Flavour of Hispanico cheese manufactured with Lactococcus lactis subsp lactis and L-lactis subsp cremoris as starter cultures

Hispanico cheeses were manufactured from pasteurized cow's (80%) and ewe's (20%) milk, using as starter culture 0.5% of L. lactis subsp. lactis strain H6 alone or in combination with 0.5 or 2% of L. lactis subsp. cremoris str ain H1. In cheeses made with both strains, strain H1 reached lower counts t han strain H6. A decrease in the viability of strain H6 during ripening was observed in the presence of strain H1. Proteolysis and quality of cheese f lavour were significantly enhanced when strain H1 was included in the start er culture. A total of 40 compounds were identified in the volatile fractio n of 45-days cheese, after extraction using a purge and trap system and ana lysis by GC/MS. Ethanol, 2,3-butanedione, 2-propanone, 2-pentanone, 3-methy l-1-butanol, carbon disulphide, 2-propanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 2-butanone , 2-heptanone and 2-butanol were the main volatile compounds identified in Hispanico cheese. Out of these compounds, the presence of L. lactis subsp. cremoris strain H1 in the starter culture influenced the level of 2,3-butan edione, 2-propanone, 2-pentanone, 2-propanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 2-butano ne and 2-butanol.