Lacticaseibacillus casei as Anti-blowing Agents: Impact on the Evolution of Ripening and Sensory Profile of Montasio Cheese

Abstract Recently, the Lacticaseibacillus casei group strains have been gaining growing interest due to their potential to be used as secondary adjunct cultures in cheese. This work aimed to test autochthonous Lb. casei strains as anti-blowing agents and to evaluate their impact on the evolution of the ripening and the sensory profile of Montasio cheese. The cheesemaking trial included a control production without lysozyme (C1), a control with lysozyme (C2), and four experimental productions, each containing a different pool of autochthonous Lb. casei strains (EX1-4). Samples were taken during ripening, and physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory analyses were carried out. Lb. casei counts indicate that the selected strains survived the cheesemaking and maintained their viability of about 9 log cfu g −1 at the end of the ripening. Only EX3 showed a significant slowdown of the proteolytic index compared to controls over time. Furthermore, from the principal component analysis, it emerged that at the end of the 120-day-long ripening, C2 and the experimental samples were characterized by similar profiles of volatile compounds. The late-blowing defect (LBD) was observed exclusively in C1, whereas it was not detected in the control sample with lysozyme or in any experimental samples. These findings not only confirmed the efficacy of lysozyme in preventing LBD but also supported the effectiveness of the selected Lb. casei strains as anti-blowing agents with the ability to contribute to the final volatile profile without compromising the typicality of the product.