Abstract
Adjunct cultures originating from artisanal cheese environments may play an important role in recreating and developing traditional cheese flavours, thanks to their enzymatic activities, involved in different metabolic pathways that occur during cheese ripening. In this work, Ligilactobacillus salivarius SP36, a strain isolated from an old cheese seal, was added as an adjunct culture to the cheese's raw milk, and its effect on the microbiological, physical-chemical and sensory characteristics of the cheese was studied. The use of L. salivarius SP36 in cheese manufacturing had no significant (p > 0.05) effect on the cheese microbiota, gross composition (fat percentage, protein, total solids, moisture and NaCl concentration), colour or texture of the cheese. However, L. salivarius SP36 increased (p < 0.01) the formation of 25 volatile compounds, including 10 esters, 1 aldehyde, 8 alcohols and 6 carboxylic acids. In addition, cheeses made with L. salivarius SP36 received higher scores (p < 0.01) for aroma intensity and quality than control cheeses. L. salivarius SP36 proved to be a good candidate as an adjunct culture for cheesemaking, since it improved the cheese flavour by making it more intense and recovering typical sensorial notes of traditional cheeses.