Factors that make cheese bitter

What are the factors that cause bitterness in cheese?

Bitterness in cheese occurs when hydrophobic (water-repellent) short peptides accumulate in the cheese. The reason for the excessive accumulation of these peptides can be due to “overproduction of them or limited breakdown of them”.
In short, the reason for bitterness in cheese is that casein itself is a relatively hydrophobic protein, so its breakdown by various proteinases (such as starter proteinases, psychrotrophic bacteria-derived proteinases, plasmin, or chymosin) can lead to the production of bitter peptides and thus cause bitterness in the cheese.
However, if suitable peptidases are present in the cheese and break down these peptides into their constituent amino acids, they will not cause bitterness in the cheese.
The factors that can lead to the accumulation of these bitter hydrophobic peptides and cause bitterness in the cheese, or reduce the breakdown of them, include the following:
• Some specific starter strains contain proteinases (such as LACTOCEPIN) that directly produce bitter peptides and cause bitterness in the cheese, and on the other hand, have limited peptidase activity, preventing them from breaking down the bitter peptides and reducing bitterness.
• Chymosin plays a significant role in the bitterness of cheese, as it starts breaking down beta-casein, releasing bitter peptides from it. Therefore, any factor that increases the activity of rennet and maintains it in the cheese curd will increase the likelihood of bitterness, such as the type and amount of rennet used, the pH of whey drainage, and the curd cooking temperature.
• Low salt content in cheese is an important factor in the development of bitterness in cheese.
• Low fat content in cheese makes the bitterness more prominent.
• The presence of antibiotics and bacteriophages and any factor that reduces the number of starters affects the bitterness of the cheese.
• Cheese produced from milk containing high levels of proteinases produced by psychrotrophic bacteria is more susceptible to bitterness.
To preserve the flavor of cheese and prevent bitterness caused by bacterial activity, nisin and nisin can be used.
For more details on Nisin and Nisin preservative, Click here
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