On cheesemaking.com, look in the "Details" panel for the cultures. It lists what bacteria is there. There is still plenty of variation within a subspecies, but it will give you a reasonable idea. Keep in mind that some of the names are inconsistent across vendors. That's because in the last 20 years or so many of the bacteria has been moved to different families as they have learned more about it. But for the most part you should be able to understand what's going on.
The main bacteria you will be interested in is:
- Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis (LL) -- a main acidifier in mesophilic blends (LL and LLC are almost always together)
- Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris (LLC) -- a main acidifier in mesophilic blends (LL and LLC are almost always together)
- Lactococcus lactis subsp. biovar diecetylactis (LLD or sometimes LD) -- adjunct in mesophilic blends. Produces diacetyl which has a buttery flavour. Also usually produces some gas. Almost always in buttermilk cultures. (Almost always present with both LL and LLC and often together with LMC)
- Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris (LMC) -- adjunct in mesophilic blends. Produces diacetyle which has a buttery flavour. Produces gas. Often in buttermilk cultures (Almost always present with both LL and LLC, usually with LD).
- Streptococcus thermophilus (ST) - main acidifier in thermophilic blends. It is often the *only* culture in Parmesan cultures (as it's the only one that survives 55 C). This is the culture that we think of as producing "yogurt". (Can be alone. Usually present with either bulgaricus or helvetica, but not both).
- Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (LB) - adjunct in thermophilic blends. It is always paired with ST. This culture is in all Greek and Bulgarian yogurts. Commonly in pasta filata cheeses and soft thermophilic cheeses. (Never present with helveticus. It's an either/or situation)
- Lactobacillus helveticus (LH) - adjunct in thermophilic blends. It is always paired with ST. This gives the characteristic nuttiness of alpine cheeses. Present in many Italian hard cheeses. (Never present with bulgaricus. It's an either/or situation)
- Lactobacilus delbrueckii subspecies lactis (LBL). ajunct in thermophilic blends. Usually present with helveticus and I have it in my head that it's actually required (helveticus has a symbiotic relationship with LBL), but I might be mistaken.
Note: Both helveticus and bulgaricus are sometimes used as adjuncts in mesophilic blends. Helveticus is famously in Danisco's Kazu blend (which I understand is similar to what is used in Kerry Gold's cheddar). Bulgaricus is in the MA4000 series and in feta cultures. You will often hear of "farmhouse blends" which are essentially mesophilic blends that contain thermophilic cultures as adjuncts (usually ST + one of bulgaricus or helvetica, with bulgaricus being more common IIUC).
Those are the main ones. There are other adjuncts, but they are not very common. You will see a lot more adjuncts (and even main acidifiers) in yogurt, but they don't tend to be used in cheese making. I think (but could be wrong) that the yogurt industry was very influenced by the "probiotic" movement that found some possible health benefits from eating some pretty uncommon cultures and so now commercial yogurt is dominated by those cultures. I think if you went back 50 years you would find that most yogurt was usually ST + LB (Greek / Bulgarian yogurt). I could very well be wrong, though. Lacobacillus acidophilus, for example is everywhere in yogurt making these days, but is pretty rare in cheese making (though, I have heard of using it as an adjunct).
When you first get started, my opinion is to pick up Flora Danica, which is reasonably inexpensive and just delicious (works well as a buttermilk culture). I would then pick up an ST + LB blend, which I think is more versatile than ST + LH blend (plus it makes amazing yogurt). Something like Biena's Thermo B Starter Culture should be good (although I haven't used it yet). If you want to do alpines then you'll want to pick up an ST + LH blend instead/as well. You can make your own farmhouse blend by mixing Flora Danica with some of the thermophilic blends as an adjunct. After that, just pay attention to your cheeses and browse the shops for cultures that may achieve effects that you are looking for.
