Amino acid profile in the ripening of Grana Padano cheese: a NMR study

Among typical Italian cheeses, Grana Padano is the most famous, with the bi ggest production. The final step in the cheesemaking is the natural ripenin g,which involves many modifications of high complexity. In the present work , thermoanalytical and spectroscopic techniques are applied to Grana Padano cheese as a new analytical approach. These are thermogravimetry (TG) and d erived thermogravimetry (DTG) to determine different types of water present in the cheese matrix, low-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to p rovide information on the water localization and displacements within the f oodstuff and high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to evaluate a ll the amino acids present in the cheese. Modifications in both water and f ree amino acid contents are observed, as a function of the ripening time an d of the distance from the centre of the cheese wheel. (C) 2000 Elsevier Sc ience Ltd. All rights reserved.