The profile of volatile compounds that contribute to the flavor of Queso Fresco (QF), a popular high-moisture Hispanic-style cheese, is not well defined.  The effects of curd milling on the volatile compounds in QF were determined for cheeses aged at 4�C for up to 8 wks.  Volatiles from preheated cheese were absorbed onto a DVB/CAR/PDMS SPME fiber and separated on a GC-MS system using a DB5 column.  Profiles for the volatile compounds changed as the cheeses aged, with 12 compounds identified at wk 1, 14 at wk 4, and 20 at wk 8.  Nonanal was prominent in fresh and wk 4 cheeses while 2, 3-butanediol, hexanoic acid, 3-methyl butanal, octanoic acid and phenyl ethyl alcohol were prominent at wk 8; profiles were similar among the milling treatments.  The lipolysis and proteolysis that occurred in QF during aging had a greater impact on the volatile compounds present in the cheese than the curd-milling step.  Manufacturers of QF can omit the traditional time-consuming milling step without concern for altering its flavor-producing volatile compounds.

Volatile compounds in milled/no-mill Queso Fresco during storage

244th National Meeting (2012)

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