301. The effect of over-ripening upon the activity of Cheddar cheese starters

Abstract

The belief that over-ripening of starters is responsible for their weakening and for slow acid development during Cheddar cheese-making has been widely held by cheese-makers for many years. Statements that over-ripening is harmful have been made by investigators in several countries(1,2,3,4), but experimental evidence in support of this view is scanty. On the other hand, Whitehead(5) in New Zealand has shown that prolonged over-ripening of single-strain starters under rather extreme conditions merely resulted in a temporary checking of their activity; between wide limits of size of inoculum and period of incubation no permanent damage was done.