Development of a descriptive language for Cheddar cheese

A standardized descriptive language for Cheddar cheese flavor was developed and validated. Representative Cheddar cheeses (240) were collected. Fifteen individuals from industry, academia, and government participated in a 3-d roundtable discussion to generate descriptive flavor terms. A highly trained descriptive panel (n = 11) refined the terms and identified references. Cheddar cheeses (24) were presented to the panel for validation with the identified lexicon. The panel differentiated the 24 Cheddar cheeses as determined by univariate and multivariate analysis of variance (P < 0.05). Twenty-seven terms were identified to describe Cheddar flavor. Seventeen descriptive terms were present in most Cheddar cheeses. A standard sensory language for Cheddar cheese will facilitate training and communication between different research groups.