RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ACCELERATED CHEESE RIPENING

Strategies for accelerating the ripening of cheese have traditionally included the use of enzymes like proteinases, peptidases, and lipases. These approaches have shown that the addition of free enzymes to milk or cheese led to uncontrolled biochemical reactions. Consequently, during recent years, new approaches have been attempted to accelerate the cheese ripening process. The addition of liposome-entrapped enzymes and physically or genetically modified lactic bacteria to cheese milk seem to provide some definite advantages. This article reviews the developments in the last 5 yr in this domain dealing with both traditional and untraditional approaches.