Role of Fat in Flavor of Cheddar Cheese

The flavor of Cheddar cheese made from various kinds of fats homogenized into skim milk was compared with cheese made from natural milk emulsion. Milk fat homogenized into skim milk gave better flavors than other fats but was inferior to the natural milk emu!sion. Commercial fats with composition and physical properties similar to milk fat seemed to give off-flavors during cheese ripening and performed less well than an inert mineral oil. Deodorized milk fat was not significantly different from milk fat in flavor production. Adding d;methyl sulfide and milk-fat-globule membrane material did not significantly improve cheese flavor. The addition of gum acacia as an emulsifying agent made the flavor more Cheddar-like, indicating that the waterfat interface is important in development of Cheddar flavor.