I noticed that a number of cheeses use either type A or type B starter culture. What is the difference between type A and B?
Type A Starter is a standard lactic acid producing starter. It produces acid, and not much else, and this means that it is suitable for a range of cheeses. The type B Starter is the same culture as type A but has additional cultures as well. It has bacteria which are flavour and gas producers. In many cases type A and B are interchangeable. When making the following cheeses you can use either type A or type B: Normandy style camembert Quarg Fetta Blue Vein, etc. However, there are some cases where only type B should be used. For any cheese that has bubbles in it, for example, Edam, Gouda, Swiss, etc, you will need to use type B, as the bubbles are caused by the gas the starter will produce in the cheese.
