A collaborative study conducted by the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Reading (UK) and Synergy Flavours (High Wycombe, UK) aimed to identify the volatiles contributing to the aroma of cooked cheese, with a focus on the role of fat content during cooking. The research identified key volatiles and odorants in cooked mature cheddar using a combination of solid-phase microextraction (SPME)/gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and SPME/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The findings were published in the Journal of Food Science.
Cheese is a significant commodity for the food industry, commonly used in cooked dishes such as toppings for bread, pasta, and pizza, or in melted forms like fondue. The aroma of uncooked cheese has been extensively studied, and it is known that the balance of a wide variety of volatile compounds contributes to cheese flavor. This “component balance theory” posits that the differences between cheese varieties can be explained by the varying concentrations of specific odorants.
The study focused on cheddar cheese, examining three mild cheddar cheeses with varying fat contents (approximately 2%–35%) produced from the same milk to explore the role of fat in flavor formation during cooking. Additionally, commercially purchased mature cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan were analyzed to represent a range of cheeses typically used in cooked dishes in the UK.
Compared to uncooked cheddar, the aroma of cooked cheddar revealed additional compounds, including Strecker aldehydes, pyrazines, unsaturated aldehydes, 3-methyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione, and 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone. Esters such as ethyl butanoate and ethyl hexanoate, which are odorants in uncooked cheddar, were absent in the cooked samples. The changes in the presence of odorants in cooked cheddar, along with the loss of some odorants found in uncooked cheese, are likely responsible for aroma differences between cooked and uncooked cheese. Almost all odorants were present in significantly different concentrations in one or more cooked cheeses compared to their uncooked counterparts, indicating that cooking alters the balance of odorants and contributes to flavor development.
The type of cheese influenced the formation of odorants during cooking. Mozzarella, for instance, exhibited lower formation of aroma compounds than the other cheeses, possibly due to its shorter aging time. The aging process, particularly proteolysis, affects the concentration of Maillard reaction precursors, which contribute to aroma. Fat content also played a role in the concentration of odorants in cooked mild cheddar, indicating that fat is involved in flavor development both as a precursor and due to its role in cheese structure and free fat release during cooking. These findings may be valuable for the dairy industry in developing improved low-fat cheeses for cooking applications.
The authors suggest that this research can be used by the dairy industry to develop better low- and reduced-fat cheeses for use in cooked dishes such as pizza toppings and ready meals. Alternatively, the study’s insights into the key volatile compounds in cooked cheese could assist the flavoring industry in creating authentic cooked cheese flavorings.
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