Volatile organic compounds of a Swiss cheese slurry system with and without added reduced glutathione, compared with commercial Swiss cheese

The volatile organic compound (VOC) profile of a Swiss cheese curd slurry system, with and without addition of reduced glutathione (GSH), was investigated on a daily basis for six days of incubation at 30 °C. The VOC profiles of commercial Swiss cheese samples from different stages during manufacture (after press, end of pre-cool, end of warm room and at cut) were also measured. Using the volatiles produced, the time scale of the slurry was matched to that of conventional ripening to determine which day of accelerated ripening corresponded to each stage of commercial ripening. The profiles of most of the VOCs in the slurry system with GSH more closely matched the profiles at the different stages of Swiss cheese ripening than the slurry system without GSH. Moreover, the headspace concentrations of volatiles that are considered to produce off-flavors were significantly decreased in the Swiss cheese slurry system with GSH.