Relation of Flavor Development in Cheddar Cheese to Chemical Changes in the Fat of the Cheese

Typical Cheddar cheese flavor was found to be related to a balance of free fatty acids and acetate. Experimental lots of cheese, which had the finest flavor and highest score, had a concentration of free fatty acids plus acetate of 12 to 28 tLmoles per gram of cheese solids after 180 days of aging or a ratio of free fatty acids to acetic acid between 0.55 to 1.0. Gas-liquid chromatography analysis showed that identical fatty acids were liberated in each lot of cheese. All even-numbered carbon fatty acids from C4 to Cls were found in each lot from the first day of manufacture. Cheese criticized as having rancid, fruity, and fermented flavors had two to three times the concentration of Clo, C12, and C14 fatty acids as did cheese of fine flavor.