RESUMO
Levels of volatile compounds in Van herby cheeses manufactured from raw and pasteurized; 100 % ewes', 50 % ewes'+50 % cows' and mixture of 50 % ewes'+25 % cows'+25 % goats' milks were investigated over 180 days of ripening at 4 °C. The volatile compounds levels of herby cheese samples increased throughout the 180 days storage period. Samples produced from pasteurized milk showed lower volatile contents than their counterparts produced from raw milk. The volatile compounds profile of herby cheese samples detected by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) consisted of 8 esters, 5 ketones, 5 aldehydes, 9 acids, 6 alcohols and 14 hydrocarbons and terpenes. Acetic acid was the most abundant volatile compound in HS-SPME of ripened cheeses, followed by hexanoic, octanoic and butanoic acids.
