674. The lactic acid and volatile fatty acid contents of five locally made type cheeses

Abstract

1. A study has been made of the development of titratable acidity, lactic acid and volatile fatty acids in five locally made type cheeses. The study of the changes involved has been made over the period of ripening up to the stage at which each type would normally be marketed. All the cheeses were made from the same batch of milk at the same time.2. Slight modifications to the micro-column devised by James & Martin (13), and its use, have been suggested which have resulted in improved recovery of volatile fatty acids.3. The volatile fatty acids have been determinedin totoand also as separate constituents. Formic acid has been noticed as a common constituent of the acid mixture in all the cheeses, while, over the ripening period involved and apart from unidentified acids higher than caproic, the only other volatile acids encountered have been acetic and butyric, and on one occasion iso-butyric.4. Over the short ripening period studied, the lactic acid content of the soft cheeses rose, but after the initial rise in Pont l'Évêque and in Dutch cheese the results showed a downward trend. Fluctuations in the lactic acid content of the Smallholder cheese have been noted which compare with the corresponding findings of other workers.5. All the results presented have been calculated on the basis of fresh cheese because this is the customary practice and comparisons with other work would be difficult if this had not been adhered to.