Effect of lactic acid bacteria on the properties of cultured dairy cream during storage

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of selected lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains on the nutritional, physicochemical, microbiological and sensorial properties and storage stability of cultured cream. The cultured cream was prepared through fermentation of pasteurized cream using different LAB strains. The treatments prepared in the current study were T0 (pasteurized cream-control group), T1 (cream fermented with Lactobacillus (Lb.) fermentum M240-4), T2 (cream fermented with Streptococcus (Str.) thermophilus M140-2), and T3 (cream fermented with Lb. fermentum and Str. Thermophilus in a ratio of 1:1). The cream samples were stored at 4 °C for up to 7 days, and analyses were conducted on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 to assess the physico-chemical properties – pH, acidity, water holding capacity, syneresis, and microbiological properties – including total viable count, and lactic acid bacteria count. Panel experts accepted the combined cultured cream (T3) due to its pleasant flavor (41.33) and mouthfeel (9.0), whereas cream fermented with Lb. fermentum had significantly (p <0.05) higher levels of ash, fat, and protein contents as compared to cream of other treatments. At day-1, all cultured cream had greater acidity and lesser pH, but T3 exhibited higher acidity 0.52% and lower pH 4.90. During the storage period, in T3, total viable and LAB counts showed better growth up to 7.87 CFU mL-1. Increasing the storage period followed by a gradual decline in growth, which led to a slight decrease in water holding capacity (75.93 to 70.94%) and an increase in syneresis (12.33 to 14.89%) in T3 cream. The study highlighted that a combination of Lb. fermentum and Str. thermophilus was found to be more suitable for the preparation of cultured cream due to its better water-holding, syneresis properties, viable bacteria growth, and consumer acceptability.