The new colors of blue cheese. Credit: The University of Nottingham
Key points:
- Researchers used bioinformatics, targeted gene deletion and heterologous gene expression to determine the basis of the color of blue cheese.
- They identified a fungal biochemical pathway that gradually forms the blue pigment and blocked the pathway at specific points to create new strains with new colors.
- During testing, participants’ taste perception was influenced by both what they tasted and what they saw.
Researchers have created different colors of blue cheese, according to a new study published in NPJ Science of Food. They first determined the basis of the blue-green veining and used this knowledge to create a variety of different fungal strains that could be used to make cheese with various colors.
The team used bioinformatics, targeted gene deletion, and heterologous gene expression to study the production of the blue-green pigment that results from Pencillium roquefort fungal growth. They identified a biochemical pathway that gradually forms the blue pigment—starting at a white color, progressively becomes yellow-green, red-brown pink, dark brown, light blue, and finally dark blue-green. Next, the research team used food safe techniques to block the pathway at specific points to create new strains with new colors that can be used in future cheese production.
After producing cheese with new color strains, the research group used lab diagnostic instruments to examine the possible flavors associated with the new appearance. They found that the taste was very similar to the original strains from which they were derived.
“The way we went about that was to induce sexual reproduction in the fungus,” said study author Paul Dyer, professor at the University of Nottingham. “For the first time, we were able to generate a wide range of strains which has novel flavors including attractive new mild and intense tastes.”
Researchers performed taste trials and found that people judged the lighter colored strains as mild and considered the darker color strains to have a more intense flavor. Interestingly, participants’ taste perception was influenced by both what they tasted and what they saw.
In the future, the team plans to collaborate with cheese makers in Nottinghamshire and Scotland to develop new color variants of blue cheese and potentially commercialize them.
“Personally, I think it will give people a really satisfying sensorial feeling eating these new cheeses and hopefully attract some new people into the market,” said Dyer.