Comparison of Methods for the Analysis of Higher Boiling Flavor Compounds in Cheddar Cheese

Both Tenax-GC headspace isolation and acetonitrile extraction techniques provided isolates from Cheddar cheese that contained the microbially-derived, aromatic Strecker-type compounds, phenylacetaldehyde, phenethanol, p-cresol, and phenol. Because of large quantities of very high boiling compounds recovered in acetonitrile extracts, Tenax-GC isolates were most suitable for routine quantitative analysis of the aromatic Strecker-type compounds on a fused-silica, bondedphase Durabond-5 gas chromatographic capillary column. Gas chromatography with packed Carbowax 20M columns and high performance liquid chromatographic analysis lacked sufficient resolution for quantification of the compounds.