Volatile fingerprint of Piacentinu cheese produced with different tools and type of saffron

SMart Nose, the first artificial nose based on mass spectrometry, was used to investigate the differences on aroma profile of Piacentinu cheese, a traditional Sicilian cheese obtained with ewes’ milk and saffron. Local (L) or Commercial (C) saffron was added to cheeses produced by traditional (wood) (L) and plastic (P) tool (tina). At the end, four groups of cheeses were obtained: LL, LC, PL, PC. The experiment was replicated four times. All cheeses samples were analysed at 0 days, 2 and 4 months of ripening. Groups of samples at 0 days of ripening were not discriminated by SMart Nose; this is likely due to the undefined aroma profile of fresh cheeses. Cheese samples at 2 and 4 months of ripening showed a clearer separation. First data grouping was made considering the tools used during cheese making, as being constant. The instrument enabled the differentiation between the groups LL and LC and the same result was obtained for cheese samples produced using plastic tools (PL and PC). This indicates that the different kind of saffron (Local and Commercial) influences the aroma components of the cheeses. The other data grouping was performed considering the saffron added as constant. LC and PC, LL and PL were analysed and their good separation indicates the important role of the tools on the aroma compounds of the Piacentinu cheese.