Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Dairy and Functional Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #294619

Title: The character of Queso and health-related compounds found in milk

Author
item Van Hekken, Diane
item Tunick, Michael
item Paul, Moushumi

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/16/2013
Publication Date: 6/10/2013
Citation: Van Hekken, D.L., Tunick, M.H., Paul, M. 2013. The character of Queso and health-related compounds found in milk. In: Proceedings of the First US Korea Symposium on Food and Agricultural Engineering. p. 19.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Research conducted by the Milk & Cheese group focuses on understanding the factors that influence the quality traits of cheese and health-value of milk. Our research to understand and enhance the character traits and processing nuances of the Hispanic-style cheese, Queso Chihuahua (QC), involved the evaluation of multiple samples of Mexican QC manufactured from raw milk (RM) or pasteurized milk (PM) and slight differences in cheesemaking protocols. Results showed that although composition and meltability tended to be tightly clustered among the brands, there were seasonal trends in the composition and rheology of RM QC. Differences in aroma and flavor between the RM and PM cheeses were contributed to the differences in microflora and resulted in the development of a starter culture blend specific for QC made from pasteurized milk. Our research to understand the factors that influence the health-value of milk involved examining the seasonality of naturally occurring biologically active compounds (BACs) in milk from different production systems. Comparison of milk from adjacent conventional and transitioning-to-organic dairy herds showed that although overall milk compositions were similar, there were differences in the milk volatile compound profiles between the two farms and seasonal trends in the fatty acids (FAs) profiles. Understanding the factors that influence the health-value and quality of dairy foods can lead to ways to improve the products and meet the demands of health-conscious consumers.