73G-17 |
Optimization of Cheddar taste in a model system |
B. YANG and Z. M. Vickers. Dept. of Food Science & Nutrition, Univ. of Minnesota, 1334 Eckles Ave., Saint Paul, MN 55108 Taste components of Cheddar cheese appear to be important for both the character and the intensity of Cheddar cheese flavor. Being able to reconstruct Cheddar taste in a model system would be evidence that these compounds are essential for the characteristic Cheddar taste. Our objective was to develop a model system and optimize Cheddar taste in it. We first developed a model comprising milk fat, native casein, water and rennet. Sodium chloride, lactic acid/citric acid and monosodium glutamate were added to represent salty, sour and umami tastes. The experimental design was a modified simplex mixture design with augmentation. A descriptive analysis panel, trained on the taste and trigeminal attributes of Cheddar cheese and wearing nose-clips, evaluated all samples from the design plus typical mild and aged Cheddar cheeses for Cheddar quality, overall intensity, saltiness, sourness, umami taste, sweetness, bitterness and bite. We also measured the design samples’ similarity to each Cheddar cheese sample. Different statistical approaches were explored to determine optimal mixtures matching the tastes of mild and aged Cheddar cheeses. The model system contained 12.5% protein, 34.2% fat, 51.3% water. The optimal mixture of tastants that matched the mild Cheddar cheese contained 0.6% NaCl, 1.0% lactic acid, 0.2% citric acid and 1.7% MSG. The optimal mixture that matched the aged Cheddar cheese needed more salt/acids and less MSG. Using the taste and trigeminal attributes combined as the response to do the optimization gave a closer match to the real cheeses than using Cheddary or similarity as response. The cheese model system is taste free. Other researchers can use it for study cheese taste. The optimization results can be used as a base for further study on cheese flavor.
Session 73G, Sensory Evaluation
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