Monitoring cheese ripening by single-sided nuclear magnetic resonance

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Noninvasive monitoring of food processing is crucial for the dairy industry.
• Understanding cheese ripening requires detailed analysis of structural and chemical changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility of single-sided nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) for noninvasive, longitudinal monitoring of cheese ripening.
• To analyze structural changes in cheese during maturation using NMR relaxation and diffusion measurements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized single-sided NMR to measure 1D and 2D relaxation (T1, T2) and diffusion (D) data.
• Monitored soft-ripened Camembert-like cheese samples over 20 days at various depths.
• Employed T1-T2 and D-T2 correlation experiments for enhanced phase resolution and fat globule analysis.

Main Results:

• Observed gelation and gel shrinkage, with water signal loss at the cheese rind.
• Identified three evolving T2 relaxation components related to water in the casein network, trapped water, and fat.
• Quantified phase proportions and revealed bimodal fat globule size distribution.

Conclusions:

• Single-sided NMR provides spatially resolved parameters reflecting cheese structural changes during ripening.
• This technique offers a valuable tool for understanding and monitoring cheese maturation processes.
• The findings are applicable to quality control and product development in the dairy industry.