Abstract
Proteolysis is known to be a key factor for cheese stretchability. However, proteolysis in Swiss cheese is rather limited because of the inactivation of rennet during cooking. To determine the contribution of the main agents of Swiss cheese proteolysis, experimental cheeses were manufactured with various Lactobacillus cultures or with various amounts of plasmin added. Marked differences in stretchability were observed among the Lactobacillus cultures. Lactobacillus helveticus strains yielded higher stretchability than Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis strains and than mixed cultures of both species. Plasmin addition improved the stretchability at the early stages of ripening (cold room ripening) only. Strong relationships were observed between the proportion of hydrophobic peptides in the fraction of pH 4.6-soluble nitrogen and cheese stretchability. These results show that Lactobacillus culture is a key factor for Swiss cheese stretchability and suggest the involvement of hydrophobic soluble peptides in Swiss cheese stretchability.
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