Characterisation of the technological behaviour of mixtures of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria isolated from traditional cheeses made of raw milk without added starters

In this work, the technological behaviour in milk of a set of Lactococcus lactis strains, alone or in combination with strains of Leuconostoc spp. and Lactobacillus spp. isolated from traditional, raw milk cheeses made without commercial starters, was investigated. Small, mixture‐specific differences during milk fermentation were recorded for growth, milk acidification and production of organic acids, volatile compounds, free amino acids and biogenic amines. Four combinations appropriate for use as dairy starters were tested in pilot‐scale cheese trials. Two mixtures produced cheeses of high flavour and taste quality; these could be confidently used as starter cultures.