Flavor description and classification of selected natural cheeses

Abstract

Intensities of 30 flavor attributes were measured for 42 cheeses. Rated intensities of flavor characteristics generally fell in the low to moderate range for all cheeses. Some of the flavor characteristics (dairy fat, dairy sour, dairy sweet, sharp, astringent, bitter, salty, sour, and sweet) were present in all cheeses, and some (cooked milk, animalic, goaty, fruity, moldy, mushroom, and nutty) were specific to only a few of the cheeses evaluated in this study. The flavor of each of the 42 cheeses is described. Similarities in flavor were observed among many of the individual cheeses. Therefore, a clustering scheme was developed to show the overall flavor relationships among the cheeses. Those relationships are schematically represented by a tree diagram. Proximity on the tree diagram indicates a high degree of flavor similarity among the types of cheese.