Influence of milk pasteurization and scalding temperature on the volatile compounds of Malatya, a farmhouse Halloumi-type cheese

Malatya cheese, a farmhouse Halloumi-type cheese, was made from raw or pasteurized milk and the curds were scalded in hot whey at 60, 70, 80 or 90 degrees C. After ripening for 30 or 90 d, the cheeses were analyzed for characterization of volatile composition. One hundred and two volatile compounds including 11 acids, 13 esters, 15 ketones, 6 aldehydes, 26 alcohols, 2 lactones, 5 sulfur compounds, 5 terpenes and 19 miscellaneous compounds were identified using solid phase micro extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The use of raw milk in the manufacture enriched the volatile profile of the cheese and the majority of volatiles were more abundant in raw milk cheeses than in pasteurized milk cheeses. The cheeses made with raw milk contained higher levels of acids, esters and lactones and lower levels of aldehydes and sulfur compounds than did the cheeses made from pasteurized milk. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to simplify interpretation of the GC-MS data and distinguished the raw and pasteurized milk cheeses on the plot. The samples were also classified based on scalding temperature by PCA, but no regular distribution was observed. The results suggest that the pasteurization of cheese milk had a greater effect on volatile composition of cheese than scalding temperature of the curd.