Microbiological, biochemical and sensory characteristics of artisanal and industrial Manchego cheeses

Manchego cheese production may be artisanal or industrial, according to whether the cheeses are manufactured with raw or pasteurised ewe’s milk. This work was designed in order to study the predominant microflora in artisanal and industrial Appellation of Origin Manchego cheeses and its influence on the biochemical characteristics and the gustative profile of the cheeses at 60 days of ripening (just the moment that the cheeses can be marketed). Only two biotypes of the same species of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis were found in the industrial cheeses, while in the artisanal cheeses the microflora was much more heterogeneous. At 60 days of ripening, the artisanal cheeses accounted for higher values of pH, salt content, total nitrogen and nitrogen fractions than the industrial cheeses. Besides, the artisanal cheeses obtained higher scores for most of the gustative attributes evaluated than the industrial cheeses. This could be due to the more complex enzymatic system of the artisanal cheeses compared to the industrial ones, that could perform stronger biochemical changes in the cheeses made with raw milk.