The Methyl Ketones of Blue Cheese and their Relation to its Flavor

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Abstract
Material containing a high concn. of methyl ketones was recovered from blue cheese by steam distillation and ether extraction procedures. Fractional distillation of this material yielded relatively pure fractions of pentanone-2, heptanone-2, and nonanone-2. Acetone was identified as a constituent of the ether-extracted steam distillation of blue cheese. These methyl ketones appear to be formed from the fatty acids in the cheese by beta-oxidation. The similarity in odor between these ketones, particularly heptanone-2, and that of blue cheese, was noted by a number of observers during the course of the investigation. It seems probable that minute quantities of these methyl ketones are the constituents which make the flavor of mold ripened cheeses distinctly different from the flavor of other types of cheese.

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