Liking of Traditional Cheese and Consumer Willingness to Pay

Figures & data

Figure 1. Effect of rearing system (grazing vs confinement) on sensory profile of Caciocavallo cheese (modified from Esposito et al., 2014).

Figure 2. Effect of inclusion of probiotics (C, control; BB, mix of Bifidobacterium longum and Bifidobacterium lactis; LA, Lactobacillus acidophilus) on sensory profile of Scamorza cheese (modified from Albenzio et al., 2013a).

Table 1. Number of consumers (total=104) either willing or unwilling to increase their liking and willingness to pay for yogurt in relation with product credence (animal welfare) and sensory properties (eating quality) (modified from Carlucci et al., 2009).

Consumer characteristics		Product credence and sensory properties
	HW+GEQ	HW+LEQ	LW+GEQ	LW+LEQ	Unwilling
Frequency of consumption and family income	39	0	0	0	0
Sensitivity to animal welfare	52	52	0	0	0
None	0	0	0	0	13

HW, high welfare standards; GEQ, good eating quality; LW, low welfare standards; LEQ, low eating quality.

Table 2. Descriptive attributes (odour/flavour and taste), definitions and reference frame used to evaluate Scamorza cheese (modified from Albenzio et al., 2013a).

Descriptor	Odour/flavour				Taste
	Milk	Butter	Acid	Sweet	Bitter	Salty	Seasoned
Definition	Odour/flavour arising from milk at room temperature	Odour/flavour arising from butter at room temperature	Fundamental taste associated with citric acid	Fundamental taste associated with sucrose	Fundamental taste associated with quinine	Fundamental taste associated with sodium chloride	Taste associated with the degree of seasoning
LIRS	120 g Fontina cheese cut in blocks of about 1 cm^2 cross-sectional area	120 g melded Ricotta cheese	8 mL of stock solution^°/100 mL solution	8 mL of stock solution^3/100 mL solution	4 mL of stock solution^4/100 mL solution	1.5 mL of stock solution^5/100 mL solution	20 g Ricotta cheese
MIRS	-	20 g butter mixed with 100 g Ricotta cheese	-	-	-	20 g Asiago cheese
HIRS	120 g Mozzarella cheese cut in blocks of about 1 cm^2 cross-sectional area	80 g butter mixed with 40 g Ricotta cheese	16 mL of stock solution^°/100 mL	20 mL of stock solution^#/100 mL	8 mL of stock solution^§100 mL	3 mL of stock solution^∧/100 mL	20 g Parmesan cheese seasoned 36 months

LIRS, low intensity reference standard; MIRS, medium intensity reference standard; HIRS, high intensity reference standard.

°2.5 g of citric acid/250 mL solution

#50 g of sucrose/250 mL solution

^§1.25 g of quinine/250 mL solution

∧25 g of sodium chloride/250 mL solution.

Table 3. Descriptive attributes (texture and appearance), definitions and reference frame used to evaluate Scamorza cheese (modified from Albenzio et al., 2013a).

Descriptor			Texture					Appearance
	Tenderness	Creaminess	Grainy	Adhesivity	Moisture	Friability	Colour uniformity	Structure uniformity	Yellowness
Definition	Minimum force required to chew cheese sample	Formation of a creamy bulk	Perception of course during mastication	Force required to remove the mouth coating layer of cheese	Moisture released by the product in the mouth during early mastication	Extent to which cheese fragments are perceived during mastication	Overall uniformity in colour: shades reduces uniformity	Overall uniformity in structure: fissures and holes reduce uniformity	Overall intensity of yellow colour
LIRS	30 g Parmesan cheese seasoned 36 months	30 g Parmesan cheese seasoned 36 months	30 g Asiago cheese	30 g Mozzarella cheese	30 g Parmesan cheese seasoned 36 months	30 g Taleggio cheese	30 g Caciocavallo cheese seasoned 6 months	30 g Asiago cheese	30 g Asiago cheese
MIRS	30 g Emmental cheese	30 g Fontina cheese	30 g Emmental cheese	30 g Fontina cheese	30 g Asiago cheese	30 g Emmental cheese	-	-	30 g Fontina cheese
HIRS	30 g Mozzarella cheese	30 g Taleggio cheese	30 g Parmesan cheese seasoned 36 months	30 g Taleggio cheese	30 g Ricotta cheese	30 g Caciocavallo cheese seasoned 6 months	30 g Fontina cheese	30 g Fontina cheese	30 g Caciocavallo cheese seasoned 6 months

LIRS, low intensity reference standard; MIRS, medium intensity reference standard; HIRS, high intensity reference standard.

EspositoG. MasucciF. NapolitanoF. BraghieriA. RomanoR. ManzoN. Di Francia A., 2014. Fatty acid and sensory profiles of Caciocavallo cheese as affected by rearing system. J. Dairy Sci. (In press).

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AlbenzioM. SantilloA. CaropreseM. BraghieriA. SeviA. NapolitanoF., 2013a. Composition and sensory profiling of probiotic Scamorza ewe milk cheese. J. Dairy Sci. 96 :2792-2800.

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CarlucciA. MonteleoneE. BraghieriA. NapolitanoF., 2009. Mapping the effect of information about animal welfare on consumer liking and willingness to pay for yogurt. J. Sens. Stud. 24 :712-730.

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