Gouda cheese was made from cow's milk inoculated with a cheese starter culture ( CSC ) without ( the control C) and with partial replacement of cheese milk with buffalo's milk ( 25%). The mixed milk was CSC with applied in T1, while Lb. helveticus CH5 and Lb. plantarum ATCC 14917 were used separately with CSC in T2 and T3 respectively.
Microbiological analysis of fresh cheese and during ripening revealed that Gouda cheese treated with Lb. helveticus (T2), followed by cheese treated with Lb. plantarum (T3) had the highest values in total bacterial count and count of proteolytic and lipolytic bacteria when fresh and during ripening period, while no colonies of yeasts & moulds appeared in all cheese treatments when fresh, but after one month of ripening few colonies were observed. Lb. helveticus CH5 significantly increased during ripening and reached 9.2 log cfu. g-1 at day 60, while the number of the Lb. plantarum ATCC14917 bacteria at the beginning of the maturation period was about 8.2 log cfu g−1then increased at 60 day of ripening (8.8 log cfu g−1 ). The counts of the prementioned bacteria at the end of ripening were more than 7 log cfu/g ,
Organoleptically, appearance and colour of control cheese of any age had the maximum scoring points. The control cheese and cheese from T3 ranked the maximum scores for body, texture and flavour and the differences between them were statistically significant. This was noticed in fresh cheese and during ripening period.