Compositional and biochemical changes in Genestoso cheese, a Spanish raw cow's milk variety, during ripening.

Background: Physicochemical characteristics, proteolysis and lipolysis were studied throughout the ripening of eight batches of a traditional Spanish variety made from raw cow's milk, in order to establish a basis for its industrial production.

Results: The main compositional characteristics of this cheese after 60 days of ripening were its high proportion of total solids (TS; 752 g kg⁻¹ of cheese), an average content of protein (452.8 g kg⁻¹ TS) and fat (475.

Technological characterization of Geotrichum candidum strains isolated from a traditional Spanish goats' milk cheese.

Forty-one strains of Geotrichum candidum isolated from Armada cheese, Sobado variety, were screened for their enzymatic activities, including proteolytic and lipolytic activities and aminopeptidase activity. The highest extracellular proteolytic activity was detected for 8 strains with values ranging between 2.086 and 4.

Enzymatic activity of lactic acid bacteria (with antimicrobial properties) isolated from a traditional Spanish cheese.

Twenty-four strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from a traditional Spanish cheese (Genestoso cheese) were evaluated for their enzymatic activities (acidifying and proteolytic abilities and carboxypeptidase, aminopeptidase, dipeptidase, caseinolytic and esterase activities), in order to select indigenous strains of technical interest for the manufacture of cheese. These strains were selected on the basis of their antimicrobial activity relative to five reference strains and were identified as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis (thirteen strains), Leuconostoc mesenteroides (two strains), Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides (one strain), Lactobacillus paracasei (two strains), Lactobacillus plantarum (one strain) and Enterococcus faecalis (five strains).

Diversity and evolution of the microbial populations during manufacture and ripening of Casín, a traditional Spanish, starter-free cheese made from cow's milk.

Classical culturing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) techniques have been used for studying the microbial diversity and dynamics of the traditional Spanish Casín cheese during manufacturing and ripening. As with other starter-free cheeses made from raw milk, the microbial diversity of Casín was shown to be high by both culturing and DGGE analyses. The culture technique showed that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) species constituted the majority of the microbial populations.