Chr. Hansen Launches Culture for Kashkaval and Provolone Cheeses

31 Mar 2014 --- The market has long asked for a cheese culture to fulfil the special needs involved with producing Kashkaval and Provolone type cheeses. Traditionally regular cultures for mozzarella cheese have been used in Kashkaval production, but now Chr. Hansen is proud to launch the new DVS culture TCC-50. This new culture is designed to match the technical and qualitative requirements and to deliver a superior flavor profile to Kashkaval and Provolone type cheeses.

“The DVS® TCC-50 culture was developed to match the requirements of fast acidification, together with a stronger flavor development compared with regular cultures for Pasta Filata,” Rolando Saltini, global marketing manager for cheese told Food Ingredients First. “The flavor development is guaranteed by the presence of Lactobacillus helveticus, which is usually not used in the regular pasta filata application. The flavor profile that this culture delivers to the cheese makes it mainly suitable for this application (Kashkaval and Provolone), but it will not be limited to this application only.

The DVS culture TCC-50, in combination with the coagulant CHY-MAX M and the specialty enzyme YieldMAX, is able to increase production yields up to 4% by optimizing the cheese production process, reducing losses and minimizing scrap rates

“We are happy to have developed a culture that meets all the technical requirements in the Kashkaval production. The new culture provides both fast and consistent acidification in the cheese vat, as well as excellent performance during ripening, ensuring production efficiency and superior cheese flavor and texture,” says Ulf Mortensen, Pasta Filata application Manager in Chr. Hansen.

DVS TCC-50 is a blend of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus helveticus, which delivers fast acidification speed, an optimal curd formation to optimize the stretching process and a great flavor profile.

The culture also presents a strong phage resistance and a low standard deviation in production, allowing higher yields and better process control.

When the new culture was introduced to 150 local Kashkaval producers at a customer seminar in Antalya, Turkey, it was received with enthusiasm by the audience.

The performance of DVS TCC-50 in the Turkish Kashkaval application had been assessed at a number of selected customers prior to the seminar, and the trial results were fully satisfactory.

“Customers were happy to see that now they have a new tool available for Kashkaval production. We aim to allow for producers in other areas as well, like Italy and Romania, to harvest the benefits of a culture fully designed for Kashkaval and Provolone type cheeses,” concludes Rolando Saltini, Global Marketing Manager Cheese, Chr. Hansen.