In the work, the usefulness of malt (6 variants) and rennet whey media (8 variants) for biomass production of 5 yeast strains, potential starter cultures for cheese making, before their preservation by freeze-drying, was studied. Growth media differed in the content of sugars, mineral compounds and growth factors. The growth of Candida kefyr PII1b and C. sphaerica FII7a yeast strains in both, malt- and whey-based media, was more dynamic than Yarrowia lipolytica JII1c, Y. lipolytica PII6a and C. famata MI1a. In case of malt media, the highest efficiency of biomass production was observed in broth enriched with mineral salts, containing nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur, as well as yeast extract. In whey media, except mentioned above components, the addition of glucose was also indispensable. Yeast biomass obtained in those culture media revealed the highest level of viability after freeze-drying process (29,3–84,1%). In case of four from five tested yeast strains higher survival level was noticed for cells propagated in malt media than in whey media. Regardless of growth medium and applied protective agent, the highest viability (80%) in all preparations revealed Y. lipolytica JII1c strain.

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