Alternatives to pilot plant experiments in cheese‐ripening studies

Experimental studies on cheese have several objectives, from assessing the influence of the microflora and enzymes indigenous to milk to evaluating starters and adjuncts. Several studies have been undertaken to evaluate the influence of an individual ripening agent in the complex environment of cheese. Cheesemaking experiments, even on a pilot scale, are expensive and time-consuming, and when controlled bacteriological conditions are needed, pilot plant experiments are difficult to perform. Cheese curd slurries are simple models that can be prepared under sterile conditions in the laboratory and can be used as an intermediate between test tubes and cheese trials, but probably cannot replace the latter. Miniature model cheeses are similar to pilot plant cheeses and can be manufactured under sterile conditions. Several approaches to assess the role of cheese-ripening agents are reviewed in this paper. Les experimentations de technologie fromagere, meme a l'echelle pilote, sont onereuses et longues. Les bouillies de caille fromager sont des modeles simples qui peuvent etre prepares dans des conditions steriles au laboratoire et peuvent etre utilises comme intermediaires entre les tubes a essais et les essais reels, mais ne peuvent probablement pas remplacer ces derniers. Differentes approches pour evaluer le role des agents d'affinage sont synthetisees dans cet article.