Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🧑 Skin bacteria 🧀 Cheese bacteria
Propionibacterium

Propionibacterium

9.9
A type of bacteria used to make Swiss cheese that creates holes and a nutty taste
  • proper noun
  • /ˌprɒpiˌoʊnɪˈbæktəriəm/
  • Specialized
: Propionibacterium
  • The addition of Propionibacterium gives Swiss cheese its distinctive holes and nutty taste.

Examples

  • Cheese makers rely on Propionibacterium cultures to achieve the right texture and flavor in Emmental.

  • Scientists studied Propionibacterium to understand its role in dairy fermentation.

  • The Propionibacterium species are essential for Swiss cheese production.

  • Did you know that Propionibacterium helps create holes in cheese?

  • The addition of Propionibacterium gives Swiss cheese its distinctive holes and nutty taste.

  • Scientists studied Propionibacterium to understand its role in dairy fermentation.

  • Cheese makers rely on Propionibacterium cultures to achieve the right texture and flavor in Emmental.

Surface Forms

Propionibacterium main

Morphology

Propionibacterium = bacterium (opaque) = propion + bacter + ium

The word is a scientific term with specialized meaning not directly derivable from its components.

Etymology

Propionibacterium comes from propioni-, because these bacteria make 'propionic acid', and bacterium, meaning 'a small type of bacteria'. So the name fits the bacteria used in cheese making, since they make the acid that helps create Swiss cheese's holes and nutty flavor.