Colour Changes During Ripening of High Pressure Treated Hard Caprine Cheese

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment of cheese intended to accelerate ripening. Along with increased proteolysis, some other parameters were affected, colour being one of them. Right after HHP and at the end of ripening time, Hunterlab colour parameters were very similar in both control and cheese treated at 400 MPa, but during ripening they evolved in a different way. HHP-treated cheese had lower lightness and higher chroma values than control cheese and both characteristics were unexpectedly associated to higher moisture values. Those differences are attributed to changes in cheese microstructure.     

Common components and specific weights analysis: a tool for monitoring the molecular structure of semi-hard cheese throughout ripening

Twelve semi-hard (Raclette) cheeses, belonging to four brand products, namely A (n = 3), B (n = 3), C (n = 3) and D (n = 3), were produced during summer period and ripened at an industrial scale. Tryptophan, riboflavin and vitamin A fluorescence spectra were scanned on the 12 cheeses at 2, 30 and 60 days of ripening. The physico-chemical analyses were performed only at the end of the ripening stage (60 days). Common components and specific weights analysis (CCSWA) were applied on the four data tables. CCSWA showed that the common component 1 (q₁), discriminating cheeses labelled A, B and C from those labelled D, expressed 94.4 and 59% of the inertia of vitamin A and tryptophan fluorescence spectra and a less amount for riboflavin fluorescence spectra and physico-chemical data (24.2 and 13.2%, respectively). Common component 3 (q₃), differentiating between cheeses labelled B and those labelled A and C, explained 34.6 and 23.9% of the inertia of the physico-chemical data and tryptophan fluorescence spectra, respectively, and a tiny part of the inertia of riboflavin and vitamin A fluorescence spectra (3.2 and 0.7%, respectively). The CCSWA showed its ability to describe the overall information collected from fluorescence and physico-chemical data tables and to extract relevant information at the molecular level throughout ripening of the investigated semi-hard cheeses.     

Ripening with noise

The process of ripening has been considered taking into account the noise from different sources, namely the scatter of compositions (supersaturation Δ) in the vicinity of precipitates and scatter of the Gibbs–Thompson term α. The evolution of the particle size distribution (PSD) has been investigated using parameters that characterize the width, sharpness and slope of the peak. Accounting for noise in our model produces a PSD that is closer to the experimental data compared with LSW theory.     

Coarsening in Sintering: Grain Shape Distribution,Grain Size Distribution,and Grain Growth Kinetics in Solid-Pore Systems

Sintering occurs when packed particles are heated to a temperature where there is sufficient atomic motion to grow bonds between the particles. The conditions that induce sintering depend on the material, its melting temperature, particle size, and a host of processing variables. It is common for sintering to produce a dimensional change, typically shrinkage, where the powder compact densifies, leading to significant strengthening. Microstructure coarsening is inherent to sintering, most evident as grain growth, but it is common for pore growth to occur as density increases. During coarsening, the grain structure converges to a self-similar character seen in both the grain shape distribution and grain size distribution. Coarsening behavior during sintering conforms to classic grain growth kinetics, modified to reflect the evolving microstructure. These modifications involve the grain boundary coverage due to pores, liquid films, or second phases and the altered grain boundary mobility due to these phases. The mass transport rates associated with each of these interfaces are different, with different temperature and composition dependencies. Hence, the coarsening rate during sintering is not constant, but changes with the evolving microstructure. Core aspects treated in this review include models for coarsening, grain shape, grain size distribution, and how pores, liquids, dispersoids, and other phases determine microstructure coarsening during sintering.     

Quantification approach for assessment of sparkling wine volatiles from different soils, ripening stages, and varieties by stir bar sorptive extraction with liquid desorption

Stir bar sorptive extraction with liquid desorption followed by large volume injection coupled to gas chromatography-quadrupole mass spectrometry (SBSE-LD/LVI-GC-qMS) was applied for the quantification of varietal and fermentative volatiles in sparkling wines. The analytical data were performed by using suitable standards of monoterpene hydrocarbons (α-pinene), monoterpenols (linalool), sesquiterpenoids (E,E-farnesol, Z-nerolidol, and guaiazulene), C₁₃ norisoprenoids (β-ionone), aliphatic and aromatic alcohols (hexanol and 2-phenylethanol), and esters (hexyl acetate and ethyl decanoate) as model compounds. The wine volatiles were quantified using the structurally related standards. The methodology showed good linearity over the concentration range tested, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.950 to 0.997, and a reproducibility of 9-18%. The SBSE-LD/LVI-GC-qMS methodology allowed, in a single run, the quantification of 71 wine volatiles that can be quantified accurately at levels lower than their respective olfactory thresholds. This methodology was used for assessment of sparkling wine volatiles from different soils, ripening stages, and varieties. The variety and soil influenced significantly the volatile composition of sparkling wines; lower effect was observed for the ripening stage of grapes picked up one week before or after the maturity state.     

Investigation of the effect of varying growth pauses on the structural and optical properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dot heterostructures

Effect of growth pause or ripening time on structural and optical properties of self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dot (QD) heterostructures grown by solid state molecular beam epitaxy (MBE ) technique with two different growth rates of InAs (0.032 MLs⁻¹ and 0.197 MLs⁻¹) has been investigated. The QD heterostructures were grown at 520 ^°C with InAs monolayer coverage of 2.7 ML. The results were explained on the basis of high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscope (HAADF-STEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Introduction of growth pause leads the QD system towards a thermodynamic equilibrium state which in turn makes interesting changes on the morphology of the samples. Coagulation of some smaller dots occurs because of ripening to produce evolved QDs and the dot density reduces with growth pause.     

Stable PZT sol for preparing reproducible high-permittivity perovskite-based thin films

Results are reported on the development of high-K dielectric material using sol-gel chemistry. High permittivity thin film capacitor have been developed based on lead-zirconate-titanate (PbZr _x Ti_1−x O₃, PZT) ferroelectric ceramic layers deposited on to 6″ platinized silicon wafer using the spin-coating technique. Selecting a diol-based solvent as diluting medium, a PZT solution with remarkable shelf life up to 1 year has been prepared. To synthesize such a reproducible and time-stable solution, a ripening step before dilution has been introduced. The deposition process has been also optimized to reduce the required number of coatings and to avoid intermediate high-temperature annealing. By carefully controlling environmental parameters, the as-developed PZT solution leads to reproducible high-performance thin film capacitor, enabling an industrial use. Thus, 200-nm thick PZT layers with permittivity as high as 900, capacitance as high as 40 nF/mm2 and breakdown voltage up to 30 V have been obtained.     

FTIR analysis of protein secondary structure in cheddar cheese during ripening

Proteolysis is one of the most important biochemical reactions during cheese ripening. Studies on the secondary structure of proteins during ripening would be helpful for characterizing protein changes for assessing cheese quality. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), with self-deconvolution, second derivative analysis and band curve-fitting, was used to characterize the secondary structure of proteins in Cheddar cheese during ripening. The spectra of the amide I region showed great similarity, while the relative contents of the secondary structures underwent a series of changes. As ripening progressed, the alpha-helix content decreased and the beta-sheet content increased. This structural shift was attributed to the strengthening of hydrogen bonds that resulted from hydrolysis of caseins. In summary, FTIR could provide the basis for rapid characterization of cheese that is undergoing ripening.     

Front face fluorescence spectroscopy and visible spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics have the potential to characterise ripening of Cabernet Franc grapes

The potential of front-face spectroscopy for grape ripening dates discrimination was investigated on Cabernet Franc grapes from three parcels located on the Loire Valley and for six ripening dates. The 18 batches were analysed by front-face fluorescence spectroscopy and visible spectroscopy. The excitation spectra (250-310 nm, emission wavelength = 350 nm) were characterised by a shoulder at 280 nm. Grapes spectra were classified by factorial discriminant analysis (FDA). Ripening dates were well predicted by fluorescence spectra: grapes before veraison were separated from grapes after veraison and almost every ripening date was identified. The common spectroscopic space obtained by CCSWA showed that wavelengths corresponding to anthocyanin absorption in the visible were correlated to fluorescence wavelengths around the starting and ending points of the shoulder (263 and at 292 nm). Then, regression models were investigated to predict total soluble solids (TSS), total acidity, malvidin-3G, total anthocyanins and total phenolics content from visible and fluorescence spectra. To predict technological indicators (TSS and total acidity), the PLS model with visible spectra (RMSECV = 0.82°Brix or 0.96 g L⁻¹ H₂SO₄) was better than those with fluorescence one (RMSECV = 1.39°Brix or 2.06 g L⁻¹ H₂SO₄). For malvidin-3G and total anthocyanins, all and were superior to 0.90 and RMSECV were low. Visible and fluorescence spectroscopies succeeded in predicting anthocyanin content. Concerning total phenolic, the best prediction was provided by fluorescence spectroscopy.     

Decrease of free amino acids in high-pressure treated cheese

Abstract

High-pressure treatment of cheese has been studied with a view to preserving fresh cheese [1], and also of developing a method of accelerating its ripening [2-7]. While these objectives can be reached, other changes also occur in cheese when high pressure is applied. One of those changes is the decrease of free amino acids (FAA) in cheese treated in pressures over 200-300MPa. In this paper we will try to summarize the results obtained by different research groups, as well as our own. These results have been published separately, but not previously tied together and explained.