Wiki: Lipase

Danisco Brand Mild Calf Lipase, 16 Ounces - CheeseForum.org

This article is about an Aroma or flavouring type culture called Lipase that is frequently added to milk in cheese making.

Lipase (pronounced lie-paze) is a naturally occurring water soluble enzyme that performs essential roles in the digestion, transport and processing of dietary lipids (e.g. triglycerides, fats, oils) in most, if not all, living organisms (i.e. plant and animal). Raw milk (i.e. whether it’s cow, goat, or sheep’s milk) has over 60 different enzymes including Lipase, the amounts of each being dependant on animal and it’s diet.

Danisco Brand Mild Calf Lipase, 16 Ounces - CheeseForum.org
Danisco Brand Mild Calf Lipase, 16 Ounces - CheeseForum.org

The flavour of all cheeses comes mainly from enzyme activity during aging and not from the flavour of the enzyme itself or from starter culture lactic acid producing bacteria. In milk, some enzymes make it through pasteurization, but many are deactivated or damaged, including Lipase. To compensate for the deactivation Lipase is commonly added in cheese making when using pasteurized milk to breakdown of milk fat (called lipolysis) and develop stronger more piquant flavoured cheeses such as brine preserved Feta type cheeses and most Italian type cheeses.

Lipases’ benefits are: flavour enrichment, a better scent (more persistent and characteristic), and a reduction of the ripening time.

Types

Lipase from an animal should be exactly the same thing as Lipase from a plant. The problem is that plants produce very small quantities, so it’s not practical to extract it. Therefore most Lipases are derived from kid-goats, lambs, and/or calves sources. The component that animal lipase is made from is generally proprietary, but sources in literature say drying and grinding of pre-gastric glands at the base of the calves tongues.

Common Lipase types and their use in cheese making are:

  • Calf (Cow), creates a delicate and mild “piquant” flavour, which is well perceptible and has a pleasant butter scent, lightly spicy.
  • Kid (Goat), creates a string sharp “piquant” flavour typical of Provolone, a well perceivable and persistent scent, lightly spicy.
  • Lamb (Sheep), creates a strong and marked traditional flavour typical of Pecorino Romano, a well perceptible in the mouth with a good persistence flavour, medium spicy.
  • Microbial (Fungal), primarily if want more vegetarian cheese.

Note: Mixtures such as Kid & Lamb are often available.

When Add

Lipase should always be added to the milk before the milk has started to coagulate:

  • Before adding acid in fresh direct acid coagualted cheeses.
  • Before significant acidification in lactic acid coagulated cheeses.
  • Before adding rennet in rennet coagulated cheeses.

How Add

To maximize dilution and avoid pockets of high Lipase activity, Lipase should be:

  • A fine grind size (normal with manufactured commercial Lipase).
  • Pre-dissolved in cool water, amount of water being dependant on amount of Lipase being used.
  • Thoroughly mixed with the milk.

Dosage Rate

Lipase dosage rates vary based on:

  • The initial strength of the product and the age and storage history of your product.
  • Fat content of the milk, the curdling temperature, the milk pH and the temperature of the cheese in the presses.
  • Whether the cheese maker wants a sweet, medium, or strong flavour.

A common starting dosage (vary up or down depending on taste results) is:

  • 1.25 ml per 8-12 liters milk.
  • 1/4 teaspoon per 2 US gallons.

Storage

For maximum longevity, Lipase should be stored:

  • Away from light.
  • In an air tight container.
  • Is heat sensitive and while tolerates warmer temperature for up to a month while shipping, should be stored at colder temperature, thus in freezer is common.

Commercial Manufacturers

Some commercial manufacturers of Lipase are:

Availability

Unless making your own, manufactured commercial Lipase is a specialty product and normally only available from cheese making supply stores.

Wiki: Culture Manufacturers

Danisco's Choozit Product Line, Geotrichum Candidum, 10 Dose - CheeseForum.org

This article is a listing of commercial starter culture manufacturing companies, their base country and their starter and any other culture product lines. The companies names are clickable and linked to their companies web homepage.

Abiasa

Danisco's Choozit Product Line, Geotrichum Candidum, 10 Dose - CheeseForum.org
Danisco's Choozit Product Line, Geotrichum Candidum, 10 Dose - CheeseForum.org
  • Canada based company.
  • Website in English, French, & Spanish.

CHR Hansen

  • Denmark based global company.
  • Mostly commercial size cultures, except in Brazil where package retail sized portions.

CSK Food Enrichment BV

  • Leeuwarden Netherlands based global food dairy ingredients company.
  • Ceska-star cheese cultures product line.
  • Flavour Wheel cultures product line.
  • Dairy Safe cultures product line.
  • Opti Strain cultures product line.

Danisco A/S

  • Denmark based global company.
  • CHOOZIT cheese cultures product line.
  • YO-MIX yogurt cultures product line.
  • Products in freeze-dried, frozen or liquid culture forms and in Direct Vat Inoculation (DVI) or in Bulk Starter (BS) formats.

DSM Food Specialties

  • Division of Netherlands based global Royal DSM N.V. company.
  • Animal based rennet, Fermentation Produced Chymosin (FPC), & Fromase® microbial coagulant derived from fermentation of the fungus Rhizomucor miehei product line.
  • Delvo line of cheese cultures.
  • Piccantase® animal and Piccantase® R non-animal based Lipase product line.
  • Plastic and wax cheese coatings product line.
  • Delvocid® mould prevention product line.

Rhodia Food

  • Rhodia Inc was a France based global chemicals company with a food additives division. The dairy cultures section was bought by Danisco A/S in 2004.
  • EZAL cheese cultures product line.
  • EZAL labeled products still available as of 2009, thus assume Danisco is still producing Rhodia cheese culture product line, (hate to assume Cheese Making Supply Stores are selling very old stock).

Wiki: Starter Cultures Function

Cultures are bacteria that are in the air, naturally in the milk (especially in unpasteurized) and intentionally added at the start of the cheese making process. They consume the milk’s lactose, producing lactic acid which makes the milk more acidic or sour and thus creating the best climate for the curd to form. The more acidic the milk becomes, the easier it is for the curd to expel the whey. They also play a key role in the aroma, texture, and flavour generated as the cheese is matured.

As milk naturally has bacteria, if left too long it will naturally sour and curdle, if left uncovered and warm it will pick up airborne bacteria and quickly become sour. In cheese making, specific cultures are intentionally added at the start of the cheese making process to accelerate this process and to create, with aging, a certain aroma, texture, and flavour.

There are two groups of these starter cultures:

  • Mesophilic Cultures can only withstand up to 30 C/102 F and thus are commonly used when the curds are not heated above that temperature such as when making Gouda and Cheddar.
  • Thermophilic Cultures can withstand up to 55 C/132 F and thus are commonly used when the curds are not heated above that temperature such as when making Swiss or harder Italian cheeses.

There are two formats of these starter cultures:

  • Mother Culture.
  • Direct Set Culture.

For beginner cheese makers, the simplest way to start is to use store bought buttermilk that contains live culture for a mesophilic starter or store bought yogurt for a thermophilic culture. The next stage in Cheese Making is to additionally use some cheese that you are trying to make to provide that bacteria or inoculation. The third is using refined commercial cultures like the commercial cheese makers do.

The commercially cultures are made in a variety of choices from a variety of manufacturers with a variety of product lines using a variety of natures many many bacteria. This results in a large range of confusion as many cheese making recipes name manufacturers’ products rather than the actual culture or cultures required. These products are in general not available in small hobby-craft cheese making dosage sized packages as the market size is too small. Thus cheese making supply stores sell amounts that they divide or the smallest packages available and ask their customers to divide. The following section is to aid in some organization and understanding of this subject.