| Changes in the microbial flora present in six Serrano cheese batches (3 ripened in Summer and 3 in Winter) were studied during production and ripening, to microbiologically characterize this cheese, which is traditionally manufactured by farmers in the south of Brazil, using raw cow milk, without the addition of starter cultures. The levels of several microbial groups were enumerated in the milk, curd and different stages of the 60-day long ripening period. Values of some physicochemical parameters, such as pH, titratable acidity, water activity, moisture and NaCl content were also determined. The correlation coefficients between these parameters and the microbial groups throughout ripening were determined. The influence of the season of the year was also... |
