Low-temp. conditioning during early ripening has been shown to be effective in controlling late blowing of hard and semi-hard cheeses, avoiding the need for commercially undesirable additives, such as lysozyme. To determine the applicability of the method to Montasio cheese (a Gouda or Emmental type), 2 experiments were carried out, in Oct. 1994 and May 1995, in which 2 batches of 48 experimental Montasio cheeses were conditioned traditionally at 11°C/85-90% RH for 30 or 60 days (Oct. samples) or 15 or 30 days (May samples) at 5°C/85% RH, and then transferred to traditional ripening stores. 2 batches of 47 cheeses incorporating 2.5 g/quintal lysozyme served as controls. Analyses covered counts of total bacteria, somatic cells and Clostridium spores, incidence of abnormal fermentation and proteolysis, contents of butyric and propionic acids and sensory scores. Results indicated that conditioning at 5°C for as little as 15 days controlled abnormal butyric and propionic fermentation, although this defect occurred in the controls. After 30 days at 5°C, no differences were observed between the experimental and control cheeses, confirming the benefical effect of the technique. However, conditioning for 60 days is not recommended.
