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Tailoring cheese flavour by improving starter cultures

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) dominate the development of texture and flavour. Increasingly, NIZO applies LAB as "cell-factories", e.g. for production of specific aroma compounds or vitamins. Important early innovations with LAB were based on selected mixes of starter cultures resulting in new cheeses with new characteristic flavours. NIZO has initiated and developed many cheeses-types such as Maasdam and Proosdij cheese. Now, with current knowledge and tools, further improvements are being achieved such as the construction of an enhanced starter culture for Proosdij cheese. This is based on determination of the key volatiles and knowledge-based selection of adjunct starter strains and has resulted in high flavour forming activity but without the negative aspect of crack formation. NIZO has various state-of-the-art tools at its disposal for tailoring cheese flavour development:  1. Targeted in vivo determination of important volatiles using the MS Nose 2. Genomics tools that allow identification of essential genes and make prediction of flavour formation possible 3. Tools for over-expression of enzymes and directing biochemical pathways using GMO's 4. Screening of large numbers of strains for expression of specific enzymes using high throughput screening Thus, with our insight into the biochemical pathways leading to production of specific volatile compounds, selection of cultures has become both faster and more specific. Recent patented application of these tools led to selection of wild Lactococcus strains with high flavour expression in cheese. key words: starter cultures, lactic acid bacteria, flavour formation