Exploration of milk flavor: From the perspective of raw milk, pasteurized milk, and UHT milk

Lixiang Lan ¹, Weizhe Wang ¹, Yufang Su ^2,3

⁰Key Laboratory of Geriatric Nutrition and Health (Beijing Technology and Business University), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100048, PR China.

Food Chemistry: X +

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January 13, 2025

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Higher pasture grades improve raw milk flavor. Pasteurization reduces off-flavors, but ultra-high temperature sterilization increases undesirable ketones from fat oxidation.

Area Of Science

Food Science
Dairy Technology
Analytical Chemistry

Background

Milk flavor is influenced by various factors, including animal diet and processing methods.
Understanding the chemical basis of milk flavor is crucial for quality control and product development.

Purpose Of The Study

To investigate the impact of pasture quality and heat treatments on raw milk flavor profiles.
To identify key flavor compounds affected by different processing methods.

Main Methods

Raw milk samples were collected from pastures of varying grades.
Milk was processed using pasteurization, blending, and ultra-high temperature sterilization (UHT).
Flavor analysis was performed using an electronic-nose (E-nose) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).

Main Results

Higher pasture grades correlated with improved milk flavor quality.
Pasteurization effectively reduced undesirable oxidized fat flavors like hexanal.
UHT sterilization significantly increased ketone production (e.g., 2-heptanone), contributing to off-flavors.

Conclusions

Pasture quality is a significant determinant of raw milk flavor.
Heat treatment profoundly alters milk flavor; pasteurization offers benefits, while UHT can induce undesirable changes.

Keywords:

Flavor GC–MS Milk Pasture Volatile components