Adjunct cultures

Non-starter cultures added alongside primary starters, mainly in cheesemaking, to deliver specific benefits: smoother texture, improved or more complex flavour, or accelerated ripening. Selected lactobacilli and other strains work slowly through maturation, generating the peptides, amino acids and aroma compounds that distinguish a mature Cheddar from a young one. In yogurt production, adjunct cultures have been used to raise nutrient levels such as folates. They are precision tools for flavour consistency in long-aged products — the difference between a cheese that merely ages and one that truly matures.