Nonstarter Lactic Acid Bacteria and Aging Temperature Affect Calcium Lactate Crystallization in Cheddar Cheese

Abstract

The occurrence of unappetizing calcium lactate crystals in Cheddar cheese is a challenge and expense to manufacturers, and this research was designed to understand their origin. It was hypothesized that nonstarter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB) affect calcium lactate crystallization (CLC) by producing D(-)-lactate. This study was designed to understand the effect of NSLAB growth and aging temperature on CLC. Cheeses were made from milk inoculated with Lactococcus lactis starter culture, with or without Lactobacillus curvatus or L. helveticus WSU19 adjunct cultures. Cheeses were aged at 4 or 13 degrees C for 28 d, then half of the cheeses from 4 and 13 degrees C were transferred to 13 and 4 degrees C, respectively, for the remainder of aging. The form of lactate in cheeses without adjunct culture or with L. helveticus WSU19 was predominantly L(+)-lactate (> 95%, wt/wt), and crystals were not observed within 70 d. While initial lactate in cheeses containingL. curvatus was only L(+)-lactate, the concentration of D(-)-lactate increased during aging. After 28 d, a racemic mixture of D/L-lactate was measured in cheeses containing L. curvatus; at the same time, CLC was observed. The earliest and most extensive CLC occurred on cheeses aged at 13 degrees C for 28 d then transferred to 4 degrees C. These results showed that production of D(-)-lactate by NSLAB, and aging temperature affect CLC in maturing Cheddar cheese.

Effect of salt and fat reduction on the composition, lactose metabolism, water activity and microbiology of Cheddar cheese

“…However, the increase in concentration of total lactic acid in the FFFS cheese was lower than expected based on the molar ratio of lactose-tolactic acid (1:4) and the molecular mass of lactose and lactic acid. This lower-thanexpected increase in lactic acid in the FFFS cheese, which is also apparent from the data of previous studies on Cheddar cheese (Chou et al 2003;Hou et al 2012;Turner and Thomas 1980), suggests that at least some of the lactose was used by the NSLAB which grew from~10 3 cfu.g −1 at day 1 to~10 8 cfu.g −1 at day 150. Facultative heterofermentative NSLAB strains (e.g.…”

“…This reflects the ability of NSLAB to utilize substrates in the cheese environment, apart from lactose, to support growth, including amino acids, fatty acids, glycerol or carbohydrates released from glycomacropeptide of κ-casein (galactose, Nacetylgalactosamine, N-acetylneuraminic acid) and from glycoproteins and glycolipids in the milk fat globule membrane (Sgarbi 2012). The increase in lactic acid content during ripening has been reported widely for Cheddar (Chou et al 2003;Hou et al 2012;McMahon et al 2014), despite the lactose being utilized within the first few weeks of ripening in many instances (Chou et al 2003;Rynne et al 2007). Similarly, lactic acid increased slowly in the RS and HS variants of the FF, RF and HF cheeses over ripening even though no lactose remained in these cheeses at times ≤14 days.…”

“…The cheeses, described in Table 1, include full-salt (filled circles), reduced-salt (filled squares) and half-salt (filled triangles) variants of full-fat (a), reduced-fat (b) and half-fat (c) cheeses, and full-fat (empty circles), reduced-fat (empty squares) and half-fat (empty triangles) variants of full-salt (d), reduced-salt (e) and half-salt (f) cheeses. Presented values are the means of three replicate trials; error bars represent standard deviations of the mean others in full-salt aged Cheddar cheeses with S/M levels of 5.0 to 5.5% (Chou et al 2003;Hou et al 2012;Jordan and Cogan 1993). Other studies on full-or reduced-fat Cheddar cheese found that lactose was metabolized rapidly within 1 to 30 days after manufacture (Rynne et al 2007).…”

Nucleic acid-based approaches to investigate microbial-related cheese quality defects

“…Mineral deposition, corresponding to calcium lactate crystal (CLC) formation, is a common defect found in Cheddar cheese (Chou et al, 2003; Swearingen et al, 2004). CLCs appear as white crystals or spots on the external surface of the cheese (Johnson et al, 1990; Chou et al, 2003; Agarwal et al, 2005, 2006).…”

“…CLCs appear as white crystals or spots on the external surface of the cheese (Johnson et al, 1990; Chou et al, 2003; Agarwal et al, 2005, 2006). While not harmful, CLC formation is often mistaken for mound by consumers.…”