Question

Which microbial strain provides burnt or caramel flavour?

Answer 1

INTRODUCTION

Our knowledge of the composition of complex microbial communities from different environments has increased dramatically in recent years (1,–3). However, considerably less is known about the biological interactions and other processes that drive microbial succession, or changes in the microbial population structure over time, in these environments (4). It has been proposed that microbial communities from fermented foods could provide a useful model for elucidating the determinants of microbial succession, given that they are considerably less complex than, for example, those from the gut or soil (5). Indeed, cheese rind communities have previously been used to great effect for this purpose (6).