Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
14
Flavours and Off-Flavours in Milk
and Dairy Products
K.R. Cadwallader and T.K. Singh
14.1.
Introduction
Milk and milk products are an important part of daily nutrition in many regions
of the world. Besides fulfilling nutritional requirements, the flavour of milk and
milk products is a key parameter for consumer acceptance and marketing
(Drake et al., 2007a). The market for dairy products in more traditional dairying
countries has been growing steadily; most of this growth can be attributed
directly to the introduction of novel product options and increasing application
of milk constituents in other food formulations. Due to the importance of dairy
products in daily life, especially for consumers in traditional dairying countries,
they are being used increasingly as delivery systems for biologically active/
nutraceutical preparations. Even higher growth in the consumption of milk
and milk products is now coming from countries which did not have any
tradition of dairying; such countries offer tremendous opportunity for further
enhanced sales. At the same time this increased consumption also challenges
researchers and manufacturers to create new product solutions to better suit the
palette of consumers recently introduced to dairy products.
During the last two decades, considerable progress has been made
towards understanding the flavour chemistry/biochemistry of dairy products,
but defining fresh dairy or dairy flavour continues to challenge researchers
working in sensory/flavour area. Fresh milk (raw or pasteurized) of overall
