Lipolysis in Picante cheese: Influence of milk type and ripening time on free fatty acid profile

Changes in the profile of the major free fatty acids (FFA) were assayed by HPLC up to 180 days of ripening in batches of cheeses manufactured with different proportions of ewe's and goat's milks. Evolution of lipolysis was also monitored by ethanolic titration, and good linear correlations were found between the two methods. For every batch of cheese, concentrations of all FFA exhibited continuous increases throughout the ripening period; levels of total FFA by 180 days of ripening ranged from 50.3 to 62.3 g / kg of fat depending on the cheesemilk composition; C1o, C16, C18, and C18:1, were the most concentrated FFA throughout the whole ripening period. Values for the short chain FFA (C4, C6, and C8) ranged from 2.8 to 4.5 g / kg of fat; such concentrations, which were not significantly different between batches with different proportions of ewe's and goat's milks, contributed considerably to the characteristic piquant flavor of Picante cheese