Journey to the morpho-textural traits, microbiota, and volatilome of Ciauscolo PGI salami

Two independent manufacturing batches of naturally fermented Ciauscolo PGI salami were studied from the day of production to the end of ripening (20 days). The microbiota compositional shift of samples was studied through culture-dependent and metataxonomic analysis. Analyses of physico-chemical, morpho-textural, and volatilome traits were also carried out. Latilacobacillus sakei was the dominant species from t5, together with Dellaglioa algida and Leuconostoc carnosum. Among eumycetes, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Debaryomyces hansenii, Kurtzmaniella zeylanoides, and Malassezia restricta/globosa were the most abundant taxa occurring in all samples. Candidate starter or adjunct cultures of Lat. sakei were isolated and characterized for: i) acidification performance; ii) enzymatic activity; iii) production of exopolysaccharides; iv) production of bacteriocins; v) quantification of the hdcA gene of Gram-positive bacteria. The 44 Lat. sakei cultures showed a suitable acid production capacity, together with the capability to cope with the main environmental stresses occurring in fermented sausages. For most of the isolates, strong aminopeptidase activity (leucine arylamidase and the valine arylamidase) was observed. Moreover, the majority of isolates showed the in vitro production of sucrosedependent exopolysaccharides. No Lat. sakei isolates positive for the hdcA gene were observed. Based on these evidences, a few candidate starter or adjunct cultures, with potential use for product safety and quality improvement, were highlighted, namely Lat. sakei C5, C7, C11, C31, C45, C48, C53, C55, and C60. In the analyzed Ciauscolo PGI samples, 53 volatile substances were fully or tentatively identified; among these, spicesderived components (black pepper and garlic cloves) were constantly detected throughout the whole ripening time.