In the past, the stability of milk and milk products was the primary consideration, but this is no longer the principal objective due to the evolution of modern sanitary practices as well as pasteurization. Today, the manufacture of dairy products of consistently good flavor and texture is crucial. In previous flavor studies, researchers identified hundreds of volatile compounds, with little or no attention paid to their sensory contribution to overall flavor of dairy products. The availability of powerful chromatographic separation techniques like high resolution gas chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry and olfactory detection ports have revolutionized the work on characterization of dairy flavor. This along with recent developments in sensory methods and our increased knowledge about the genomics of diary culture organisms have allowed great advancements in our understanding of dairy flavor chemistry. Flavor of Dairy Products covers the evolution of dairy flavor research and presents updated information in the areas of instrumental analysis, biochemistry, processing and shelf-life issues related to the flavor of dairy products.
