Elucidation of the effect of fat globule size and shape on cheddar cheese flavour development using a fat-substituted cheese model

Flavour development and distribution of fat globule size and shape were inv estigated in full-fat cheddar-type cheese containing anhydrous milkfat (AMF ), a high-melting milkfat fraction (S24), or a low-melting milkfat fraction (0013). Intensity of characteristic cheddar flavour in the S24 cheese, aft er maturing at 8 degrees C for 9 months, was significantly lower than that in the AMF or 0013 cheeses. This flavour difference was not correlated with the amount of free casein amino acids, C6-C12 free fatty acids, water-solu ble nitrogen, fat globule diameter or surface area. At 6 months of age, sig nificant differences were observed for the sphericity of fat globules betwe en the cheese pairs AMF/S24 and S24/0013, but not for AMF/0013, suggesting that the shape of fat globules, rather than median diameter or surface area , impacted on cheddar cheese flavour. It is also possible that certain low- molecular-weight components of milkfat, which are removed from the high-mel ting fractions during thermal fractionation, play an essential role in the production of cheddar flavour.