A scientific overview of the association of microbes with cheese, through the lens of select cheese varieties that result due to surface mold ripening, internal mold ripening, rind washing, cave aging, or surface smear rind development.

Over the past decade, there has been explosive growth in the U.S. artisan cheese industry. The editor, Ms. Donnelly, was involved in developing a comprehensive education curriculum for those new to cheese making, which focused on the science of cheese, principally to promote cheese quality and safety. Many of the chapters in this book focus on aspects of that requisite knowledge.

Explains the process of transformation of milk to cheese and how sensory attributes of cheese are evaluated.Provides an overview of cheese safety and regulations governing cheese making, both in the US and abroad, to ensure safety.Explores how the tools of molecular biology provide new insights into the complexity of the microbial biodiversity of cheeses.Examines the biodiversity of traditional cheeses as a result of traditional practices, and overviews research on the stability of the microbial consortium of select traditional cheese varieties.Key text for cheese makers, scientists, students, and cheese enthusiasts who wish to expand their knowledge of cheeses and traditional foods.

Dr. Catherine W. Donnelly is a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Vermont. She served as the Associate Director of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese from 2004 to 2013. Recognized by colleagues for her many contributions to improving Listeria detection, Dr. Donnelly is widely regarded as an international Listeria expert and has published numerous articles and delivered hundreds of presentations on this bacterial pathogen. Her current scholarly interests include investigation of the microbiological safety of aged raw milk cheeses.

Chapter 1:  From Pasteur to Probiotics: A Historical Overview of Cheese and Microbes
Catherine W. Donnelly

Chapter 2:  The Basics of Cheesemaking
Paul Kindstedt

Chapter 3: Cheese Classification, Characterization, and Categorization: A Global Perspective
Montserrat Almena-Aliste and Bernard Mietton

Chapter 4: Mesophilic and Thermophilic Cultures Used in Traditional Cheesemaking
Mark E. Johnson

Chapter 5:  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Tales of Mold-Ripened Cheese
Sister Noëlla Marcellino, O.S.B., and David R. Benson

Chapter 6: The Microbiology of Traditional Hard and Semihard Cooked Mountain Cheeses
Eric Beuvier and Gabriel Duboz

Chapter 7:  The Microfloras and Sensory Profiles of Selected Protected Designation of Origin Italian Cheeses
Giuseppe Licitra and Stefania Carpino

Chapter 8: Wooden Tools: Reservoirs of Microbial Biodiversity in Traditional Cheesemaking
Sylvie Lortal, Giuseppe Licitra, and Florence Valence

Chapter 9: The Microfloras of Traditional Greek Cheeses
Evanthia Litopoulou-Tzanetaki and Nikolaos Tzanetakis

Chapter 10: Biodiversity of the Surface Microbial Consortia from Limburger, Reblochon, Livarot, Tilsit, and Gubbeen Cheeses
Timothy M. Cogan, Stefanie Goerges, Roberto Gelsomino, Sandra Larpin, Markus Hohenegger, Nagamani Bora, Emmanuel Jamet, Mary C. Rea, Jérôme Mounier, Marc Vancanneyt, Micheline Guéguen, Nathalie Desmasures, Jean Swings, Mike Goodfellow, Alan C. Ward, Hans Sebastiani, Françoise Irlinger, Jean-François Chamba, Ruediger Beduhn, and Siegfried Scherer

Chapter 11: Microbiological Quality and Safety Issues in Cheesemaking
Dennis J. DAmico

Chapter 12:  Towards an Ecosystem Approach to Cheese Microbiology
Benjamin E. Wolfe and Rachel J. Dutton