A microbiological study of Kashar cheese

Aran N.

MILCHWISSENSCHAFT-MILK SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL, vol.53, no.10, pp.565-568, 1998 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 53 Issue: 10
  • Publication Date: 1998
  • Journal Name: MILCHWISSENSCHAFT-MILK SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED)
  • Page Numbers: pp.565-568
  • Istanbul Technical University Affiliated: No

Abstract

The microflora of Kashar cheese was investigated. It has been observed that lactic streptococci, mainly consisting of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis dominated in the curd and idsappeared during the ripening period: Lactobacillus casei ssp. casei was found to be the predominant species in all the cheese samples, and was followed by Lb, plantarum and Lb. casei ssp. rhamnosus. The most frequently isolated enterococci from the samples were Enterococcus faecium. High frequency incidences of both Lb. casei ssp. casei and E. faecium in cheese samples suggest that they play an important role in cheese ripening. Coliform bacteria, which were present in the curd, were not detected in any of the cheese samples. The results indicated that micrococcaceae and yeasts decreased during ripening. Soluble nitrogen (% of total nitrogen (TN)) and non-protein nitrogen (% of TN) levels of the retail samples were gradually lower than those reported by some other investigators. Mean values for pH of the cheese samples ranged from 5.22 to 5.55.