Sensory comparison of several cheese varieties manufactured from different milk sources

The objectives of the present study were (1) to identify specific sensory patterns for several cheese varieties, paying special attention to ewe's milk cheeses, (2) to describe nonewe's milk cheeses (goat cow, milk mixture) relationships within the considered ewe's milk cheese sensory space and (3) to evaluate if a lexicon specifically suited for ewe's milk cheeses' description was useful for other sources of milk cheeses' sensory assessment. A lexicon specifically adapted for ewe's milk cheese sensory description was employed. Results from Linear Discriminant Analysis showed that ewe's milk cheese varieties have unique sensory characteristics that are very different from each other Cow milk variety was the closest to one of the ewe's milk cheese category; however, a deeper analysis showed both products had very specific sensory properties. The ewe's milk cheese descriptive lexicon is adequate to discriminate among nonovine varieties. However, updates may be necessary for a complete sensory characterization.