Cholesterol content and fatty acid composition of most consumed turkish hard and soft cheeses

Abstract

Cholesterol content and fatty acid composition of 29 different most popular hard (Tulum, Teneke Tulum, aged Kashar, and fresh Kashar cheeses) and soft cheese (White Pickled cheeses) samples from the markets of Izmir in Turkey were determined by gas chromatography. Cholesterol content of hard and soft cheeses ranged from 46.47 to 138.99 mg/100 g fat. Relative to the mean cholesterol values, the highest cholesterol content was found in fresh Kashar cheese. The fatty acid composition is quite similar in all samples. As concerns the saturated fatty acids, the most abundant in the cheeses investigated were palmitic (C16:0), stearic (C18:0), and myristic acids (C14:0). Palmitic acid levels were found to be the highest of the saturated fatty acid in all samples. Oleic acid content (5.93-29.38 mg/100 g fatty acids) in all cheeses was considerable higher than those of other unsaturated fatty acids. No specific trend or correlation between cholesterol and individual fatty acids was observed.