Lactic fermentation of ground soybean for use in imitation cream cheese products

ABSTRACT Ground soybean fermented with Lactobacillus casei ssp. rhamnosus (ATCC 39595) was found to contain diacetyl and acetyl‐methylcarbinol. The fermented ground soybean showed significantly improved flavor and texture compared to nonfermented material when used to replace nonfat dry milk in an imitation cream cheese product. The flavor improvement was due principally to the presence of diacetyl but the factor(s) responsible for texture improvement was not identified. Didcetyl production by L. casei was enhanced by the addition of sodium acetate or sodium citrate to the ground soybean suspension before fermentation.