Microbial Dynamics of a Specialty Italian Raw Ewe’s Milk Cheese Curdled with Extracts from Spontaneous and Cultivated Onopordum tauricum Willd

Abstract

Milk coagulants prepared by maceration of flowers harvested from both spontaneous and cultivated Onopordum tauricum Willd. and a commercially available coagulant obtained from Cynara cardunculus L. (control) were assayed for small-scale manufacturing of Caciofiore, an Italian specialty raw ewe’s milk cheese produced in a family run dairy farm located in the Marche region (Central Italy). The microbiota of the three thistle-based milk coagulants and their effect on the microbial dynamics of raw milk cheeses during fermentation and maturation (from day 0 up until day 60) were investigated through a combined approach based on viable counting and Illumina DNA sequencing. In both the control and experimental cheeses, despite the slight differences emerged depending on the coagulant used, Lactococcus lactis and Debaryomyces hansenii were the prevalent species among bacteria and fungi, respectively. Moreover, raw ewe’s milk was the main factor affecting the evolution of both the bacterial and fungal microbiota in all cheeses. The overall similarities between control and experimental cheeses herein analyzed supports the exploitation of Onopordum tauricum Willd. as an alternative milk coagulating agent for production of Caciofiore and, more in general, raw ewe’s milk cheeses.

Morphological and Genomic Differences in the Italian Populations of Onopordum tauricum Willd.—A New Source of Vegetable Rennet

“…As mentioned in the introduction paragraph, the Taurian thistle is one of the candidate species for the production of vegetable rennet to be used in the production of local cheeses [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ], and its suitability was tested during the activities of the European Project PRIMA “Valorisation of thistle-curdled CHEESES in MEDiterranean marginal areas” (acronym “VEGGIE-MED-CHEESES”), aimed at finding suitable plants.…”

“…Both genomic ( Figure 1 ) and morphological ( Figure 2 ) analyses suggest that the putative Taurian thistle populations occurring in Italy belong to two different taxonomic units. Use in cheesemaking has been tested [ 4 , 5 , 6 ] only for the population from Colfiorito and Visso (COL and -VIS genomic cluster), and it is therefore deemed necessary to also assess specimens from the other genomic cluster.…”

“…platylepis , O. turcicum ), are traditionally used in cheesemaking and have been investigated to isolate clotting enzymes [ 3 ]. Recently, it has been demonstrated that O. tauricum has the potential to produce vegetable rennet for use in the production of local cheeses [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. In connection with this, the Taurian thistle has also been evaluated as a candidate species for cultivation [ 7 ].…”

Technological and Enzymatic Characterization of Autochthonous Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Viili Natural Starters

“…Lactococcus spp., including L. lactis and L. cremoris, have previously been found among the predominant isolates in viili samples [21]. Of note, this lactic acid bacteria genus is widely associated with the milk environment and constitutes the primary component in the starter culture used to produce both artisanal and industrial dairy products worldwide [33,34].…”