15C-37 |
Application of an electronic nose to correlate with sensory analysis of Cheddar cheese |
M. A. DRAKE1, P. D. Gerard2, J. P. Kleinhenz3, and W. J. Harper3. (1) Dept. Food Science, Mississippi State University, Box 9805, Mississippi State, MS 39762, (2) Experimental Statistics Unit, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, (3) Dept. Food Science, Ohio State University Flavor evaluation of cheese is an important quality parameter for determination of end product application. Current quality evaluation techniques rely on sensory grading by one or a few experienced individuals. In many cases several hundred cheeses may need to be screened for flavor quality. The application of an electronic nose could facilitate screening and quality evaluation of large numbers of cheeses. The objective of this study was to determine the ability of an electronic nose, using a mass detector, to correlate with descriptive sensory analysis of aged Cheddar cheese. A sensory panel (n=12) received 75 hr of training on 18 flavor terms for Cheddar cheese. Ten aged Cheddar cheeses (>6 mo age) were acquired as ten to forty pound blocks. Cheeses were evaluated in duplicate by an electronic nose and by the sensory panel. Data were analyzed by multivariate techniques including cluster analysis and principle component analysis. Cheeses were placed into similar clusters by cluster analysis for both the sensory and the electronic nose data. Principle component analysis yielded cheese differentiation that was consistent between electronic nose and sensory data. An electronic nose can be used to differentiate cheeses in a similar manner to descriptive sensory analysis. An electronic nose may be suitable for quality evaluation of large numbers of cheese.
Session 15C, Dairy Foods
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