Manufacturing Process of a Novel Mozzarella Cheese Using Originally Isolated Lactic Acid Bacteria, Streptococcus salivarius ssp thermophilus, from Hokkaido

摘要

To produce a novel Mozzarella cheese, the homofermentative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus, isolated in Hokkaido, was chosen from the authors' originally constructed LAB library. Physiological analysis of this strain indicated relatively weak acid production. To use this LAB as starter bacteria to produce mozzarella-type cheese, citric acid was used as a supplement to decrease the pH. Thus, the manufacturing method using both lactic acid fermentation and pH adjustment was established for the mozzarella cheese. The mozzarella cheese made using this manufacturing method exhibited good flavor. Consequently, we demonstrated that the originally isolated strain could be applied to the cheese manufacturing process without the need to select variants that are tolerant to severe culture conditions. Therefore, this result indicated that wild strains might be applied to cheese manufacturing without the need for laborious pre-selection considerations.