Branched chain aldehyde, 3-methylbutanal is associated as a key flavor compound with many hard and semi-hard cheese varieties. The presence and impact of this flavor compound in bread, meat, and certain beverages has been recently documented, however its presence and consequences regarding cheese flavor were not clearly reported. This paper gives an overview of the role of 3-methylbutanal in cheese, along with the major metabolic pathways and key enzymes leading to its formation. Moreover, different strategies are highlighted for the control of this particular flavor compound in specific cheese types.

Poro cheese is a regional product originally from the area of Los Rios, Tabasco in Mexico. In the context of preserving the heritage of Poro cheese and protecting the specific characteristics that define its typicity through an origin designation, the present study was conducted to establish a general profile of Poro cheese by characterizing their physicochemical, textural, rheological, sensorial and microbiological characteristics. Differences in moisture, proteins, fats, NaCl, titrable acidity, pH, color texture and rheology amongst cheese factories were observed and ranges were established. Fifteen descriptors were generated to provide a descriptive analysis, eight of which were significantly different amongst the factories with no differences in the global acceptability of cheese. The favorite cheese had the highest scores for aroma attributes. Conventional and molecular methods were used to identify the main microorganisms, for which Lactobacillus plantarum, L. fermentum, L. farciminis and L. rhamnosus were the main microorganisms found in Porocheese. The obtained data constituted the parameters for characterizing Poro cheese, which will strongly help to support its origin appellation request process.

El objetivo del estudio fue comparar la bondad de ajuste de cuatro ecuaciones no lineales para describir las curvas de crecimiento de vacas Jersey, Holstein, y Jersey x Holstein en pastoreo. Las ecuaciones de Brody, Gompertz, von Bertalanffy, y Logística se ajustaron a los datos (n= 2,315) de peso y edad de vacas Jersey (n= 54), Holstein (n= 6) y Jersey x Holstein (n= 30). Para cada animal, genotipo y ecuación, se estimaron los parámetros A, b y k que produjeron las curvas de crecimiento de mejor ajuste. En cada una de las cuatro ecuaciones comparadas, el parámetro A corresponde a la asíntota superior de la curva y estima el ‘peso maduro’ del animal, los parámetros b y k representan la constante de integración y la tasa de maduración. Para las curvas de crecimiento de las vacas Jersey y las cruzas de Jersey x Holstein, las ecuaciones de Gompertz y de von Bertalanffy produjeron el mejor ajuste. En contraste, la ecuación Logística tuvo el mejor ajuste para las curvas de crecimiento de Holstein, seguida muy de cerca por las ecuaciones de Gompertz y von Bertalanffy. En las condiciones de manejo y alimentación de los animales en este estudio, las curvas de crecimiento de las hembras de los tres genotipos estudiados pueden ajustarse con la ecuación de von Bertalanffy.