Otlu Peynir Üretiminde Kullanılan Salamura Otların Bazı Kimyasal ve Mikrobiyolojik Özellikleri.

The present study was conducted to determine some chemical and microbiological properties of brined herbs used for traditional herby cheese production in Turkey. Brined herb samples (21 in total) of the herbs Allium spp. (wild garlic), Mentha spp. (wild mint), Chaerophyllum spp., Hippomarathrum spp. and Heracleum spp. (hogweed) in unmixed or mixed form were analyzed. In addition to the microbiological counts of the samples such as Staphyloccus aureus, Clostridium spp. and E. coli, salt content, titratable acidity, and pH of brined herbs were determined. Results indicated that the mean salt content, acidity and pH were 7.46%, 0.75 % and 4.03, respectively. The logarithmic counts of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, total anaerobic bacteria, lactobacilli, lactococci, and yeast-moulds in the herb samples were 6.20, 4.74, 6.05, 5.68, and 4.83 cfu/g, respectively. Of 21 samples, 10 samples were identified positive for S. aureus (mean value 3.34 log cfu/g) whereas 2 for Clostridium spp. (mean value 2.17 log cfu/g) and one for both coliforms and E. coli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]