Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a starter culture in Mycella

The potential use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae FB7 as an additional starter culture for the production of Mycella, a Danish Gorgonzola type cheese, was investigated. Two dairy productions of Mycella, each containing batches of experimental cheeses with S. cerevisiae added and reference cheeses withou t yeast added were carried out. For both experimental and reference cheeses , chemical analysis (pH, aw, NaCl, water and fat content) were carried out during the ripening period, but no significant differences were found. The evolution of lactic acid bacteria was almost identical in both the experime ntal and reference cheeses and similar results were found for the number of yeast. S. cerevisiae FB7 was found to be predominant in the core of the ex perimental cheeses throughout the ripening period, while Debaryomyces hanse nii dominated in the reference cheese and on the surface of the experimenta l cheeses. In the cheeses with S. cerevisiae FB7, an earlier sporulation an d an improved growth of Penicillium roqueforti was observed compared to the reference cheeses. Furthermore, in the experimental cheese, synergistic in teractions were also found in the aroma analysis, the degradation of casein and by the sensory analysis. The observed differences indicate a positive contribution to the overall quality of Mycella by S. cerevisiae FB7. (C) 20 01 Elsevier Science B.V.. All rights reserved.