Deciphering Rind Color Heterogeneity of Smear-Ripened Munster Cheese and Its Association with Microbiota.

ABSTRACT: Color is one of the first criteria to assess the quality of cheese. However, very limited data are available on the color heterogeneity of the rind and its relationship with microbial community structure. In this study, the color of a wide range of smear-ripened Munster cheeses from various origins was monitored during storage by photographic imaging and data analysis in the CIELAB color space using luminance, chroma, and hue angle as descriptors. Different levels of inter- and intra-cheese heterogeneity were observed. The most heterogeneous Munster cheeses were the darkest with orange-red colors. The most homogeneous were the brightest with yellow-orange. K-means clustering revealed three clusters distinguished by their color heterogeneity. Color analysis coupled with metabarcoding showed

SUBMITTER: Martin AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11276107 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature