Effect of Adjunct Culture Lactobacillus helveticus (B02) on the Composition, Proteolysis, Free Amino Acids Release and Sensory Characteristics of Prato Cheese

At semi-industrial scale it was obtained two cheeses, one with aromatic culture (CHN) and the other with also L. helveticus (CHN + LH). Proteolysis during ripening was evaluated using proteolytic indices, electrophoretic profile Urea-PAGE and release of free amino acids. Sensory evaluation was performed by acceptability test. It was observed a 5-fold increase in the fraction corresponding to αs1-I-casein in the CHN cheese and 6.5 times in the CHN + LH cheese and 7.2 and 8.2 increase respectively, for total amino acids. Prato cheese with the adjunct culture showed higher acceptability in terms of overall aroma and flavor.