Volatile compounds in cheeses made from raw ewes milk ripened with a lactic culture

In some European regions ewesʹ milk is transformed into cheese without a previous heat treatment. The microbiota and the native enzymes present in raw milk are considered to be responsible for the characteristic strong flavour of raw ewesʹ milk cheeses (Nunez et al. 1989). Although pasteurization ensures a higher uniformity of the product, heat treatment of ewesʹ milk may impair the sensory characteristics of cheeses (Gaya et al. 1990).