Starter Cultures In Cheesemaking

Although some specific cultures are used in cheesemaking today, they have not been specifically standardised until the development of science in the 18 century and the research. All cheese types were invented and consumed millennia before discovering the microorganisms. Traditionally, cheese making started as a cultural practice. Every region developed its unique way of back-sloping cultures that can grow well in that region. The fungal cultures were added naturally with the raw milk used for cheese or from the underground dug holes where the cheese was ageing. The "Penicillium roqueforti" or "Geotrichum candidum" make the cheese consequently blue and white; however, they are part of the environmental fungus growth and part of the human microbiome.

You can practically make-at-home cheese from any starter culture if you follow the specific handling technique and ageing conditions. Softer cheese tends to age quicker due to its moisture content which is beneficial for the growth of bacterial cultures, yeast and fungi. On the other hand, the hard cheese will age slower due to the lower moisture contents, preventing or reducing cultures and fungi growth.

The smaller cheese tends to age from the surface—the larger cheese ages from within. Cheese with holes ages due to the air movement in the holes because it attracts the growth of fungi from inside of the cheese.