Challenges in quantitative analysis of aroma compounds in cheeses with different fat content and maturity level

Quantification of 62 aroma compounds in three commercial semi-hard cheeses with different fat contents and maturity levels was pursued. Dynamic headspace sampling and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was applied after spiking each of the three cheeses with the aroma compounds, and PARAllel FACtor analysis was used to resolve co-eluting compounds. By the use of linear regression, half of the spiked aroma compounds exhibited similar slopes in the three cheeses whereas the volatilities of 15 other compounds were dependent on their hydrophilicity relative to the fat content of the cheese. For nine aroma compounds, satisfactory coefficients of determination were obtained in one or two of the cheeses only, and seven compounds could not be quantified at all.