Accelerated cheese ripening with food grade proteinases

Abstract

SUMMARYThe development of typical flavour in Cheddar cheese was accelerated by the addition of bacterial neutral proteinase to the curds, but not by the addition of fungal acid proteinase which produced a bitter defect even at low concentrations. An optimum level of neutral proteinase addition was established at which general proteolysis was increased by about 20% in 2 months and treated cheeses of this age had flavour intensities typical of 4-month-old untreated cheeses. Enzyme-treated cheeses were softer-bodied and more brittle than untreated cheeses of the same age.