Carpino a,∗, T. Rapisarda a, G. Belvedere a, G. Licitra a,b
a CoRFiLaC, Regione Siciliana, S.P. 25 km 5, 97100 Ragusa, Italy
b Dipartimento di Scienze Agronomiche, Agrochimiche e delle Produzione Animali,
Catania University, 95100 Catania, Italy
SMart Nose, the first artificial nose based on mass spectrometry, was used to investigate the differences on aroma profile of Piacentinu cheese, a traditional Sicilian cheese obtained with ewes’ milk and saffron. Local (L) or Commercial (C) saffron was added to cheeses produced by traditional (wood) (L) and plastic (P) tool (tina). At the end, four groups of cheeseswere obtained: LL, LC, PL, PC. The experimentwas replicated four times. All cheeses samples were analysed at 0 days, 2 and 4 months of ripening. Groups of samples at 0 days of ripeningwere not discriminated by SMart Nose; this is likely due to the undefined aroma profile of fresh cheeses. Cheese samples at 2 and 4 months of ripening showed a clearer separation. First data groupingwas made considering the tools used during cheese making, as being constant. The instrument enabled the differentiation between the groups LL and LC and the same result was obtained for cheese samples produced using plastic tools (PL and PC). This indicates that the different kind of saffron (Local and Commercial) influences the aroma components of the cheeses. The other data groupingwas performed considering the saffron added as constant. LC and PC, LL and PLwere analysed and their good separation indicates the important role of the tools on the aroma compounds of the Piacentinu cheese.
Keywords: Piacentinu Ennese cheese, Saffron, SMart Nose, Volatiles
Vita Maria Marino
v.marino@corfilac.it
