Impact of the proteolysis due to lactobacilli on the stretchability of Swiss-type cheese

Abstract

-Proteolysis is known to be a key factor for cheese stretchability. However, proteolysis in Swiss cheese is rather limited because of the inactivation of rennet during cooking. To determine the contribution of the main agents of Swiss cheese proteolysis, experimental cheeses were manufactured with various Lactobacillus cultures or with various amounts of plasmin added. Marked differences in stretchability were observed among the Lactobacillus cultures. Lactobacillus helveticus strains yielded higher stretchability than Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis strains and than mixed cultures of both species. Plasmin addition improved the stretchability at the early stages of ripening (cold room ripening) only. Strong relationships were observed between the proportion of hydrophobic peptides in the fraction of pH 4.6-soluble nitrogen and cheese stretchability. These results show that Lactobacillus culture is a key factor for Swiss cheese stretchability and suggest the involvement of hydrophobic soluble peptides in Swiss cheese stretchability. stretchability / Swiss-type cheese / proteolysis / Lactobacillus helveticus / Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis

Strain-to-strain differences within lactic and propionic acid bacteria species strongly impact the properties of cheese–A review

“…lactis alone or in combination with L. helveticus, the ability to stretch was at least decreased by a factor of two. It was not correlated to the total amount of peptides but to a balance between hydrophobic and hydrophilic peptides (Richoux et al 2009). The relation with the number and/or activities of L. helveticus CEP and the ability of strains to lyse and to release their intracellular peptidases was a determinant in the stretchability, and differences in strand length between strains of more than 100 mm were observed (Sadat-Mekmene et al 2013).…”

“…In contrast, stretching properties were higher in cheeses made with L. helveticus Prt − strain, compared to the Prt + strain. In Emmental cheese, Richoux et al (2009) compared the stretchability of three strains of L. helveticus or L. delbrueckii subsp. lactis.…”

Textural and cooking properties and viscoelastic changes on heating and cooling of Balkan cheeses

“…The FF and EW were highest for C5, lowest for C3 and C4, and intermediate for cheeses C1, C2, and C6. The high values for C5, which reflect a high level of toughness of molten extended cheese, are likely to be associated with the combined effects of a low degree of primary proteolysis (Figure 2; Table 3) and the relatively high protein content and protein-to-fat ratio (Guinee et al, 2000a;Richoux et al, 2009). Yet, the statistically different EW or FF values of cheeses C2 and C3, which had similar levels of pH 4.6-soluble N, or the similar EW and FF values for cheeses C3 and C4 despite having notably different levels of pH 4.6 soluble N, indicate the importance of factors other than total level of primary proteolysis on the extensibility characteristics of the cheese.…”

“…Yet, the statistically different EW or FF values of cheeses C2 and C3, which had similar levels of pH 4.6-soluble N, or the similar EW and FF values for cheeses C3 and C4 despite having notably different levels of pH 4.6 soluble N, indicate the importance of factors other than total level of primary proteolysis on the extensibility characteristics of the cheese. It is likely that extensibility characteristics (EW and FF) are also influenced by factors that promote casein interaction such as high protein content, high calcium-to-casein ratio, high protein-to-fat ratio, reducing S/M in the range 6 to 0.2% or increasing S/M to ≥6%, or increasing the concentration of hydrophobic peptides (for a given level of overall primary proteolysis) through selective use of starter cultures, enhance cross-linking of the casein molecules and thereby increase EW and FF (Guo et al, 1997;Richoux et al, 2009;Everett et al, 2014). Conversely, reduction in the level of free fat in the molten cheese by homogenization of cheese milk significantly reduces the length of strings obtained on extending baked Cheddar cheese at a fixed velocity of 0.066 m/s (Guinee et al, 2000b).…”

Influence of manufacturing conditions on thermo‐physical properties of ripened experimental Emmental‐type cheese and comparison with commercial Emmental cheese

“…Richoux et al . () produced experimental Emmental cheese with a weight of 800 g to investigate the impact of proteolysis due to Lactobacilli bacterial strains on stretchability of Swiss‐type cheeses.…”