Monitoring Volatile Compounds with SPME-Gas Chromatography During Mould Cheese Ripening

conference paper

English

Flavour is one of the most important quality criteria that influences the selection and consumption of food. Volatile compounds potentially involved in cheese flavour are hydrocarbons, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, fatty acids, lactones as well as sulphur- and nitrogen-containing compounds. Cheese flavour is formed during ripening of cheese and results from the breakdown of milk proteins, fat, lactose and citrate due to enzymes from microorganisms, coagulants and milk. Mould growth has been thought to play a major role in the production of volatile flavour compounds and texture modifications of mould cheeses. The solid-phase microextraction (SPME) procedure coupled to gas chromatography was used to study the evolution of volatile compounds of Niva cheese during ripening. Niva is a mould ripened cheese (50 % fat in dry matter) manufactured (under the usual conditions) according to the traditional procedures in a dairy in Česky Krumlov. SPME is a new sample preparation technique based on the partition of the analyte between the extraction phase on the outside of a small fused-silica fibre and the matrix. The last few years, SPME has been applied to various biological samples such as, e.g., urine, plasma and hair. It was also used in food analysis including a study of vegetables and fruits, juices and other soft drinks, alcohol beverages, cheese and dairy products. SPME-headspace is a very interesting sampling possibility for solid and liquid samples in food flavour analysis. The aim of our work was to develop a simple, rapid, cheap and reliable method for the analysis of the volatile flavour compounds of cheese. Changes throughout mould cheeses ripening were monitored using this method. Our results would provide important information contributing to knowledge of the biochemical processes involved in the ripening.

mould cheese, flavour, SPME, gas chromatography

VÍTOVÁ, E.; ZEMANOVÁ, J.; BEZDĚKOVÁ, Š.; FIŠERA, M.; BŘEZINA, P.

21. 3. 2004

Galén

Praha

80-86257-35-5

Book of Abstracts IDF Symposium on Cheese

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