Comparison of Locally Isolated Culture from Yoghurt (Dahi) with Commercial Culture for the Production of Mozzarella Cheese

Mozzarella cheese is getting popularity in Pakistan as the trend of pizza is increasing. In Pakistan very few industries are making mozzarella cheese. Cultures required for the production of mozzarella cheese are imported and expensive, which increase the cost of its production. An attempt was made to develop such cultures locally. Homemade yoghurt (dahi) was used as the source for the culture of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp bulgaricus. Cultures were isolated and identified using morphological examination and various biochemical tests and preserved in glycerol at -80°C. These cultures were compared with the commercially available cultures for the production of mozzarella cheese. Locally isolated cheese culture showed higher moisture content, faster acid production and rate of proteolysis in cheese as compared to commercial culture. © 2010 Friends Science Publishers