A Study of the Volatile Profiles of Several Cheddar-Type Enzyme Modified Cheeses

Abstract

Enzyme modified cheese (EMC) can add a very desirable cheese component to natural cheeses and products made from them. EMCs may be used to increase product uniformity, functionality, and the nutritional content of a food product. EMCs have been used for decades in food products such as snack foods and frozen meals, yet little research has compared the volatile profile across EMCs of a singular cheese type. The aromatic profile of nine Cheddar EMCs was extracted using solvent-assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE) and was evaluated using a trained panel of seven sniffers, gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In this study, seventy-four unique odor-contributing chemicals were identified among all samples and given intensity ratings. The total number of volatiles per EMC ranged from 22 to 48. Of these, twelve chemicals provided an olfactory stimulus in only one EMC and only two – butyric acid and δ-octalactone – were perceived in all nine EMCs. Free fatty acids (FFA) were the most prevalent (area %) chemical group in all samples except one in which acetoin was most abundant. Six of the nine EMCs contained FFAs in a quantity of over 97% of the total odor-contributing volatiles. Most non-acid odorants were ethyl esters, δ-lactones, and 2-ketones, however, despite their low concentration, panelists labeled either γ-decalactone or γ-dodecalactone as one of the most intense non-acid odorants in eight of nine EMCs. Through the understanding of the variations in the aromatic profiles of nine different Cheddar-type EMCs, product formulation can be improved increase to meet a customer’s or a consumer’s needs faster and more thoroughly.