A low-resolution and high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance integrated approach to investigate the physical structure and metabolic profile of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana cheese

A low-resolution and high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) protocol to characterise the traditional Italian cheese Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is reported. Low-resolution relaxometry was used for the study of the state and distribution of water in different structural elements of cheese resulting from the stretching process. High-resolution NMR allowed definition of the “chemical fingerprint”, the cheese complex matrix profile of low molecular weight metabolites extracted from Mozzarella. Both low-resolution and high-resolution NMR seem to provide useful parameters that could be used for monitoring the evolution of PDO (protected destination of origin) Mozzarella di Bufala Campana cheese.