Content area
Abstract
Characteristic dairy, meat, and other flavors were investigated by analyzing volatile branched-chain fatty acids (BCFAs) using a newly developed sensitive capillary gas chromatographic method. Certain volatile BCFAs, including 2-methylbutanoic, 2-ethylbutanoic, 3-methylbutanoic, 4-methyloctanoic, 4-ethyloctanoic, and 4-methylnonanoic acids, provided characterizing flavor notes to aged Italian cheeses and several other cheeses made from cow's, sheep's and goat's milks. BCFAs along with certain alkylphenols also provided characterizing flavors to red meats. Phenols included were p- and m-cresols, 3,4-dimethylphenol, 2-isopropylphenol, and phenol which especially provided sheepy flavor notes to ovine meat and cheese made from sheep's milk.
Certain BCFAs from beef fat were transferred in sufficient in concentrations during deep frying to give unique beef fat-like flavors to french fried potatoes. Certain BCFAs were found also in sufficient amounts in flue-cured Virginia and blended Turkish tobaccos to influence flavors.
Pregastric lipases preferentially hydrolyzed volatile BCFAs from cow's, sheep's and goat's milkfats, and Penicillium roqueforti and Aspergillus niger lipases also produced high amounts of certain BCFAs. Concentrations of volatile free fatty acids were much lower in lipolyzed cheese bases after storage at a$\sb{\rm W}$ 0.85 than in similar bases stored at either a$\sb{\rm W}$ 0.33 or a$\sb{\rm W}$ 0.97. Storage at low temperature (1 C) as well as addition of ethanol to lipolyzed cheese bases reduced the content of volatile fatty acids.
Overall results showed that volatile BCFAs were important in providing characteristic flavors to dairy products and meats, and that flavors of BCFA systems could be modified by controlling the a$\sb{\rm W}$ and/or applying specific lipases.
