and foil-ripened cheese. |
