Defined starter system including a bacteriocin producer for the enhancement of cheese flavour

Defined starter systems, consisting of bacteriocin-tolerant Lactococcus lac tis subsp. lactis H6 alone or in combination with bacteriocin-sensitive L. lactis subsp. cremoris H1, and low amounts of a bacteriocin-producing cultu re, were developed and used for the manufacture of semi-hard cheese. Aminop eptidase activity and proteolysis were increased and acidification retarded in cheeses made from milk inoculated with lactococci and the bacteriocin-p roducing culture with respect to cheeses from milk inoculated with only lac tococci. Cheeses made with a defined-strain starter system consisting of L. lactis subsp. lactis H6 and the bacteriocin-producing culture received the highest scores for flavour intensity and quality.