摘要：The volatile compounds of several semi-hard goat's milk cheeses from different regions of Spain were isolated by Steam Distillation Extraction (SDE) and analysed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Gas Chromatography-Sniffing. About 50 volatile compounds were identified from GC-MS analysis. Of these, the compounds contributing most to cheese aroma were short-chain fatty acids, especially 3-methylbutanoic acid (sweat, acid, rancid), a large number of ketones (dairy, cooked), some lactones including $\delta$-decalactone (fruity), ethyl esters of hexanoic and dodecanoic acid (fruity), some benzene compounds including phenylacetaldehyde (dry fruit) and also 1-hexanol (green). Principal Component Analysis of the volatile compounds distinguished four cheeses from the rest in terms of their different content in some volatile compounds, i.e., 2-phenylethanol, decanoic acid ethyl ester, 2-pentadecanone, octanoic acid, tetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, 2-heptanone, 2-nonanone and 2-heptanol. A good correlation between some sensory attributes and specific volatile compounds was observed, e.g., medium-chain fatty acids (octanoic, decanoic and tetradecanoic acids) correlated positively ($P<0.05$) with animal odour.
