Leuconostoc - Tube - The Urban Cheese Christchurch

Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris

Leuconostoc is used in fresh, soft, and semi-hard cheese with eyes formation. It is used used in cheese making for both texture and flavour, with accompanied extra benefits. Texture wise it creates an ‘openness’ in the curd through the production of carbon dioxide. Flavour wise it creates buttery flavours and aromas. It is the main flavour compound in lactic butter, sour cream, Gouda, and Edam. If your cheese or dairy product is not sufficiently ‘buttery’ in flavour for your taste, try adding a little of this culture to get a more buttery flavour. It will take the sharp ‘lactic edge’ off the flavour of your cheese.

In blue vein cheese the openness in the curd that gas production creates aid the growth of Penicillium roquefort (blue mold) which requires oxygen to grow. The buttery flavour it imparts balances the sharpness of blue mold to give you a creamy blue flavour profile.

This culture has additional benefits. I...