Flavour, texture and flavour defects in hard and semi-cheeses

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter presents that hard cheeses are ripened after manufacture for periods ranging from a few months to two or more years and it is during this ripening period that the flavor and texture characteristic of the variety develop. Cheese ripening usually involves changes to the micro flora of the cheese, often death and lysis of starter cells, the development of an adventitious non-starter micro flora and, in certain cases, the growth of secondary organisms. It is often difficult to differentiate between the flavors of freshly made curds of different types of hard cheeses immediately after manufacture. Cheese texture is influenced greatly by manufacture that largely determines the moisture content of the cheese and its calcium and fat and fat-in-dry-matter levels. However, texture changes during ripening due to solubilization of calcium phosphate, hydrolysis of the casein matrix, changes to water binding within the curd, and loss of moisture caused by evaporation from the cheese surface. While certain changes during the ripening of hard and semi-hard cheeses are always considered defects, such as late gas blowing, others are considered problems only if they exceed certain limits. For example, very low levels of bitterness are normal in the flavor profile of cheeses, such as Cheddar, and are not considered a defect unless levels of bitter peptides exceed certain limits. Likewise, lipolysis occurs during the ripening of all hard and semi-hard cheeses but the levels of lipolysis characteristic of an Italian Pecorino variety would be considered a defect in Cheddar. Hence, balanced ripening is essential to the quality of hard and semi-hard cheeses.