Time and Temperature Influence on Chemical Aging Indicators for a Commercial Cheddar Cheese

Abstract

Cooling freshly formed Cheddar cheese requires close control for uniform and consistent flavor. Cheese in 18-kg blocks collected after pressing, at 30-35°C was used. Samples were cooled rapidly to 12 25°C as small pieces individually vacuum-wrapped at a local production site. The extent of proteolysis, total acidity, pH, lactose and organic acids was quantified after storage at these temperatures. Theoretical and empirical equations describing the influence of time and temperature on these chemical indicators were developed through nonlinear statistical methods. The kinetic expressions were applied to generate recommendations for the cooling rate and subsequent aging temperature of Cheddar cheese blocks.

Mathematical Expressions for Organic Acids in Early Ripening of a Cheddar Cheese

“…Although a number of organic acids have been claimed to follow specific patterns during maturation, some organic acids do not follow any particular trend during the maturation of Cheddar and other cheeses, mainly because they act as intermediates in a number of biochemical pathways (Larson and Hegarty, 1979;Marsili, 1985;Bevilacqua and Califano, 1992;Bouzas et al, 1993;Gonza´lez de Llano et al, 1996). In an attempt to quantitate the development of organic acids during cheese maturation, a number of workers have used least-square correlation coefficients, two-way multivariate analysis of variance and post-hoc multiple comparisons to determine the most suitable predictors of the glycolytic age of Cheddar cheese, whereas stepwise regression analysis and stepwise discriminant analysis have also been utilized (Pham and Nakai, 1983;Mohler-Smith and Nakai, 1990;Bouzas et al, 1993). Bouzas et al (1993) developed predictive expressions for organic acids during ageing of commercial Cheddar cheese fitting experimental data for acetic, propionic, butyric and isovaleric acids to exponential functions and finding these functions to be suitable predictors for indication of changes in the organic acid patterns of the cheeses analysed.…”

“…In literature, determination of organic acid content has been reported as a mechanism for judging ripening time, predicting the glycolytic age and reflecting the status of microbial metabolism during ageing of Cheddar cheese (Marsili, 1985;McGregor and White, 1990;St-Gelais et al, 1991;Bouzas et al, 1993). Using a variety of techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography, researchers have identified and quantified a number of organic acids that occur in Cheddar cheeses of varying ages .…”

“…In an attempt to quantitate the development of organic acids during cheese maturation, a number of workers have used least-square correlation coefficients, two-way multivariate analysis of variance and post-hoc multiple comparisons to determine the most suitable predictors of the glycolytic age of Cheddar cheese, whereas stepwise regression analysis and stepwise discriminant analysis have also been utilized (Pham and Nakai, 1983;Mohler-Smith and Nakai, 1990;Bouzas et al, 1993). Bouzas et al (1993) developed predictive expressions for organic acids during ageing of commercial Cheddar cheese fitting experimental data for acetic, propionic, butyric and isovaleric acids to exponential functions and finding these functions to be suitable predictors for indication of changes in the organic acid patterns of the cheeses analysed.…”

“…This study investigated the patterns of organic acids during early maturation of a South African Cheddar cheese and demonstrated the changes that take place in the organic acid content during this period. A total of 15 analytes were investigated for a more representative model of the development of organic acids compared to previous reports (Bouzas et al, 1993). Maturation models for the individual and combined acids were proposed using linear and non-linear regression modelling.…”

Some Physico-chemical Properties and Organic Acid Profiles of Herby Cheeses

“…In all samples, citric acid concentrations decreased after 14 th day of storage. This can be explained by the fermentation of citrate to some organic acids including acetic acid, propionic acid and volatile compounds 39,40 . Similar results were reported by Ong and Shah 41 for cheddar cheese.…”