Comparison of volatile compounds produced in model cheese medium deacidified by Debaryomyces hansenii or Kluyveromyces marxianus

The aroma of a deacidified cheese medium is the result of the overall perception of a large number of molecules belonging to different classes. The volatile compound composition of (60%) cheese medium (pH 5.8) deacidified by Debaryomyces hansenii (DCMDh) was compared with the one deacidified by Kluyveromyces marxianus (DCMKm). It was determined by dynamic headspace extraction, followed by gas chromatography separation and quantification as well as by mass spectrometry identification. Whatever the media tested, a first class of volatile compounds can be represented by the ones not produced by any of the yeasts, but some of them are affected by K. marxianus or by D. hansenii. A second class of volatile compounds can be represented by the ones produced by K. marxianus, which were essentially esters. Their concentrations were generally higher than their thresholds, explaining the DCMKm global fruity odor. A third class can be represented by the ones generated by D. hansenii, which were essentially methyl ketones with fruity, floral (rose), moldy, cheesy, or wine odor plus 2-phenylethanol with a faded-rose odor. The impact of methyl ketones on the DCMDh global flavor was lower than the impact of 2-phenylethanol and even negligible. Therefore, the global faded-rose odor of D. hansenii DCM can be explained by a high concentration of 2-phenylethanol.