Effect of selected starter cultures on production, properties and shelf life of fresh type cheese

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of different starter cultures including protective culture on the production and properties of fresh cheese. Fresh cheeses were produced from pasteurized milk by adding mesophilic starter cultures, mesophilic cultures and liquid rennet and by adding protective culture. All samples were analysed for acidity (active and titratable), microbiological quality, texture, colour and sensory properties during 21 days of cold storage. Additionally, milk fat, the total dry matter, total proteins and mineral content were determined in all cheese samples on the first day of storage. It could be observed that the used mesophilic culture in general did not affect chemical composition of cheese. As expected, during the storage period acidity in all cheeses decreased, while the number of microorganisms increased, whereby that changes were significantly slowed down in cheese produced by adding protective culture. Scores of sensory evaluation were high during the entire storage period for all cheeses, but samples containing and cheese protective cultures achieved the highest score (18.56) at the first as well as at the last day of storage (17.98). According to all analyses, it is evident that the shelf life of cheese produced by adding protective culture has been prolonged for 12 days in comparison to samples produced without protective culture, and accounted 21 days when properly cool stored. In conclusion, the addition of protective culture might be useful for extending the shelf life and maintaining sensory properties as well as colour of fresh cheese.