Yeasts as Ripening Adjunct Cultures in Turkish White Brined Cheese Production

The present study aimed to determine the possibility of using yeasts as adjunct cultures in the production of white brined cheese, which is quite important to the Turkish dairy industry, and to evaluate the effects of these yeasts on cheese ripening. In addition to starter culture (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis + Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris), adjunct yeast cultures of Yarrowia lipolytica, Debaryomyces hansenii, and Kluyveromyces marxianus were separately co-inoculated to each cheese vat and, therefore, 4 different experimental cheese samples were produced, including the control cheese. Some chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of the samples were monitored during the 90-day ripening period.