Effect of sake lees on cheese components in cheese ripened by Aspergillus oryzae and lactic acid bacteria.

More than 2,000 varieties of cheese currently exist in the world, and cheese manufacture continues to flourish. To develop the cheese ripening process, additional ingredients are used during cheese production. In this study, the effect of sake lees as an additional ingredient on the fermentation of cheese using Aspergillus oryzae (koji mold), known as koji cheese, was investigated. Aspergillus oryzae is used in the fermentation of Japanese traditional foods, such as sake and soy sauce, given its strong enzymatic activities, as well as in cheese production (i.e., koji cheese). Sake lees, a by-product of the fermentation of rice with A. oryzae and yeasts in the sake brewing process, contains various metabolites, such as amino acids. Here, supplementation with sake lees enhanced the activities of lactic acid bacteria and affected the color of the cheese. Metabolome analysis revealed that sake lees altered the balance of carbohydrates and fatty acids in the cheese. Remarkably, supplementation with sake lees enhanced the production of umami-enhancing γ-glutamyl (kokumi-active) peptides. This study suggests that a new type of cheese can be produced using A. oryzae and sake lees, and information on the synergistic effects of A. oryzae and sake lees will aid the development of cheese production.

Volatile and soluble metabolite profiles in surface-ripened cheeses with Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae.

To determine the impact of traditional koji molds on chemical characteristics of soft-type natural cheese, novel surface mold-ripened cheeses with Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus sojae were studied by non-targeted metabolite profiling. Comprehensive water-soluble and volatile metabolite profiles of koji cheese were evaluated among five Aspergillus strains and other mold-ripened cheeses. Time-course changes in the metabolite profiles and degrading enzyme activities were also compared with those of an industrial Penicillium candidum starter culture. Koji cheeses differed from Camembert, Brie, and blue cheeses in higher lactic acid, amino acid, and acetoin levels and lower methyl ketone and volatile fatty acid levels. Time-course analysis revealed the associations of rapid accumulations of glutamic, aspartic, and 3-methylbutanoic acids and 3-methylbutanal with higher proteolytic activity, and methyl ketone and fatty acid derivative suppressions with lower lipolytic activity. Ethyl butanoate, diacetyl, and malic acid also characterized koji cheeses as strain-dependent metabolites. This study highlighted the key compositional difference derived from cheese ripening with Aspergillus strains. The findings could help quality improvements of koji cheese product.