title: Suitability of a new mixed-strain starter for manufacturing uncooked raw ewe's milk cheeses.
abstract: Most raw milk Ossau-Iraty cheeses are currently manufactured on-farm using the same commercial streptococcal-lactococcal starter (S1). One way to enhance the microbial diversity that gives raw milk its advantages for cheese-making is to formulate new starters combining diverse, characterized strains. A new starter (OI) combining 6 raw milk strains of lactococci, recently isolated and characterized, was tested in parallel with the current starter by making 12 Ossau-Iraty raw milk cheeses at 3 farmhouses under the conditions prevailing at each farm. Compliance of the sensory characteristics with those expected by the Ossau-Iraty professionals, physicochemical parameters and coliforms were quantified at key manufacturing steps. The new starter OI gave cheeses having proper compliance but having lower compliance than the S1 cheeses under most manufacturing conditions, while managing coliform levels equally well as starter S1. This lower compliance relied more on the absence of Streptococcus thermophilus in starter OI, than on the nature of the lactoccocal strains present in starter OI. The study also shows that variations in 5 technological parameters during the first day of manufacture, within the range of values applied in the 3 farmhouses, are powerful tools for diversifying the scores for the sensory characteristics investigated.
authors.affiliation: Syndicat de défense de l'AOC Ossau-Iraty, 64120, Ostabat-Asme, France. Electronic address: fabienne.feutry@educagri.fr.
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Feutry
authors.affiliation: Area de Nutrición y Bromatología, Departamento de Ciencias del Medio Natural, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus Arrosadia s/n, 31006, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Paloma
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Torre
authors.affiliation: Area de Nutrición y Bromatología, Departamento de Ciencias del Medio Natural, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus Arrosadia s/n, 31006, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Arana
authors.affiliation: Area de Nutrición y Bromatología, Departamento de Ciencias del Medio Natural, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Campus Arrosadia s/n, 31006, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Análisis Sensorial Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (LASEHU), Department of Pharmacy and Food sciences, Lascaray Research Center, Universidad del País Vasco, 3, 01006, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Pérez Elortondo
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR 342 Technologie et Analyses Laitières, F-39801, Poligny, France.
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Berthier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002611:Cheese / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005285:Fermentation; D005511:Food Handling; D005516:Food Microbiology; D013294:Lactococcus lactis / Q000378:metabolism*; D066192:Manufacturing Industry / Q000379:methods; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology; D066256:Raw Foods / Q000032:analysis; D012756:Sheep; D048249:Streptococcus thermophilus / Q000378:metabolism*
keywords: Ewe's raw milk cheese; Lactococcus lactis; Manufacturing conditions; Sensory characteristics; Starter; Streptococcus thermophilus