Assessing the proteolytic and cheese ripening properties of single strainsof Lactococcus in miniature cheeses

The performance of 11 single strains of Lactococcus (Lc. lactis ssp. cremor is 223, 227, 250, 255, 267, 303, AM1 and SK11 and Lc. lactis ssp. lactis UC 317 [non-bitter strains], and Lc. lactis sap. cremoris Wg2 and HP [bitter s trains]) was studied in miniature Cheddar-type model cheeses. Different ino cula were used to give equivalent rates of acidification during manufacture and the cheeses made differed in flavour development and proteolysis durin g ripening. Urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretograms (PAGE) of the water -insoluble fraction (WISF) of all cheeses were similar after 2 and 4 months of ripening, while the level of water-soluble nitrogen (WSN; as % of total N) showed only small differences between cheeses made with different start er strains. The cheese made with Lc. lactis ssp. cremoris Wg2 differed cons iderably from the other cheeses as indicated by urea-PAGE of the water-solu ble fraction (WSF), reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (R P-HPLC) of the 70 % ethanol-soluble and -insoluble fractions of the WSF, co ncentration of amino acids and flavour characteristics; it had the highest pH (5.7) and the highest concentration of most of amino acids except Asp, I le and Arg after 4 months of ripening. The cheese made with Lc. lactis ssp. cremoris SK11 received the highest score for flavour and that made with Wg 2 received the lowest score. The results of this study indicate that the st rain(s) of Lactococcus used as starter plays an important role in the bioch emistry of cheese ripening and produces a characteristic profile of peptide s and amino acids. (C) Inra/Elsevier, Paris.