title: Improvement of Ayran quality by the selection of autochthonous microbial cultures.
abstract: Ayran is a traditional Turkish milk drink which is fermented and salted. Inadequate production and storage conditions contribute to its variable organoleptic quality and stability during shelf-life. A thorough physico-chemical, nutritional and microbial characterization of artisanal Ayran was carried out in order to standardize its overall quality without altering its original traits. Ayran microbial ecosystem was largely dominated by Streptococcus thermophilus (ST) and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (LDB). High counts of other lactic acid bacteria species, including Lactobacillus helveticus (LH), Lactobacillus fermentum (LF), and Lactobacillus paracasei (LP), were also found. Selected LDB, LP and LH strains grew well in milk displaying fast acidification and high proteolysis, differently from ST and LF strains that did not cause noticeable changes. A selected autochthonous three-strain culture (TSC), composed of one strain of LDB, LP and ST, was applied for the pilot-scale production of traditional Ayran. The Ayran produced with this TSC resulted in the most extensive shelf-life (one month) and in the best terms of its nutritional and sensory quality nevertheless altering its typical pleasant yogurt and cottage cheese notes. This TSC is at disposal of SMEs who need to standardize the overall quality of this traditional fermented milk, preserving its typical traits.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy (ISPA-CNR), Via G. Amendola 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy. Electronic address: federico.baruzzi@ispa.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Baruzzi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy (ISPA-CNR), Via G. Amendola 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quintieri
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy (ISPA-CNR), Via G. Amendola 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caputo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Sacro Cuore Catholic University (UCSC), Via E. Parmense 84, 29100 Piacenza, Italy.
authors.forename: PierSandro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cocconcelli
authors.affiliation: Tübitak, Marmara Research Center, Food Institute, P.O. Box 21, 41470 Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mehlika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borcakli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology (IAFB), Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, 36 Rakowiecka Street, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Lubomiła
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Owczarek
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology (IAFB), Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, 36 Rakowiecka Street, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Urszula T
authors.initials: UT
authors.lastname: Jasińska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural and Food Biotechnology (IAFB), Department of Fruit and Vegetable Product Technology, 36 Rakowiecka Street, 02-532 Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Sylwia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Skąpska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council of Italy (ISPA-CNR), Via G. Amendola 122/O, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morea
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D044822:Biodiversity; D043302:Cultured Milk Products / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology*; D063427:Food Quality; D061353:Food Storage / Q000592:standards*; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D050296:Microbial Viability; D058889:Molecular Typing; D010865:Pilot Projects; D059748:Proteolysis; D048249:Streptococcus thermophilus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013649:Taste; D014421:Turkey; D015014:Yogurt / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: Acidification rate; Microbial biodiversity; Pilot-scale production; Proteolysis; Sensory analysis; Traditional fermented milk