POSSIBILITIES OF IMPROVING THE MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF SHEEP LUMPY CHEESE AND SHEEP CHEESE

The use of pure milk cultures for the production of sheep lumpy cheese from nonpasteurized milk is treated in the present paper. The occurrence and variations of different groups of microorganisms are described in the process of the souring and ripening of sheep lumpy cheese and sheep cheese called "bryndza". Laboratory and operational trials were conducted, using pure milk cultures for the production of cheese from nonpasteurized milk. Mixed strain cultures LM 25 and ZS 25 were used which contained several strains of lactic acid bacteria isolated from sheep milk products. The inoculum amount was 0.5 to 1.0 %, cultivation temperature 22 to 25 C (16 to 20 hours). The lactic acid production was best and fastest when the LM 25 culture was used, inoculum amount 1.0 % and souring temperature 22 to 23 C. Th fast production of lactic acid reduced significantly the contents of Staph. aureus, coliform bacteria, Citrobacter sp. and yeasts. The use of the pure LM 25 culture for the production of sheep lumpy cheese from nonpasteurized milk helped to improve the quality class of cheese supplied to a ripening room; the microbiological and also sensory characteristics are better, and this has positive affects on the taste properties and durability of the final product - bryndza cheese.