Blog

A starter culture does more than lower pH. This review sets out how lactic acid bacteria turn milk sugars, proteins and fats into acid, texture and flavour, and how the underlying genetics affect those functions. For cheesemakers, its value is in explaining why cultures with similar species lists can behave differently in the vat and during ripening.

The question and the scope

Thomas Bintsis brings together research on the metabolism and genetics of the main groups of lactic acid bacteria used in fermented foods. This is a 2018 review, not a new cheese trial. The useful question is how a culture’s metabolic pathways and genetic traits translate into acidification, flavour development, texture and consistency. The discussion extends beyond dairy; the points below concentrate on cheese.

1. Acidification is the first job, but not the only one

Homolactic fermentation directs most of the sugar carbon towards lactic acid. Heterolactic fermentation also produces carbon dioxide and ethanol or acetate. That distinction matters when selecting for a close texture, gas formation or a particular flavour profile. The pathway used depends on the organism, the substrate and the conditions; a culture’s behaviour cannot be reduced to a single species label.

Pyruvate sits at a major branch point. Carbon passing through it can end up as lactate or be diverted towards compounds including diacetyl, acetoin, acetaldehyde and acetate. The balance changes with the strain and its environment. An acceptable final pH therefore tells us relatively little on its own about the aroma the culture will produce.

2. Citrate metabolism links buttery flavour and gas

Citrate-positive lactococci and Leuconostoc can use citrate and contribute diacetyl and related aroma compounds, as well as carbon dioxide. Citrate transport is a critical part of that ability; in citrate-positive Lactococcus lactis, it is associated with a plasmid. The review also describes the influence of pH and the availability of sugars on the products formed.

For cheesemakers, this helps explain why an aromatic culture can affect both flavour and openness. A culture selected for buttery notes may also bring gas production. The result still depends on its partners and the make conditions; adding a citrate user does not guarantee a fixed diacetyl level or a particular eye pattern.

3. Protein breakdown is central to ripening

Milk contains relatively little free amino acid. Many LAB cannot make all the amino acids they need, so their ability to break down casein and use peptides is important to growth as well as ripening. Proteinases and peptidases produce progressively smaller peptides and amino acids, which then provide substrates for further flavour reactions.

The practical distinction is between producing acid promptly and developing the desired flavour over time. A useful adjunct may contribute to the latter without being the main vat acidifier. Non-starter LAB, including organisms described in the paper as L. paracasei, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus and L. casei, can become important during maturation. Their contribution is strain dependent; their presence alone does not establish a beneficial result.

4. LAB have a limited direct role in fat breakdown

The review describes LAB lipolysis as limited, while noting esterase activities and the importance of fatty acids as flavour compounds and precursors. Fat breakdown can supply compounds that contribute directly to flavour or feed subsequent reactions producing esters and other volatiles. A claim that a starter “develops flavour” should therefore be read more specifically: which pathway, which strain and under what ripening conditions?

5. Important dairy traits can sit on plasmids

In lactococci, plasmids can carry functions involved in lactose use, casein breakdown, bacteriophage resistance, bacteriocin production and exopolysaccharide production. Plasmids are DNA elements separate from the main chromosome. Their exchange and rearrangement can support adaptation, but can also contribute to instability in useful functions.

This is one reason strain identity and culture maintenance matter. Two cultures carrying the same species name need not have the same acidification performance, proteolytic activity or phage resistance. The review gives bacteriophage resistance and metabolic stability as explicit selection criteria for lactococcal starters. A species list is a starting point, not a complete performance specification.

6. The main culture groups do different work

Group	Relevance to cheese
Lactococci	Mesophilic acidification and flavour development; several important dairy functions may be plasmid encoded.
Streptococcus thermophilus	A dairy-adapted thermophilic starter. The review discusses sugar and protein metabolism, acetaldehyde and polysaccharide production. Its plasmids generally play a smaller functional role than those of lactococci.
Lactobacilli	A diverse group containing starter and non-starter organisms. The paper covers thermophilic dairy species such as L. helveticus and L. delbrueckii, as well as organisms associated with maturation. Do not treat all lactobacilli as thermophilic.
Pediococci	P. pentosaceus can form part of the non-starter flora of ripening cheese. Sugar use and bacteriocin production can be linked to plasmids.
Leuconostocs	Heterolactic metabolism and citrate use can contribute carbon dioxide, diacetyl and acetoin.

7. Texture and protective functions need separate consideration

Some LAB produce exopolysaccharides, which can affect the physical properties of fermented products. Others produce bacteriocins or other inhibitory metabolites. These are distinct culture functions, not automatic properties of every strain within a species. The review’s discussion of enterococci also makes clear that occurrence in a traditional fermentation is not sufficient grounds for starter selection.

8. Genetics explains possibilities, not a ready-made make schedule

The review describes metabolic engineering that redirects pyruvate away from lactate and towards compounds such as diacetyl. These examples show how changing a particular genetic function can alter the fermentation output. They do not show that ordinary commercial cultures have been engineered in this way, or supply a dosing instruction for a home make.

Genome information helps identify potential functions, but actual performance still needs testing in milk and cheese. For my purposes, I would compare cultures against four separate requirements: the acidification curve through the make, the intended flavour contribution, the effect on texture and gas, and reliability across repeated batches. A promising genetic trait is useful evidence; it is not a substitute for those measurements.

Limits and reading notes

This is a broad review of the literature available in 2018. It does not provide a controlled comparison of current retail starter blends, universal pH targets or culture dose conversions. Organism names are retained as printed in the paper; several names and classifications have changed since publication. Its strongest use is as a framework for asking better questions about a culture, rather than as a catalogue of guaranteed effects.

Source and free full text

Bintsis, T. (2018). Lactic acid bacteria as starter cultures: An update in their metabolism and genetics. AIMS Microbiology, 4(4), 665–684. DOI and publisher record.

Open access — free to read. Read the complete article on PubMed Central. The article is distributed under CC BY 4.0. No payment or ResearchGate account is needed for this copy.

The useful question here is whether native cultures can give a pasteurised goat’s milk cheese more character without losing control of acidification. Taboada and colleagues compared a native starter, the same starter organisms with native adjuncts, and a commercial Streptococcus thermophilus culture. The native combinations acidified effectively and produced cheeses rated more favourably by a trained panel after 30 days.

Cultures and the comparison

The native starter (S) contained Lactobacillus rhamnosus UNSE308 and L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus UNSE309 at 30% each, with S. thermophilus UNSE314 and UNSE321 at 20% each. These are the names used in the paper.

The adjunct combination (A) retained the two lactobacilli at 30% each, reduced the two streptococci to 18% and 17%, and included four adjuncts at 1.25% each: L. plantarum UNSE316 and UNSE317, and Pediococcus pentosaceus UNSE22 and UNSE253. The comparison culture (C) was commercial S. thermophilus.

All cultures were activated and propagated before use. The native combinations were added to the cheese milk at 2% by volume; the commercial culture at 1%. These are active liquid culture additions, not equivalent doses of freeze-dried DVI powder.

Acidification curves

Figures 1A and 1B below compare 1%, 1.5% and 2% active inocula. The tests used pasteurised goat’s milk held at 38°C, with calcium chloride and chymosin, and pH readings every 30 minutes. Both native combinations reached pH 5.2 in four hours at 2%. The plotted 1.5% and 1% additions reached that point at five and six hours respectively. The authors report 4.5 hours for the commercial culture at 2%; that comparison was not plotted.

For cheesemakers: the inoculation rate changes the time available before the same pH is reached. The adjunct blend did not prevent rapid acidification at the higher addition. These are controlled milk acidification tests, not a measured pH curve through cutting, draining, pressing and brining. In particular, pH 5.2 is the test endpoint, not a reported cutting target for the make.

Make conditions

The cheeses were made in 35 L batches from milk pasteurised at 65°C for 30 minutes and cooled to 38°C. Coagulation lasted 40 minutes, followed by cutting to corn-sized curd, moulding and two hours of pressing. The cheeses were held at 5°C for 12 hours, brined in 16% w/v brine at 5°C for two hours, then ripened at 12°C and 85% relative humidity for 30 days. These conditions matter when comparing the results with a different make.

What happened during ripening

Cheese	pH, day 1	pH, day 30	Salt, day 30
Native starter (CS)	5.22	4.92	1.29%
Starter and adjuncts (CA)	5.20	4.88	1.27%
Commercial culture (CC)	5.24	5.05	1.25%

These are the reported mean pH measurements at two stages, not a continuous ripening curve. The native cheeses finished at a lower pH than the commercial comparison. Moisture was close to 49.7% in all three at day 30.

Proteolysis was slight. Non-protein nitrogen reached 4.54% and 4.49% of total nitrogen in CS and CA, compared with 4.18% in CC. That measure describes the soluble breakdown products of protein; it is not a direct percentage of free amino acids. Total free fatty acids were approximately 1.51, 1.53 and 1.47 g/kg respectively. The differences point to somewhat greater biochemical development with the native cultures, rather than a large change in overall cheese composition.

The trained panel rated the native cheeses “good” and the commercial comparison “regular”. The adjunct cheese had the highest creaminess and spiciness scores and the lowest bitterness. Its aroma also showed stronger fruity, propionic and goat’s cheese notes. For a cheesemaker, this is the more useful result: adjunct selection can change the character of the cheese even where the basic composition remains similar.

How far to take it

There were three independent makes per treatment and nine trained panellists. This supports a useful culture comparison under the stated conditions, not a general consumer preference claim or a transferable recipe for any commercial culture carrying the same species names. Strain identity, culture activity, milk and temperature still matter. I would use the curves to frame a trial and record pH through my own make, rather than lift the four-hour endpoint as a universal schedule.

Source and access

Taboada, N., Medina, R., Núñez, M. and López Alzogaray, S. (2017). Biochemical and microbiological changes throughout the ripening of Argentinean fresh goat’s milk cheeses made with native cultures. Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Food Sciences, 6(5), 1174–1180. DOI and publisher record.

Open access: the article is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Open the full paper (PDF). Figures 1A and 1B are reproduced above from Taboada et al. (2017); the image is cropped from page 1177, with no changes to the plotted data.

An account of Cheshire cheese from someone who spent his working life around its makers and markets. F. W. Foulkes combines personal recollections with the history of Whitchurch’s cheese fairs, the Cheshire Cheese Federation, the Milk Marketing Board and the National Cheese Council. It is a useful view of the trade from the people and institutions that organised it.

What makes it useful

The memoir records the work behind the cheese: selling at fairs, judging and grading, keeping records, educating makers and promoting a regional product. Photographs of equipment and dairy shows give context to the transition from a large farmhouse industry to a more organised and standardised market. The appendices include a make-record form, fair prices and quantities, and Cheshire grading figures.

For cheesemakers, the most directly useful section is the illustrated Cheshire make at the Applebys’ Abbey Farm, Hawkstone. It follows milk treatment and starter addition through ripening, renneting, cutting, scalding and pitching, draining, block turning, salting, milling, moulding, pressing and ripening. The photographs help explain the physical handling of the curd and the equipment used, beyond what a recipe alone can convey.

Read the acidity figures as titratable acidity, not pH. The make describes the practice recorded in this historical publication; its measurements and timings need interpreting in that context. The book also includes cooking recipes using Cheshire cheese, which are separate from the cheesemaking method.

How to read it

This is a participant’s memoir and a practical historical record, rather than a controlled research study. Its value is the combination of trade history, remembered experience and the documented Cheshire make. The author’s interpretations should be read as his account of the industry at the time.

Read Hooked on Cheese in LIBRAL. A free LIBRAL account is required to read the scan. Browse the LIBRAL catalogue.

Citation: Foulkes, F. W. (1985). Hooked on Cheese. Shropshire Libraries in association with Cheshire Libraries and Museum Service. ISBN 0-903802-32-5. Copyright F. W. Foulkes, 1985. Cover shown for source identification; the complete book is linked at LIBRAL.

A substantial practical reference for British cheesemaking before the Second World War. Bulletin 43 brings together general dairy practice, methods for individual varieties and the faults that a maker should learn to recognise. The 1938 second edition expands the earlier farm guidance to cover factory conditions as well.

What it covers

The opening section deals with milk quality, premises and equipment, starter preparation, rennet, heating and curd handling. Its acidity tests include the rennet test, acidimeter titration and the hot-iron test. The canonical recipes cover Caerphilly, Cheddar, Cheshire, Derby, Lancashire and Leicester, as well as smallholder and crustless cheeses; Stilton and Wensleydale, including white versions; and soft cheeses such as Cambridge or York, Camembert, Coulommier, Petit Suisse and Pont l’Evêque.

The practical value is in the detailing of the relationship between stages in each recipe: starter activity, acidity, moisture removal, curd condition, salting, pressing and ripening. The bulletin also describes variety-specific defects and the contemporary National Mark grading arrangements, connecting the make with the quality expected of the finished cheese.

Of interest to cheesemakers

Useful for comparing and designing traditional territorial makes and understanding the observations on which an experienced maker relied. The foreword recognises that milk and conditions vary, so the process needs informed judgement as well as accurate measurements. Its acidity percentages are titratable-acidity readings, not pH values, and should not be substituted for pH targets.

Read it as a historical technical source. Its starter propagation, hygiene advice, equipment, grading schemes and measurements reflect 1938 practice; they need separate assessment before use in a modern dairy.

Read Farm and Factory Cheese-Making in LIBRAL. LIBRAL requires a free registered account to read its scans. Browse the LIBRAL catalogue for other editions.

Citation: Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (1938). Farm and Factory Cheese-Making. Bulletin No. 43, second edition. London: His Majesty’s Stationery Office. Scan provided by LIBRAL, the Library of Rural and Agricultural Literature. The cover is shown for source identification; the full scan remains at LIBRAL.

Nigel White’s history asks how Britain’s cheese industry arrived at its modern shape. The answer runs through milk supply, transport, trade and government policy as much as through changes in the dairy. It follows the industry from early cheesemaking to 2018, bringing production and market figures alongside the history of the main British varieties.

The central argument

The availability and price of milk repeatedly determined whether cheese could be made profitably. As railways opened urban markets, selling liquid milk offered many farms a simpler and faster return than making and maturing cheese. Imported factory cheese also competed on consistency and price. The result was a decline in farmhouse production, followed by a gradual shift towards larger creameries.

White traces the effect of the two world wars, the Milk Marketing Boards, post-war agricultural support, entry into the European Economic Community, milk quotas and the eventual dismantling of the marketing boards. These changes altered access to milk and the balance between farmhouse, factory and imported cheese. Later chapters examine consolidation, branded mature Cheddar and the revival of specialist and artisan production.

Why it is useful

A useful reference for understanding why a territorial cheese’s commercial history may diverge from its technical tradition. It connects the survival and revival of varieties with the economics of milk, distribution and consumer demand. For cheesemakers and cheesemongers, it provides context for decisions about scale, maturation, distinctiveness and routes to market.

This is an industry history written from the author’s experience in dairy economics and cheese marketing. Its market figures, company structures and outlook belong to the period covered, ending in 2018.

Read the source: The Evolution of the British Cheese Industry — publisher-hosted PDF.

Citation: White, Nigel (2018). The Evolution of the British Cheese Industry. Society of Dairy Technology. ISBN 978-0-900681-12-7. Copyright remains with the Society of Dairy Technology; the full document is linked at its source.

What matters more to a Raclette’s melt: how low the pH goes, when it falls, or how much calcium remains bound in the curd? Fröhlich-Wyder and colleagues tested milk pre-ripening and citric or lactic acid additions in model Raclette cheeses. For cheesemakers, the interest lies in connecting the make, calcium retention and pH history with what the cheese actually does under heat.

Main findings

The stronger citric-acid treatment reduced both total and insoluble calcium. After 14 weeks, total calcium was 3,846 mg/kg against 4,809 mg/kg in the control; insoluble calcium represented 11.1% against 23.4%. Pre-ripening lowered the milk’s starting pH but increased total calcium in the finished cheese relative to the control. Earlier acidification therefore did not automatically mean greater calcium loss.

Citric and lactic acid were not interchangeable even when they produced the same whey pH: citrate also binds calcium. The citrate cheeses behaved more firmly in instrumental heating tests, yet the sensory panel still assessed their melting qualities favourably. Many sensory differences were not statistically significant. The practical lesson is to assess actual serving performance alongside pH and laboratory measures of melt.

Core model recipe and ingredients

The experimental batch used 50 litres of milk standardised to 33 g/kg fat (3.3%), pasteurised at 70°C, with 10 ml of 35% calcium chloride. RSW 901 starter from ALP was added after cooling to 28°C, followed by 45 minutes of ripening at 28–32°C. The make then used 8 ml Hansen Standard 225 rennet extract and 1 litre water, with coagulation at 32°C for 35 minutes. The paper does not specify starter dose, pasteurisation holding time or a directly usable rennet potency.

The curd was cut to 15–25 mm, stirred for 15 minutes, then raised to 35°C over 10 minutes while adding 22 litres of water. A further 25 minutes of stirring at 35°C preceded pressing. The pressing room was held at 30°C for the first 45 minutes; cheeses were turned repeatedly. Brining lasted one day at 11–13°C, followed by smear ripening for 14 weeks at 10–11°C and 90–96% relative humidity. These are pilot-plant methods, with some details absent, rather than a complete home recipe.

Alongside the control, one treatment pre-ripened milk with 5‰ Lactococcus lactis 17 culture at 16°C for 15 hours before pasteurisation. The other treatments added either 25 or 50 g citric acid monohydrate, or 35 or 70 g of 90% lactic acid, per 50-litre batch during washing. Acid contact before pressing was at most about 35 minutes. These were alternative experimental treatments, not ingredients to combine in one make.

The control cheese’s acidification curve through the make

The useful reference for a cheesemaker is the rate and timing of acidification, especially the unacidified control (CON). Figure 2 on printed page 470 follows coagulation and fabrication, then 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 24 hours, and finally 14 weeks. The authors identify 0 h as the start of pressing. The hourly clock therefore begins after the vat make, not at culture addition or renneting.

Make stage / elapsed time	Control pH	How to read it
Coagulation	≈6.5	Vat milk at coagulation
Fabrication	≈6.5	Curd treatment before pressing; source stage label
0 h	≈6.5	Start of pressing; not the time of starter addition
1 h	≈6.1	First hour after pressing begins
2 h	≈5.7	Second hour after pressing begins
3 h	≈5.4	Third hour after pressing begins
4 h	≈5.2	Approaching the brining checkpoint
24 h	5.08	Exact mean from Table II
14 weeks	5.35	Exact mean from Table IV; later ripening, outside the make

Approximate graph readings: values marked ≈ are read from Figure 2 and rounded to about 0.1 pH unit; the underlying hourly data are not tabulated. They are mean results from two batches, not a prescribed make curve. Coagulation and fabrication are categorical stages on the original graph, so their horizontal spacing does not establish elapsed time.

The control stays near pH 6.5 during coagulation and fabrication, then acidifies rapidly under the press: about 6.1 at one hour, 5.7 at two hours, 5.4 at three hours and 5.2 at four hours. It reaches the lowest 24-hour pH of the treatments, 5.08, before rising to 5.35 during ripening. The manufacturing protocol calls for brining at pH 5.2 after roughly 4–6 hours. These details make the control a useful comparison for a make log: follow how quickly the curd moves through the first hours under pressure, as well as its pH on entering the brine.

The contrasting acid-added treatments lose pH earlier, when wash water is added, and follow flatter subsequent curves. The control’s stronger fermentation during the first day allows calcium to continue leaving under the press and in the brine. This is why pH at drainage, terminal pH and a wash-whey reading each describe different parts of the process.

Source for the curve: Fröhlich-Wyder et al. (2009), Figure 2, p. 470; time-zero definition in section 3.1.3, p. 471; brining protocol in Figure 1, p. 467. Original paper and acidification graph.

Source

Fröhlich-Wyder, M.-T., Guggisberg, D. and Wechsler, D. (2009). Influence of low calcium and low pH on melting characteristics of model Raclette cheese. Dairy Science & Technology, 89, 463–483. Read the original paper: doi:10.1051/dst/2009025. This overview summarises the supplied paper; its PDF is not reproduced here.

Read J Danbo’s original Butterkäse recipe (PDF)

A mild, quick-ripening Butterkäse variation from J Danbo, intended for eating after 14–28 days and for melting on toast. The useful feature for cheesemakers is its combination of a warm thermophilic make, staged curd washing and short maturation. The source records pH alongside the process, giving useful reference points for comparing a make rather than simply following the clock.

Core ingredients

The original batch uses 24 litres of whole milk at 4% fat, 1.3 g Choozit TA60, 0.2 g Choozit LH100 and an optional 0.15 g Geotrichum. It adds 4 ml of 30% calcium chloride and 5 ml calf rennet, each separately diluted in 200 ml cooled boiled water. The rennet strength is not specified, so the volume needs checking against the product used. Culture weights are retained because a reliable teaspoon conversion requires product-specific density.

Make and pH reference points

The recorded starting pH is 6.59. Heat to 39°C, add and hydrate the cultures, then add rennet after a 0.1-unit pH fall, reported at about 40 minutes. Use a flocculation multiplier of 3.5, or the source’s alternative clean-break check at about 50 minutes. Cut to 1.5–2 cm, rest, stir and settle; the recorded pH at this stage is 6.28.

Wash in eight stages, removing one litre of whey and replacing it with one litre of water at 53°C each minute. This uses eight litres of water and brings the vat to about 41°C. After a short stir and rest, the source records pH 6.38. This is the reported post-wash reading; it should not be treated as an acidification target independent of the washing step.

Drain, mould and press with repeated turns and progressively increasing pressure at a room temperature of about 20°C. The source brines at 13°C for 9.5 hours per face, 19 hours in total. Its brine combines 4 litres water, 1.2 kg salt, 10 ml calcium chloride and 10 ml 7% white vinegar; the calcium chloride strength for the brine is not stated. Dry at about 8°C and 70–75% relative humidity, then mature at 13°C and 80–85% relative humidity for 14–28 days, turning once or twice daily.

Why it is useful

A practical reference for exploring a mild washed-curd cheese on a short maturation schedule. Track the pH change before renneting, the effect of washing, moisture retention and the finished melt. The timings and readings describe the author’s make and will vary with milk, culture activity and equipment.

Source: J Danbo, A fast ripening (14 days) buttercheese (butterkäse) variation, undated recipe supplied as a PDF. The original recipe PDF is available through the link above.

Main question: How does the diet of milk-producing cows, sheep and goats alter the volatile compounds that develop in cheese, and through which biochemical pathways? This 2020 review brings together evidence on pasture, conserved forage, plant by-products and trace-element supplementation.

Diet can influence aroma by changing milk composition and the substrates available during ripening, as well as microbial and enzyme activity. The review follows the breakdown of fat and protein, alongside lactose, lactate and citrate metabolism, into acids, aldehydes, lactones, ketones, alcohols and esters. Some plant-derived compounds may also reach milk more directly.

The reported effects are specific to the feeding treatment and cheese. Grape pomace and liquorice supplementation reduced selected short-chain fatty acids in some trials, while zinc supplementation increased butanoic and hexanoic acids in certain dairy products. Zinc and selenium were associated with increased concentrations of particular lactones in Caciotta; zinc also increased several lactones and ethyl esters in ripened Caciocavallo. Proposed explanations involving bacterial autolysis and lipase activity remain hypotheses.

Pasture composition can change the volatile profile. Ragusano made from milk of cows receiving native pasture alongside a total mixed ration contained eight aroma-active compounds absent from the comparison cheese. In a Montasio study, different alpine pastures altered ketones, phenolic compounds and terpenes, but the sensory differences detected by the tasting panel were slight.

Cheesemaking can modify or remove dietary effects. In one olive-pomace trial, differences in free fatty acids, esters and ketones measured in raw milk disappeared after pasteurisation and cheesemaking. Starter cultures and ripening conditions therefore matter alongside the feed itself.

The central finding is that feeding strategy can alter cheese aroma chemistry, but the evidence does not establish a universal route from a particular feed to a predictable flavour. Compound concentrations alone do not demonstrate improved taste or consumer preference. The authors call for better understanding of direct feed-to-milk transfer, interactions with the cheese matrix and the combined sensory effects of volatile compounds.

Source: Ianni, A.; Bennato, F.; Martino, C.; Grotta, L.; Martino, G. (2020). Molecules, 25(3), 461. DOI: 10.3390/molecules25030461. Published 22 January 2020.

The attached article is reproduced unchanged under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (CC BY 4.0). The text above is a summary of the review. Original article: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25030461. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

A practical guide to applying food-grade PVA cheese coating, covering rind preparation, application, maintenance and removal. The aim is to limit moisture loss and protect the surface during maturation.

The method starts with a clean cheese that has dried thoroughly after brining. Apply a thin, even coat with a clean sponge, covering small holes and cracks, and allow it to dry fully. Follow with one or two further thin coats. The guide discusses coating consistency, occasional recoating, coloured finishes and sealing labels beneath a clear layer.

Troubleshooting centres on moisture and film thickness: peeling suggests an insufficiently dried surface, while uneven coverage and cracking call for thinner coats with adequate drying between applications. Natamycin-containing coatings are addressed separately, including rind removal. Hygiene points include using disposable sponges and keeping used coating out of the original container. This is a practical application guide rather than a controlled research study.

This is the latest one I was able to find on the web. Hopefully not too much has changed with DVI cultures since.

The book contains pretty rich information on the nature of the bacteria, flavour impact and typical styles of use. There is considerable overlap with the Culture Characteristics table which draws on this document as one of its key sources.