A different, probiotic graviera attracts European funding

A new probiotic graviera with improved taste and texture is the goal of the ‘Graviera Pro’ operational programme. The scientific coordinator of the project, Ekaterini Moschopoulou, assistant professor at the Laboratory of Dairy Research of the Agricultural University of Athens (GPA), talks to ‘YC’ about the programme and its objectives.

interview with Tania Georgiopoulou

– Who is on the project’s operational team?

The project is being implemented in the framework of Measure 16, with EU funding. The project’s operational team is composed of GAIA EPEICHEIRIN, the Laboratory of Dairy Research of the Agricultural University of Athens (GPA), and the Agricultural Livestock Cooperative (ALC) of Voio in Kozani.

– What is the scope of the ‘Graviera Pro’ programme?

It is an operational project that aims to bring together and assist with the collaboration between the university and a cooperative for the development of a new product. So, we would say that the main goal is to develop innovation.

“The goal is to create a new cheese in the graviera-type category. This new product will differ visually and organoleptically; it will have more holes, it will be a little softer, and it may taste a little sweet”

-How did the programme begin? What was the initial idea?

GAIA EPEICHEIRIN, which is the programme coordinator, brought us into contact with the ALC of Voio, Kozani, and after many discussions this idea was adopted. The cooperative produces cheeses from sheep and goat milk, mainly feta cheese, Batzos (a PDO cheese from the area), myzithra, and a small quantity of graviera. So, the idea of making a “different” graviera came up. I wouldn’t call it “better”, each graviera has its own style; rather, this would be a graviera with some different characteristics.

Scientifically, graviera is similar to Emmental. They are both propionic fermentation cheeses or, we might say, Swiss-style cheeses. In other words, they are cheeses that undergo both lactic and propionic fermentation.

-What is propionic cultivation?

Propionic bacteria also develop in these cheeses. In the original cheese-making milk there are very few propionic bacteria, but we enrich them with extra-cultivations, namely micro-organisms in their pure form that are used in cheese-making. The mild must be pasteurised, so it must then be enriched with micro-organisms, which will ferment the lactose. These are the lactic acid micro-organisms that will produce lactic acid.

Now we add propionic bacteria that ferment lactic acid and produce propionic acid and carbon dioxide. The CO2 pressures the mass of the cheese and makes the holes we see in graviera.

The goal is to create a new cheese that belongs to the graviera type category. This new product will differ visually and organoleptically; it will have more holes, it will be a little softer, and it may taste a little sweet. This way, the cooperative will have a different cheese compared to the range of products so far.

-What phase of the programme are you in?

We are currently in the middle of the experiment. It’s been a month since the first cheese-making sessions. We don’t have any results yet from aged cheeses, because it takes three months to age this type of cheese.

The programme started last August, but there was no milk at the time, so we had to wait until early January to get the first quantities. But, in the end, due to the student takeover of the university, we started in May. So, now, the cheeses that were made a month ago need to age until August. So, over time, we will have the results for aged cheese.

–Do you have any results so far?

In our first sampling we saw what we expected to see. We would say that the results were good. However, cheese is a living product, so we have to wait until the end of the process to see the results.

In the second phase of the experiment, a protocol will be adopted based on everything we are doing now, in combination with additional micro-organisms. We’ll also add some probiotics. Hence the general title of the programme, ‘Graviera Pro’ (propionic and probiotic bacteria).

Propionic bacteria produce vitamin B12. If probiotics survive in concentrations of more than ten to the power of seven in the final product, it could have some positive effects on our body. The goal is for the final product to have some better properties, but the experiment will have to be completed for us to be sure of the results. We should also stress that no health claim can be made on the product label.