Yeasts from Water Buffalo Mozzarella, a traditional cheese of the Mediterranean area

Countries of the Mediterranean area are characterized by production of arti sanal cheeses, obtained from goat, sheep, cow and buffalo raw milk. The num bers and species of yeasts in the different cheeses are variable, but some species are more frequently detected than others. Kluyveroynyces marxianus, K. lactis with their anamorph, Candida kefir, Debaryomyces hansenii and C. famata, C. colliculosa and C. catenulata are dominant species in several c heeses. However, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is often detected in pasta filata cheeses, such as Water Buffalo Mozzarella (WBM) or Cacio Cavallo Podolico. Recently, a comprehensive study of yeasts isolated from Mozzarella cheese produced in Basilicata (Southern Italy) has been carried out. The study has focused on lactose and/or galactose fermenting species (Kluyveronzyces and Saccharomyces) to evaluate their role on the functional and sensory proper ties of the product. End products in milk were evaluated and the biodiversi ty in terms of production of sulphur dioxide, higher alcohols, ethyl acetat e, and acetaldehyde was studied. In particular, S. cerevisiae strains from Water Buffalo Mozzarella cheese, compared to strains isolated from differen t habitats, such as wine, exhibited considerable difference in the producti on of some volatile compounds. The diversity observed could be related to t he particular microhabitat of S. cerevisiae occurring in whey cheese of wat er buffalo milk. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.