Consumer Packaged Cheese. II. Chemical Changes

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Abstract
Concentrations of sulfhydryl (-SH) groups of consumer-packaged Cheddar cheese decreased during storage. The decrease in -SH groups was retarded by decreasing the surface-mass ratio of the cut cheese, coating the cheese surface with Myvacet-700 and packaging the cheese in Al laminated film. For chunk-style light-exposed cheese, the loss of -SH groups levelled off or was reversed after approximately 7 days of storage. The persistance of -SH groups of light-protected cheese during storage was directly related to the flavor stability of the cheese. Thiobarbituric-acid, peroxide and [gamma]-amino N results revealed only slight changes in the fat and protein systems of the cheese during storage, and the methods did not differentiate conclusively between oxidized (light-exposed) and non-oxidized (light-protected) cheese. The Eh stability of Cheddar cheese of high flavor quality varied widely when the cheese was exposed to air. There was a direct correlation between Eh stability and flavor stability, persistance of -SH groups and relatively small increases in pyruvic-acid. Cheese lacking Eh stability was characterized by unstable flavor, loss of -SH groups and relatively large increases in pyruvic-acid.