Abstract
This study was carried out to elucidate the utilization of the fusant for shortening the ripening time by making an observation of the microstructure and the profile of component change. In ripening cheese, moisture content of the sample treated with tested strain is not a remarkable difference among the test samples. With an increase of the ripening time, L. helveticus showed the highest increase in protein content, followed by fusant, and then L. bulgaricus. The fat content of all starters was gradually decreased while it was it was rapidly decreased after 7 days. The pH of all starters was gradually decreased when the ripening time increased. The titratable acidity was greatly increased between a 9th day and a 15th day ripening. In investigating the light microscopic microstructure of ripened cheese samples, the sample treated with fusant indicated little difference from the other starters in decomposition of protein and fat components by microbial enzymes. In SEM observation, the structure of all cheese samples was uniform and the rough texture was converted into smooth texture by the interaction of cheese components and the abscission of single bond in casein matrix when the ripening time is increased. The fusant showed similar results in the examination of component change and its microstructure compared with the other starters. Therefore, it was revealed that the fusant can be partially used as a cheese starter instead of conventional starters by replacing them or combining them together with the other starters for shortening the ripening time.
