Characteristics of anevato cheese made from raw or heat-treated goat milk inoculated with a lactic starter

Anevato cheese was made from raw goat milk (R), pasteurized at 72 degreesC for 15 s (P) and thermized at 63 degreesC for 10 min (T) using 'wild' isola tes of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis as a 'starter' from traditional Ane vato cheese. Heat treatment of milk had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the level of all microbial groups; counts on cheeses T and P were similar, except for total triable counts and staphylococci. Enterobacteriaceae and c oliforms were not detected in these cheese types. The use of starter improv ed the microbiological quality of raw milk cheese, cheese R showed lower mi crobial counts than the traditional Anevato cheese. The peptide pattern obt ained by urea-PAGE from each cheese type at the same age was different. Cas ein break-down in cheese P was delayed and generally was lower than in the other cheese types. It is assumed that proteolysis in cheeses R and T is mo stly dependent on the indigenous milk flora, while yeasts seem to be the ma in proteolytic factor in cheese P. Cheeses T and P lacked the typical flavo ur. of raw milk cheese, although isolates from traditional raw milk Anevato cheese were used as a starter culture. (C) 2000 Academic Press.