Original article Acceleration of blue cheese ripening by cheese slurry and extracellular enzymes of Penicillium roqueforti

Summary- An attempt has been made to accelerate flavour development of blue cheese. Ripened cheese slurry has been incorporated into blue cheese curd at a rate of 1 and 2 % respectively. A mixture of proteinases and lipases (1:1) of P. roqueforti has been incorporated into blue cheese curd at the proportions of 0.01 and 0.02 respectively. Blue cheese has also been made without additives (control). Addition of either cheese slurry or enzyme mixtures to blue cheese curd has accelerated the development of the characteristic flavour of blue cheese. These additives have stimulated the formation of soluble nitrogenous compounds, free amino acids, volatile fatty acids and total carbonyl compounds. Blue cheeses containing 2 % ripened slurry or 0.02 % P. roqueforti enzymes have higher organoleptic properties than the control after 45 d of ripening. The concentrations of the previously mentioned compounds in the same period of ripening are higher than those found in control cheese after 60 d