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.

Chapter 1: From Pasteur to Probiotics: A Historical Overview of Cheese and MicrobesCatherine W. DonnellyChapter 2: The Basics of CheesemakingPaul KindstedtChapter 3: Cheese Classification, Characterization, and Categorization: A Global PerspectiveMontserrat Almena-Aliste and Bernard MiettonChapter 4: Mesophilic and Thermophilic Cultures Used in Traditional CheesemakingMark E. JohnsonChapter 5: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Tales of Mold-Ripened CheeseSister Noëlla Marcellino, O.S.B., and David R. BensonChapter 6: The Microbiology of Traditional Hard and Semihard Cooked Mountain CheesesEric Beuvier and Gabriel DubozChapter 7: The Microfloras and Sensory Profiles of Selected Protected Designation of Origin Italian CheesesGiuseppe Licitra and Stefania CarpinoChapter 8: Wooden Tools: Reservoirs of Microbial Biodiversity in Traditional CheesemakingSylvie Lortal, Giuseppe Licitra, and Florence ValenceChapter 9: The Microfloras of Traditional Greek CheesesEvanthia Litopoulou-Tzanetaki and Nikolaos TzanetakisChapter 10: Biodiversity of the Surface Microbial Consortia from Limburger, Reblochon, Livarot, Tilsit, and Gubbeen CheesesTimothy 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 SchererChapter 11: Microbiological Quality and Safety Issues in CheesemakingDennis J. D'AmicoChapter 12: Towards an Ecosystem Approach to Cheese MicrobiologyBenjamin E. Wolfe and Rachel J. Dutton