The changes of flavour and aroma active compounds content during production of Edam cheese

Abstract

This work deals with the problem of flavour of Edam cheeses, i.e. natural hard cheese with low heat curd. The cheese samples were produced in dairy MILTRA B, Ltd., Městečko Trnávka.A number of volatile substances contribute to flavour of cheese including alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, fatty acids, esters, lactones, terpenes etc. The development of these components during production was monitored in chosen Edam cheese (fat 30% w/w) using headspace-SPME-GC method. The samples were taken from cheesemilk up to technologically ripe cheese. In total 37 various organic compounds belonging to five chemical groups were identified in milk and cheese samples. Their total content increased during production. The first increase was observed after pressing and then especially in last part of ripening. Ethanol (185.8 ± 15.85 mg.kg−1), acetoin (97.7 ± 3.78 mg.kg−1), 2-methylpropanol (71.2 ± 5.23 mg.kg−1), acetic acid (54.4 ± 1.70 mg.kg−1) and acetaldehyde (36.4 ± 10.17 mg.kg−1) were the most abundant in ripened cheeses. The flavour and other organoleptic properties (appearance, texture) of Edam cheese samples were also sensorially evaluated during ripening. The five point ordinal scale and profile tests were used for evaluation. The sensory quality was improved during ripening, until the final marked flavour characteristic for these cheese types.

Keywords

• Edam cheese
• flavour
• aroma active compounds
• GC
• SPME
• sensory analysis