Brazilian indigenous nonstarter lactic acid bacteria enhance the diversification of volatile compounds in short-aged cheese.

There is growing interest in using autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) that provide unique sensory characteristics to dairy products without affecting their safety and quality. This work studied the capacity of three Brazilian indigenous nonstarter LABs (NSLAB) to produce biogenic amines (BAs) and evaluated their effect on the volatile organic compounds (VOCs), microbial LAB communities, and physicochemical profile of short-aged cheese. Initially, the strain's potential for biosynthesis of BAs was assessed by PCR and in vitro assays. Then, a pilot-scale cheese was produced, including the NSLAB, and the microbial and VOC profiles were analyzed after 25 and 45 days of ripening. As a results, the strains did not present genes related to relevant BAs and did not produce them in vitro. During cheese ripening, the Lactococci counts were reduced, probably in the production of alcohols and acid compounds by the NSLAB. Each strain produces a unique VOC profile that changes over the ripening time without the main VOCs related to rancid or old cheese. Particularly, the use of the strain Lacticaseibacillus. paracasei ItalPN16 resulted in production of ester compounds with fruity notes. Thus, indigenous NSLAB could be a valuable tool for the enhancement and diversification of flavor in short-aged cheese.

Identifying markers volatiles in Brazilian virgin oil by multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction, and chemometrics tools.

A protocol was optimized to determine the volatile profile from monovarietal virgin olive oil (VOO) by multiple headspace solid-phase microextraction (MHS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. For this, a Plackett-Burman (PB) and central composite rotational designs (CCRD) were used to define the best condition of extraction. Moreover, fatty acids profile and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify markers among the cultivars. The amount of 0.1 g of sample was enough to express the volatile composition of the olive oils by MHS-SPME. Volatile compounds [nonanal, (Z)-3-Hexen-1-ol, (Z)-3-Hexenyl Acetate, Hexyl Acetate, 3-Methylbutyl Acetate, (E)-2-Hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-Hexenyl Acetate] and fatty acids [C17:1, C18, C18:1, C18:2] were those reported such as the markers in the varieties of olive oils. The PCA analysis allowed the classification of the most representative volatiles and fatty acids for each cultivar. Through two principal components was possible to obtain 81.9% of explanation of the variance of the compounds. The compounds were quantified using a validated method. The MHS-SPME combined with multivariate analysis showed a promising tool to identify markers and for the discrimination of olive oil varieties.

Cupuassu from bean to bar: Sensory and hedonic characterization of a chocolate-like product.

The processing of cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum Schum) beans after fermentation gives a chocolate-like product, the cupulate. The high amount of pulp adhered to the seeds hinders the fermentation. Consequently, it is necessary to depulp the seeds to perform the process, even though the pulp contains important substrates for the formation of flavor precursors. To verify whether the complete or partial removal of the pulp influences the sensory characteristics of the product, fermentation was performed with three pulp concentrations (0, 7.5, and 15%) and two schemes of turning for aeration of the mass: fixed (R1) and according to the temperature (R2), in a total of six experiments (0R1, 0R2, 7.5R1, 7.5R2, 15R1 and 15R2). The beans were processed to obtain cupulates, which were submitted to tests performed with consumers, to express their preference and attributes (acceptance, purchase intent, Check All That Apply - CATA), and then to tests with a trained panel, the Quantitative Descriptive Profile (QDP) to characterize the samples. Both tests showed the consumers' perceptions that the cupulates have peculiar sensory characteristics. In the Consumer Test, through the Preference Mapping, all the samples of cupulates obtained from R1 conditions were preferred. In the penalty analysis, these same samples showed positive attributes that mask the negative attributes. Both CATA and QDP results showed that cupulate samples produced from seeds with a higher amount of pulp (15R1 and 15R2) had a higher number of positive mentions, for their fruity and floral flavors. The research also demonstrated that all samples gave the perception of an earthy taste, an important reason for consumer rejection, as well as a bad residual flavor. Thus, the results showed that the presence of the pulp in the fermentation environmental is important to the formation of flavor compounds and improving the sensory acceptance of the products.

Stability, sensory attributes and acceptance of panettones elaborated with Lactobacillus fermentum IAL 4541 and Wickerhamomyces anomallus IAL 4533.

This work aimed to elaborate sourdough panettones with Lactobacillus fermentum (LF) and Wickerhamomyces anomallus (WA) evaluating their microbiological stability, physical and chemical characteristics as well as the impact of these microorganisms on sensory aspects and consumer acceptance. For characterization, panettones were elaborated by long fermentation, using two selected microorganisms, LF and WA in different proportions; and control panettones were formulated using commercial yeast with and without preservative. For sensory analyses, LF, WA, LF/WA (1:1), control with calcium propionate and commercial panettones were compared. Regarding the pH values and total titratable acidity (TTA), a similar behavior was observed among panettones elaborated with the selected strains (LF, WA and mixtures). On the other hand, panettones elaborated with commercial yeast showed a higher pH and lower TTA. Until the 112nd day of storage, the water activity (aw) was similar among all panettones, but in the following analyses, it dropped in all panettones. Panettones elaborated with sourdough maintained better their softness during the storage, when compared with the controls. Regarding microbial stability, control panettones with and without preservative became moldy faster; while sourdough panettones (WA and LF/WA) remained stable throughout all the monitored storage. Sensory evaluation by CATA allowed distinguishing between sourdough and commercial yeast panettones. Desirable characteristics such as nice aroma, pleasant taste and uniform color were checked more often for LF and WA elaborated panettones, whereas yeast flavor was checked more often for the Commercial. Moreover, according to the descriptors used, panettones were grouped into 3 groups: LF/WA, LF + WA and controls. The panettones elaborated with the specific microorganisms of this study were well-accepted sensorially, proving to be very competitive with respect to control and commercial panettone. So, the use of selected microorganisms as a starter for sourdough is a promising alternative for producing panettones with good technological quality, microbiological stability, sensorially differentiate and well accepted by consumers; and, additionally, with the appeal of no added preservative.

A sensometric approach to the development of mortadella with healthier fats.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensory characteristics of mortadellas with different fat contents using Descriptive Analysis (DA) and Check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions and their relationship with overall liking (OL). Five mortadella samples were studied. Sample 1, containing 16% fat. Sample 2 was formulated with 8% fat. Samples 3 and 4 were prepared by replacing 50% fat by a pre-emulsion composed of fish, canola and olive oil. A commercial fat-reduced sample was also studied. The sensory characteristics of the samples were evaluated by DA. Besides, eighty-four consumers evaluated their OL using a 9-point scale and answered the CATA questions. Replacement or reduction of fat caused changes in the sensory characteristics of the samples. Commercial mortadella was the most liked. CATA questions along with penalty analysis and partial least squares regression (PLSR) of dummy variables on the OL helped to identify the attributes to be changed in the mortadella formulations.