Fatty acid profile of artisanal hard cheeses made from raw goat milk during the ripening process

Abstract

Hard cheeses are an important source of nutrients and biologically active substances, particularly fatty acids, in the human diet. Among the most valuable and attractive hard cheeses to consumers are those produced on small-scale farms from raw goat milk. The unique microbiome of raw goat milk creates distinctive taste and aroma characteristics of the cheeses and significantly influences the fatty acid composition and quality of milk fat. The determination of the fatty acid composition of Caciotta and Canestrato hard cheeses made from raw goat milk during the ripening period of 24 and 12 months, respectively, was conducted four times using gas chromatography. The primary saturated fatty acids in Caciotta and Canestrato cheeses are palmitic, stearic, capric, and myristic acids, comprising over 55% of the total fatty acid content. Among the unsaturated fatty acids in Caciotta and Canestrato cheeses, the sum of oleic and linoleic acids exceeds 25% of the total fatty acids. There were no significant trends in the dynamics of short-chain, medium-chain, and long-chain fatty acid content in Caciotta and Canestrato cheeses during the ripening period. In both cheeses, the main ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid is linolenic acid, and the main ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acid is linoleic acid. Their ratio in the cheeses fluctuated within the range of 2.8:1–4.6:1 throughout the ripening period. The accumulation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in Caciotta cheese increased during its ripening period, accompanied by a decrease in the delta-9 desaturase index (C14). In Canestrato cheese, the delta-9 desaturase index (C14) shows a direct correlation with its age. During the ripening period, the atherogenic index of Canestrato cheese fat decreased, while the hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic acid ratio increased, whereas this pattern was not observed in Caciotta cheese. The research results can be used as criteria for selecting healthy nutrition, assessing the naturalness, and authenticity of artisanal hard cheeses made from goat milk.