Abstract
Manchego cheese is probably the most popular protected designation of origin cheese variety in Spain. It is a high-fat, pressed cheese produced by the enzymatic coagulation of Manchega breed sheep milk. Its production may be artisanal (raw milk) or industrial (pasteurized milk). In Manchego cheese, the major free amino acids found throughout the entire ripening period are glutamine, leucine, valine, lysine and phenylalanine. Free fatty acids are the most predominant volatile compounds in Manchego cheese, followed by ketones, esters, aldehydes, lactones and alcohols. These compounds have a considerable influence on the sensory characteristics and give Manchego cheese a distinctive creamy flavor, with a slight piquancy in very cured cheese and a long aftertaste characteristic of sheep milk. The lactic acid bacteria present during the ripening of artisanal Manchego cheese belong to the genera Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Enterococcus and Leuconostoc. The selection of a culture composed of starter (Lactococcus) and non-starter (Lactobacillus) lactic acid bacteria strains may make it possible to obtain industrial cheeses with organoleptic characteristics similar to those of artisanal cheeses. Manchego cheese is a very complete food, with a high protein and mineral content and also contains antihypertensive peptides.
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