Using Sensory Analysis to Understand Your
Product: Defining Flavor of Cheeses
MaryAnne DrakeNorth Carolina State university
Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center
▪ Ultimate goal for any application – ingredient or finished product
▪ Flavor impacts customer preference
▪ Flavor never goes out of style!
A matter of taste
The bottom line
•Competitive, global and expanding market
•What are the keys to success?
•Make what people want to buy
•Make what people want to eat
•Deliver target flavors to customers
More than marketing
•Deliver target flavors
•To do this we need to:•Understand the consumer•Understand our product
•Sensory analysis is required
Defining flavor: provides the platform
•Enhanced product understanding• Influence of processing• Influence of aging•Comparisons with competitors•Can be linked with flavor chemistry to identify
flavor sources•Can be linked with consumer liking
cooked
whey
diacetyl
milkfat
brothy
sulfur
fruity
FFAcatty
nutty
umami
bitter
sour
sweet
salty
cowy
Basic Tastes Aromatics
The Basic Cheese Lexicon
cooked
whey
fresh
oxidized
diacetyl
milkfat
brothybeefy
vegetable
spicy
rosysulfur
match-like
eggy
fruity
fresh
fermented
FFA cowy
barny
phenolicfecal
mothball
salty
sweet
sour
umami
bitter
catty nutty
Advanced
Cheese Lexicon
Basic TastesAromatics
sweaty
butyric
roasted
malty
vinegar
Some key questions
•How does ripening influence Cheddar cheese flavor?•Are there regional differences in Cheddar cheese flavor?•Are there international differences in Cheddar cheese flavor?•Does milk pasteurization impact flavor?•What about other cheeses?
Setting the Stage: Cheddar cheese flavor
MILK Fresh Cheddar Curd
Manufacture StepsMilk type, quality and heat trtStarter culture acidificationCoagulation with rennetDehydration (cutting, cooking, salting, pressing)Time: up to 24 h
Step 1
Flavor profile: Simple, Salty and sour taste, low milky, whey
and buttery flavors
Texture profile: firm, elastic, no breakdown when chewed
Setting the Stage: Cheddar cheese flavor
Fresh Cheddar Curd Cheddar Cheese
Ripening: biochemical cascadeglycolysisproteolysislipolysisTime: months - years
Step 2
Flavor profile: very complex, wide array of flavors and intensities
Texture profile: Brittle/fracturable, breakdown in mouth
1. Influence of ripening
•Age does matter
•Flavor profile develops with ripening•“Aged” flavors appear•“Young” flavors decrease•Flavor differences are more pronounced•Dependent on the stage set in Step 1
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
1 mo 3 mo 9 mo 18 mo
milky
whey
buttery
sulfur
brothy
nutty
bitter
Influence of ripening
intensity
Young milky flavorsPredominate
Influence of Ripening
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
1 mo 3 mo 9 mo 18 mo
milky
whey
buttery
sulfur
brothy
nutty
bitter
intensity
Aged flavors predominate
2. Are there regional differences in U.S. Cheddar cheeses?
•20 production facilities manufacturing year-round• 4 Northeast• 7 Midwest• 7 Northwest• 2 California
• Triplicate 18 kg blocks (< 1 mo) from 3 different vats provided three times per year for two years•Blocks aged at 7C
Cheddar cheese production facilities
NW
CA
Midwest NE
CA1
CA2
NE3
NW4
Mid7
NW1
NW5
NW6
Mid4
(P1 43 %)
(P2 28%)
Mid2brothy
cooked
sulfurnutty
sour
fruity
milkfat
diacetyl
ffa
whey
Cheddar cheeses aged for 6 months
Mid5
NW2
NE4salty
sweetbitter
umami
catty
Mid3
NE2
NW3
NE1
Mid1
Mid6
feed
stirred
stirred
milled
milled
milled
milled
stirred
stirred
milled
(P1 43 %)
(P2 28%)
milledbrothy
cooked
sulfurnutty
sour
fruity
milkfat
diacetyl
ffa
whey
Cheddar cheeses aged for 6 months
milled
milled
milledsalty
sweetbitter
umami
catty
stirred
stirred
milled
milled
milled
stirred
feed
CA1
CA2
NE3
NW4Mid7
NW1
NW5NW6
Mid4
(P1 42 %)
(P2 29%)
Mid2brothy
cooked
sulfurnutty
sour
fruity
milkfat
diacetyl
ffa
whey
Cheddar cheeses aged for 12 months
Mid5
NW2
NE4
salty
sweet
bitter
umami
catty
Mid3
NE2
NW3
NE1
Mid1
Mid6
feed
Conclusions
•Some regional effects exist, specifically for NE and NW cheeses •Differences in aged U.S. Cheddar cheese flavor are most strongly influenced by individual processing facility practices•Flavor is specific to facility not region of manufacture
3. Are there international differences?
Fluid milk flavor varies…..
Salty
Astringency
Feed/Malty
Sweet Aromatic Cowy/Barny
Grassy
Milk Fat
Cooked
Sweet
PC1 (91%)
Aroma Intensity
TMR Jersey
TMR Holstein
PB Jersey
PB Holstein
PC2 (7%)
Flavor of milk from pasture-fed cowsIs different from that ofTMR-fed cowsMore grassy flavors in pasture-fed milk
These flavor differences in the milk will Influence cheese flavor
IR4
IR1
IR3
IR2
NZ2
NZ4
NZ1
NZ3
US4
US3
US2
(P1 63 %)
(P2 20%)
US1
Cheddar cheese flavor from different countries
U.S. PERSPECTIVE
IR4
IR1
IR3
IR2
NZ2
NZ4
NZ1
NZ3
US4
US3
US2
(P1 63 %)
(P2 20%)
Cheddar cheese flavor from different countries
US1
Cooked/milkyWheyDiacetyl
Milkfat
cowy
Grassy/feed
fruity sulfur
ffa
brothy
nutty
catty
bitter salty
umami
U.S. PERSPECTIVE
1.5
-1.5
-2 2
PC1 42%
PC2 18%
14
29
33
16
30
1110
43
26
34
27
7
6
35
921
31
2313
15
25
bitter fruity
milkfat
Free fatty acid
brothy
sour
Cooked/milky
36sulfur
whey
saltyumami
nutty
prickle
24
3732
17 2228
18
208
12
191
52
sweet
caramelphenolic
grassymothball
Sensory profiles of aged domesticAnd international Cheddar cheeses
1.5
-1.5
-2 2
PC1 42%
PC2 18%
14
29
33
16
30
1110
43
26
34
27
7
6
35
921
31
2313
15
25
bitter fruity
milkfat
Free fatty acid
brothy
sour
Cooked/milky
36sulfur
whey
saltyumami
nutty
prickle
24
3732
17 2228
18
208
12
191
52
sweet
caramelphenolic
grassymothball
Sensory profiles of aged domesticAnd international Cheddar cheeses Irish and UK cheeses
•Wide variety of flavor profiles across all cheeses but……•International Cheddars differentiated by sweet taste, caramelized, grassy, and barny flavors•Domestic Cheddars characterized by higher sulfur and brothy notes
Cheese flavors
4. The role of pasteurization
•Several reasons to pasteurize
•Does it impact flavor when everything else is optimal?
The role of pasteurization
•Physical/chemical effects•Many microorganisms inactivated•Some milk enzymes inactivated•Flavors formed from heat treatment
•Does it impact cheese flavor?•Yes and no
Sensory profiles of raw and pasteurized milk
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
sweet
aromatic
cooked/
milky
fruity serumy sweet
taste
Raw
Pasteurized
intensity
Cheeses
•Slight but distinct differences in flavor at 2 weeks
•Volatile compounds consistently distinct
•Faster flavor development in raw milk cheese compared to pasteurized milk
•Consistent fruity/phenolic note in raw milk cheeses
Flavor development of raw and pasteurized milk cheeses from the same milk
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
raw - 4 pasteurized - 4 raw - 8 pasteurized - 8
sulfur
brothy
fruity
nutty
Intensity
4 months ripening
8 months ripening
Flavor effects
•Small but distinct effects•Very low intensities of fruity/phenolic flavors in raw milk cheeses•Faster flavor development in raw milk cheese
•Not the driving or sole source of distinct or desirable Cheddar flavors
5. Consumer perception of Gouda cheeses
Trained panel profiles of Gouda flavor and texture
169
629
028
318
707499
254
613
373
495
342386
416
198864187
500
608
539
212
620
677
267
520
235
180
2…
076
847
158 612
834
995904
H. Firmness
H. Springiness
H. Recovery
FirmnessFracture
Breakdown
Cohesiveness
Adhesiveness
SmoothnessMouthcoating
Cooked
Sr .AromaticWhey
Diacetyl
Milkfat
Fruity
Caramel
Malty/Nutty
Brothy
SulfurSour
Sweet
Salty Umami
Bitter
Cowy/BarnyMothball
Grassy
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
F2 (
26 %
)
F1 (40 %)
Increasing age
Trained panel profiles of Gouda flavor and texture
169
629
028
318
707499
254
613
373
495
342386
416
198864187
500
608
539
212
620
677
267
520
235
180
2…
076
847
158 612
834
995904
H. Firmness
H. Springiness
H. Recovery
FirmnessFracture
Breakdown
Cohesiveness
Adhesiveness
SmoothnessMouthcoating
Cooked
Sr .AromaticWhey
Diacetyl
Milkfat
Fruity
Caramel
Malty/Nutty
Brothy
SulfurSour
Sweet
Salty Umami
Bitter
Cowy/BarnyMothball
Grassy
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8
F2 (
26 %
)
F1 (40 %)
Consumer liking of Goudas
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ove
rall
Lik
ing
Cluster One Cluster Two Cluster Three Overall
N= 150 U.S. cheese consumers
Consumer preference map of Gouda cheeses
Three distinct consumer clusters
• Aged Goudas with intense caramel, nutty and brothy flavors and hard, brittle texture are preferred by one group of consumers
• Best liked Gouda by all consumers is mild with a smooth elastic texture and milky, buttery and whey flavors
• U.S. Goudas fall in this category (mild/medium) and are equally appealing to consumers
So what influences cheese flavor?
▪Cheese flavor is a combination of many factors that all contribute to final cheese flavor:•Animal feed•Milk quality•Heat trt•Cheesemake conditions•Cooling and ripening conditions
Conclusions
•A defined sensory language can be linked with products and consumer to provide• Increased product understanding •Sources of flavors and flavor variability• Insights into the consumer
•Sensory lexicons which define dairy flavorsprovide the keys to research and marketing
Acknowledgements
•National Dairy Council (NDC)
• Special thanks to the companies that graciously provided cheese for hands-on tasting!• Cabot Creamery Coop (Cabot, VT)
• Tillamook County Creamery (Tillamook, OR)• Beechers (Seattle, WA)