Τhe quality of Galotyri-type cheese made with different starter cultures

Τhe compositional, lipolytic and sensory characteristics of Galotyri-type cheese, a traditional Greek acid/rennet-curd cheese, made with four different commercial starter cultures [two mesophilic (MA011 and Probat 222), a thermophilic (CH-1) and a mixed mesophilic/thermophilic (CHOOZIT MT 1)] were compared. The results indicated that the compositional characteristics of Galotyri-type cheese were not significantly affected by the different starter cultures used. However, the titratable acidity and pH values of the cheese made with the thermophilic culture were significantly higher and lower, respectively, than those of the cheeses made with the other cultures. Τhe extent of cheese lipolysis (C4:0–C20:1 free fatty acids) was not affected by the starters used, although there were significant differences for some of the free fatty acids (FFA) among the cheeses. It was concluded that high quality Galotyri-type cheese could be produced by using any of the cultures MA011, CHOOZIT MT 1 or CH-1, although the MA011 culture gave cheese with the most consistent flavour and overall quality during storage.