🍜 Check out our Noodle bookshelf, and save 25% on ckbk Premium Membership 🍜
By Harold McGee
Published 2004
An important bacterium in Swiss starter cultures is Propionibacter shermanii, the hole-maker. The propionibacteria consume the cheese’s lactic acid during ripening, and convert it to a combination of propionic and acetic acids and carbon dioxide gas. The acids’ aromatic sharpness, together with buttery diacetyl, contributes to the distinctive flavor of Emmental, and the carbon dioxide forms bubbles, or the characteristic “holes.” The propionibacteria grow slowly, and the cheesemaker must coddle them along by ripening the cheese at an unusually high temperature—around 75°F/24°C—for several weeks. This need for warmth may reflect the cheese propionibacteria’s original home, which was probably animal skin. (At least three other species of propioni-bacteria inhabit moist or oily areas of human skin, and P. acnes takes advantage of plugged oil glands.)
Unlimited, ad-free access to hundreds of the world’s best cookbooks
Over 150,000 recipes with thousands more added every month
Recommended by leading chefs and food writers
Powerful search filters to match your tastes
Create collections and add reviews or private notes to any recipe
Swipe to browse each cookbook from cover-to-cover
Manage your subscription via the My Membership page
Advertisement
Advertisement