The Reversibility of Oxidative Inactivation of Milk Lipase in Relation to its Activity in Cheddar Cheese

The study of the properties of milk lipase in relation to the development of rancid flavor in cheddar cheese is a problem of some practical importance. In a recent publication the authors showed that a higher amount of proteolytic enzymes (rennet and pepsin) can bring about a decrease in the intensity of rancid flavor in cheddar cheese which contained added commercial lipase (9). Freeman and Dahle (7) showed a similar improvement in the flavor of cheddar cheese by the use of proteolytic enzymes without added lipase. Considering the presence of a small amount of endogenous milk lipase, their results may be explained on the same basis as ours. Other methods of inhibiting lipase activity in cheese remain to be investigated.