Characterisation of commercial Cheddar cheese flavour. 1: traditional and electronic nose approach to quality assessment and market classification

Commercial Cheddar cheese was manufactured using summer milk with two types of starter culture during a day in May and during a day in September 1999. Traditional approaches to quality assessment and market classification of Cheddar cheese were studied and potential application of electronic nose metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensor technology in these areas was investigated. A cheese-grader-classified cheese from each manufacturing period into two similar classes based on market specification of sensory character. The relationship between grader classification and cheese composition was investigated using principal component analysis and partial least squares-discriminant analysis. Grader classification of cheese manufactured in May was correlated with fat in dry matter, moisture and pH. Despite similar classification of cheeses manufactured in September, a corresponding relationship between grader assessment and composition was not obtained. The electronic nose classified cheese manufactured in May in a manner similar to the cheese-grader over a 6-month maturation period. The ability of the electronic nose to reproducibly discriminate classes of cheese manufactured in September, demonstrated potential application of MOS gas sensor technology in Cheddar cheese production.

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