A study of the volatile composition of Minas cheese
Introduction
Minas cheese originates from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and accounts for a majority of Brazilian cheese production (Santos & Genigeorgis, 1981). Brazilian authorities recognize and accept only standardized Minas Padrão cheese for commercial production (Brazil, 1998). Therefore, Minas Padrão cheese is investigated in the present study and is referred to as Minas cheese. Minas cheese is a semi-hard cheese with a pale cream color, yellowish rind, cylindrical shape and homogeneous texture apart from well-distributed mechanical holes of irregular shape. The flavor is described as piquant and mildly acidic. Typical weights range from 800 to 1200 g ((Brasil. (1998).), Santos, & Brazil (1998)). The average composition of Minas cheese is 46–49 g/100 g moisture, 23–25 g/100 g fat, 20–22 g/100 g protein, 1.4–1.6 g/100 g salt with pH values ranging from 5.0 to 5.2 (Furtado & Neto, 1994).
Typical manufacturing details of Minas cheese involve the following practices. The milk is standardized to 3.4/100 g milkfat, then pasteurized at 72 °C for 15 s. Mesophilic type O starter cultures, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris and L. lactis subsp. lactis, are used in the manufacture of Minas cheese (Santos & Genigeorgis, 1981). The curd is cut slowly into 1 cm cubes with the aid of transversal and longitudinal stainless-steel wire knives or “liras”. Slow agitation is continued for 45–60 min, after which the whey is drawn off and the curd is pressed in a vat using a perforated wood or stainless-steel platform. After milling, the curd is filled into cloth-lined metal molds. The young cheese is pressed for 30 min, inverted, then pressed again for 16 h. The cloths are removed and the cheese is dried before both surfaces are salted. Some manufacturers may immerse the cheese in 4–10 °C salt brines for 24 h immediately after the second pressing. The ripening takes place at 10–12 °C with 85% relative humidity, for 15–30 days.
Safe and consistent manufacturing practices established by Brazilian authorities are not always followed during the production of Minas cheese (Saad, Vanzin, Oliveira, & Franco, 2001). Therefore, there has been some concern over the safety and flavor quality of Minas cheese (Santos & Genigeorgis, 1981; Santos, Genigeorgis, & Farver, 1981; Saad et al., 2001). Gionetti, Brandão, and Pinheiro (1986) investigated the effects of lactic acid bacteria and ripening conditions of Minas cheese on the production of four volatile compounds: acetone, diacetyl, ethanol, and acetaldehyde. However, a thorough investigation of the complete volatile profile of Minas cheese, an important criterion of its value and quality, has never been described in the literature.
Section snippets
Volatile recovery
Five, approximately 2.0-kg wheels of commercially manufactured Minas cheese were obtained and stored in a dark environment at 4±1 °C until sample analysis. Samples were aged approximately 3 months at the time of analysis and were vacuum packaged in polyethylene film. Volatile cheese extracts (n=5) were prepared by combining 30.0 g of grated cheese from each wheel with 60 ml of distilled water similar to previously described methodology (Colchin, Owens, Lyubachevskaya, & Rankin, 2001). A 100-μl
Fatty acids
Free fatty acids (FFA) were the major volatile constituent isolated (Table 1), accounting for approximately 71/100 g of the total volatiles in Minas cheese. The presence of FFA may be explained by endogenous milk lipase activities potentially resulting from abusive milk handling practices and extended storage of raw milk at elevated temperatures. FFA originate primarily from the lipolysis of the milk fat. According to Stadhouders and Veringa (1973) and Urbach (1995), the lipase responsible for
Conclusions
As evidenced by this initial study, it is apparent that the volatile profile of Minas cheese represents a complexity of microbial, enzymatic and spontaneous reactions. As with most cheeses with composite volatile profiles, achieving a causal, chemically based aroma definition is a difficult and often unachievable undertaking. However, this research was conducted to at least partially characterize the volatile profile of a unique cheese of significance to the Brazilian dairy foods processing
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