Relationships between sensory and rheological measurements of texture in maturing commercial cheddar cheese over a range of moisture and pH at the point of manufacture

Textural characteristics of 10 Cheddar cheeses with a range of moisture contents and pH values were investigated by sensory and instrumental methods, over a 9-month maturing period. A trained panel of nine assessors described the sensory texture characteristics of the cheeses using 11 texture parameters. Instrumental parameters were derived using texture profile analysis. Relationships between sensory, instrumental, compositional and maturation properties of the cheeses were determined with the aid of principal component analysis and multiple linear regression. Nine sensory parameters significantly correlated with instrumental parameters, e.g., sensory rubbery correlated with instrumental firmness (R = 0.696, P < 0.001), chewiness (R = 0.679, P < 0.001), fracture stress (R = 0.669, P < 0.001) and springiness (R = 0.643, P < 0.001). Sensory firmness corresponded closely with instrumental firmness (R = 0.539, P < 0.001) and fracture stress (R = 0.518, P < 0.001). Sensory and instrumental texture parameters were significantly affected by changes in moisture content, pH and maturation.