130 | wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jam J Appl Microbiol. 2022;133:130–144. © 2021 The Society for Applied Microbiology INTRODUCTION Alcoholic fermentation of grape is one of the world's economic most important transformation processes. Winemaking generates approximately 20%–25% volume of by-products, known as grape pomace, composed of a mix of grape skins and seeds (Theagarajan et al., 2019). This organic waste represents a serious environmental Received: 15 September 2021 | Revised: 12 October 2021 | Accepted: 1 November 2021 DOI: 10.1111/jam.15354 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Effect of grape pomace from red cultivar 'Nero d’Avola' on the microbiological, physicochemical, phenolic profile and sensory aspects of ovine Vastedda-like stretched cheese Pietro Barbaccia | Gabriele Busetta | Marcella Barbera | Antonio Alfonzo | Giuliana Garofalo | Nicola Francesca | Angelo Moscarelli | Giancarlo Moschetti | Luca Settanni | Raimondo Gaglio P. Barbaccia and G. Busetta contributed equally. Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy Correspondence Raimondo Gaglio, Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Ed. 5, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy. Email: raimondo.gaglio@unipa.it Funding information This work was financially supported by the project for industrial research 'Integrated approach to product development innovations in the leading sectors of the Sicilian agri-food sector' Prog. F/050267/03/X32 - COR 109494 - CUP: B78I17000260008 of the Ministry of the Economic Development, General Management for Business Incentives. Abstract Aims: The purpose of this study was to functionalize an ovine stretched cheese be- longing to 'Vastedda' typology with red grape pomace powder (GPP) of Nero d’Avola cultivar and to characterize the microbiological, physicochemical, phenolic profile and sensory characteristics of the final cheeses. Methods and Results: Before cheeses production, GPP was characterized for its microbiological profile, antibacterial activity and polyphenolic content. No colo- nies of bacteria and yeasts were detected in the GPP. GPP showed a large inhibition spectrum against spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. Three classes of polyphenolic compounds belonging to flavan-3-ols, flavonol and phenolic acids were identified. Two cheeses [0 and 1% (w w −1 ) of GPP] were produced with pasteurized ewe's milk and commercial starter cultures. Plate counts and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis demonstrated the ability of the starter strains to drive the fermentation process in the presence of GPP. GPP enrichment resulted in an increase of protein, phenolic compounds, sensory traits and reduced fat. Conclusions: GPP addition to cheese represents an optimal strategy for the valori- zation of winemaking by-products and to obtain polyphenol-enriched cheese. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study allowed to achieve an ovine cheese with specific physicochemical, nutraceutical and sensorial characteristics able to enlarge the functional dairy product portfolio. KEYWORDS commercial starter culture, functional dairy product, grape pomace powder, ovine stretched cheese, physicochemical properties, polyphenolic profile Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jambio/article/133/1/130/6988957 by guest on 20 January 2023