Abstract. The purpose of the study is to asses the effect of the use of mono probiotic culture and mixed cultures of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus on the physicochemical properties and its viability during storage. The soft cheeses were made through three treatments: (1) the use of Lactobacilllus rhamnosus culture, (2) the use of Lactobacillus plantarum culture and (3) the use of mixed cultures (Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus plantarum). The variables measured were the cheese texture (firmness and stickiness), proximate, pH of the product, and the number of LAB. The results showed that cheese firmness ranged from 10.78 to 47.75 gf, cheeses stickiness was -8.23 to -11.53 gs, cheese pH was 4.70-5.60; number of cheese LAB was 8.59-9.69 log cfu/g. The content of protein, fat, and ash were 13.65-16.54%, 15.28-20.03%, and 2.7-3.39%, respectively. The conclusion of this study was that the soft cheeses with mixed cultures of L.rhamnosus and L.plantarum are potentially good to be developed as a probiotic food.
Key words: Soft Cheese, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus plantarum, CultureAbstrak. Penelitian bertujuan untuk mempelajari pengaruh penggunaan probiotik secara tunggal dan campuran dari Lactobacillus plantarum dan Lactobacillus rhamnosus terhadap sifat fisikokimia dan viabilitas BAL selama penyimpanan. Keju lunak susu kambing terdiri dari tiga perlakuan yaitu (1) menggunakan kultur Lactobacillus rhamnosus, (2) menggunakan kultur Lactobacillus plantarum dan (3) campuran kultur (Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus plantarum). Variabel yang diamati adalah tekstur keju, proksimat, pH produk dan jumlah BAL. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa ketegasan/keutuhan keju mempunyai kisaran 10,78-47,75 gf, kelengketan keju adalah -8,23 sampai -11,53 gs, pH keju adalah 4,70-5,60; jumlah BAL keju adalah 8,59-9,69 log cfu/g. Kadar protein, lemak dan abu keju berturut-turut adalah 13,56-16,54%; 15,28-20,03% dan 2,7-3,39 %. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah bahwa keju lunak dengan kultur campuran dari L.rhamnosus dan L.plantarum berpotensi baik untuk dikembangkan sebagai makanan probiotik.