MICROBIAL CULTURES IN CHEESE PRODUCTION AND SOME METHODS FOR PRESERVING THEIR STABILITY

Kvaliteta sira ovisi o kvaliteti mlijeka, primijenjenom procesu proizvodnje, korištenim procesnim uređajima, dodatcima, ali i o primijenjenim mikrobnim kulturama (starterima) koje gotovom proizvodu daju željeni okus, miris i konzistenciju. Danas se u proizvodnji sireva koriste različiti pripravci definiranih mikrobnih kultura u čijem se sastavu, ovisno o tipu sira, mogu naći bakterije mliječne kiseline, bakterije propionske kiseline, sojevi bakterije Brevibacterium linens i različite plemenite plijesni. Radi očuvanja stabilnosti i vijabilnosti mikrobnih kultura, razvijene su posebne tehnike pripreme specijalnih oblika mikrobnih (starter) kultura za sirarstvo koje se proizvode i isporučuju kao: tekući, matični, liofilizirani (suho smrznuti) ili koncentrirani smrznuti pripravci. U ovom radu prikazane su mikrobne kulture koje se najčešće primjenjuju u sirarstvu te su obuhvaćene tehnike proizvodnje mikrobnih pripravaka za sirarstvo s ciljem zaštite i održavanja stabilnosti mikrobnih kultura.The quality of cheese primarily depends on the quality of the milk, the applied production process, the process devices used, additives, but also on the applied microbial cultures (starters) that give the desired taste, smell, and consistency to the finished product. Depending on the type of cheese, modern cheese manufacturing, includes various preparations of defined microbial cultures, usually composed of lactic acid bacteria, propionic acid bacteria, Brevibacterium linens strains, and various noble moulds. In order to preserve the stability and viability of microbial cultures, special techniques have been developed for the preparation of different forms of microbial (starter) cultures for cheese production (liquid, lyophilized or concentrated preparations). This paper covers the most commonly used microbial cultures in cheese-making and some techniques for the production of starter cultures for cheese production with the aim of protecting and maintaining the stability of those cultures