Leuconostoc mesenteroides subspecies cremoris (Choozit LM57)

[Webmaster]

The following posts were split off of this American Style Neufchatel cheese making thread as they are important and interesting and so that they would be more visible to other members.

Culture manufacturer Danisco's Choozit Brand LM57 contains the single culture Leuconostoc mesenteroides subspecies cremoris an intermediate (inbetween meso & thermophilic) lactic acid producing starter culture.

It is also one of four ingredients of manufacturer CHR Hansen's Flora Danica starter culture. Please post any other sources in this thread.

[Sailor Con Queso]

John, I add a little LM57 (L. m. cremoris) to my Neuf to give it a little more body. I usually don't even have to drain.

[Cheese Head]

Sailor, now that's interesting, had to look it up, LM57 is a Danisco Choozit Thermophilic Culture, expensive also.

So if you only minimally drain, then you'd get much higher yield and a lowe calorie density cream cheese.

Will it activate/propagate at room temperatures or do you go a little warmer when setting the curd? TIA.

[Sailor Con Queso]

I get mine from the Dairy Connection - just $12.30

I would consider LM57 (Lmc) an intermediate culture. While they may list it as a thermophile, it is a component of both Flora Danica and Aromatic B, which are both mesophilic blends. It is definitely very active at meso temperatures around 90-100F. I don't know about lower temps. It does not seem to be a strong acid producer. It has great thickening properties as well as a diacetyl "buttery" flavor. So, yes, you get a MUCH higher yield.

I use it with other cultures in all sorts of things - Neufchâtel, Creme Freiche, Mascarpone, and Cream Cheese. I incubate these overnight on a heating pad around 90F and by morning they are usually thick enough for a spoon to stand up with no draining. LM57 also produces a little CO2, so I use it in several hard cheeses, including my Baby Swiss (a meso cheese). I hate soupy yogurt so I even add about 1/32 teaspoon (a "pinch") per gallon of milk for my yogurts. Significantly improves the body without using tapioca starch or other fillers. A little goes a long way because you don't want to out compete the other yogurt starters.

Storebought chocolate milk is usually 1% or less milk fat so you may not get the same dramatic results, but I'll bet it would still make a big improvement.

[Cheese Head]

Sailor, thanks very much for the detailed reply, will add to my next order!

[Oude Kaas]

I add it to blue cheese to encourage development of cavities for mold to grow.

[linuxboy]

Oude, I was just about to post a separate thread on using adjunct bacteria to achieve specific goals in cheese styles. This is one of the "secrets" of commercial blue manufacturers. They inoculate the curd with the regular mesophilic mix, and also with a heterofermentive bacteria that produces CO2. In addition to using the mechanical process of not pressing or pressing lightly after packing the curd, adding a CO2 producing bacteria helps to get the open curd and blue veining inside. This is a very specialized application because not all strains of cremoris or diacetylactis produce a good amount of CO2. If someone wants to try this, check with your supplier for how well that strain produces CO2. Some strains of cremoris are for mouthfeel/complexity and produce minimal CO2.

[Tea]

Linuxboy would this addition also help when making a white and blue cheese?

[linuxboy]

It's all about what you're trying to achieve, Tea. If you want more open curd and some CO2 production to make holes so the blue can get a foothold in, then yes, it's a good application.

[mosborn]

I am very happy to have read this thread, because in order to understand what LM57 is, I had to go to wikipedia and read about taxonomy.  When I was in high school, there were only two kingdoms of living things, plants and animals.  When I was in college, my botany professor said that people were thinking about adding a third kingdom, one for fungus.
Now there are five or six kingdoms of living things, and people aren't sure if a virus is a living thing, and there are some problems even trying to define what constitutes a living thing. 

Yeast, bacteria, mold....  well, if I'm ever going to understand cheese much better than I do now (which isn't much), then I think I'll probably have to have a better handle on these life forms.

So when I wanted to read about just what the leuconostoc genus is, I went through a bunch of articles that eventually led me to read about inorganic life on interstellar dust particles!    What a ride!

SO anyway....   I read that bacteria in the leuconostoc genus are "Blamed for causing the 'stink' when creating a sourdough starter..."  and "...along with other lactic acid bacteria... responsible for the fermentation of cabbage, making it Sauerkraut."   

And my question is, does the LM57 change the smell and taste of the cheese, beyond the "buttery" flavor that Sailor mentioned?

Linuxboy,  can LM57 also be used in other food-craft, like sourdough and fermented vegetables? 

[DeejayDebi]

Lactic acid bacteria is what is responsible for the fermentation process for many things bread, cheese, veggies, cured sausages .... and it's natually occuring in nature. Wonderful little beasty whatever category they want to place it in.

[mosborn]

Hi Deb,

I was just looking up something about lactobacillus, and I found that it is also necessary for the production of CHOCOLATE? <!>  wow.... I did not know that!

SO.... I know folks here are into everything fermented... anybody, like you maybe?  - ferment their own chocolate?

[DeejayDebi]

Hello hon - Can't say I have ever fermented my own chocolate. I am probably one out of a million woman that isn't crazy about chocolate. Now I will work like crazy for a great stick of pepperoni but not chocolate! I think saw something on TV on Good Eats about making chocolate not sure though.

Look Here:       

[Lennie]

Wouldn't CO2 production inhibit mold growth?  I thought they needed oxygen.  Or are you relying on the CO2 gas to dissipate?

[linuxboy]

You have to consider the timing. Citrate fermentation happens rather quickly to produce co2, vs mold cycles take a lot of time to grow (few weeks) and transition to spore form and continue the reproductive cycle and create that blue veining. And yes, the co2 does dissipate.