Evaluation of key flavor compounds in reduced- and full-fat cheddar cheeses using sensory studies on model systems

Recent flavor chemistry studies have identified flavor compounds at different concentrations in full- and low-fat Cheddar cheeses. The specific flavor contributions of these compounds in full- and low-fat cheese matrices have not been established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensory response of Cheddar flavor compounds in model full-fat and 75% reduced-fat cheeses. Odor activity values (OAVs) for each compound in full- and reduced-fat cheeses were calculated. Each compound was then added to model cheeses created from 3-week-old full- and reduced-fat Cheddar cheeses. A trained sensory panel (n=8) evaluated the sensory properties of the cheese models. The final combination of compounds was incorporated into reduced-fat cheese models, and consumers (n=85) evaluated perceived-aged Cheddar cheese aroma. Based on OAVs and perception of the individual compounds in cheese models, 12 key flavor compounds were identified. Target ideal concentrations of specific cheese flavor compounds in 75% reduced-fat cheese were determined. According to consumers, the perceived aged Cheddar cheese aroma intensity of reduced-fat model cheese with these added compounds was not different (P>0.05) from the perceived Cheddar cheese aroma intensity of commercial aged full-fat Cheddar cheeses.