Cholesterol removal and flavor development in Cheddar cheese

This study was carried out to find a cholesterol removal rate, flavor development and bitter amino acid productions in Cheddar cheese treated with beta-cyclodextrin (CD): 1) Control (no homogenization, no beta-CD), and 2) Milk treatment (1000 psi milk homogenization, 1% beta-CD). The cholesterol removal of the cheese was 79.3%. The production of short-chain free fatty acids (FFA) increased with a ripening time in both control and milk treated cheese. The releasing quantity of short-chain FFA was higher in milk treated cheese than control at 5 and 7 mo ripening. Not much difference was found in neutral volatile compound production between samples. In bitter-tasted amino acids, milk treatment group produced much higher than control. In sensory analysis, texture score of control Cheddar cheese significantly increased with ripening time, however, that in cholesterol-reduced cheese decreased dramatically Our results indicated that the cheese made by beta-CD treated milk with low pressure homogenization showed an effective cholesterol reduction and a rapid cheese ripening, while no capture of flavor compounds by beta-CD.