Milk pretreatment and free fatty acids in cheeses

PEROTTI M.C.; VÉLEZ, M. A.; WOLF I. V.

Handbook of cheese in health

Wageningen Academic Publishers

Año: 2013; p. 585 - 599

In the production of the majority of cheese varieties two well-defined phases can be identified: manufacture and ripening, both of which involve a number of processes/changes. The basic steps involved in the cheese making protocols are generally common in most varieties.  While the nature of cheese is mainly determined by the manufacturing steps, the characteristic flavour and texture of individual cheese type is developed during ripening period. Particularly, a large number of flavor compounds appears as a result of chemical and biochemical events, which includes the degradation of milk constituents, proteins, lactose and fat. Fat breakdown (also called lipolysis) is a particularly important event in some cheese varieties.  The present work begins by describing lipolysis patterns in cheeses and its contribution to flavor, and the structure and significance of milk fat in cheeses. Particularly, we discussed the effect of thermal and non-thermal technological procedures applied to milk previously to cheese manufacture on cheese microstructure and lipolysis.