Analysis of Neutral Volatiles in Cheddar Cheese

Abstract

Cheddar cheese volatiles are vacuum distilled from fat obtained from cheese by centrifuging at 25,000g. The distillate was collected in a U-tube cooled with liquid N and vaporized at 70[degree]C after closing the tube with a serum cap and a balloon. A vapor sample is used for gas-liquid chromatography on 150 ft. X 0.02 in. i.d. capillary columns coated with Ucon LB-550-X or diethyleneglycol succinate. A hydrogen-flame ionization detector is used with N as the carrier gas. Identifications are based on relative retention times of cheese volatiles with respect to known compounds obtained under 3 sets of conditions. Two figures and a table illustrate the application of the method to a sample of Cheddar cheese.