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Scent of a mite: origin and chemical characterization of the lemon-like flavor of mite-ripened cheeses

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Abstract

Cheese infested with cheese mites is usually treated as unpalatable. Nevertheless, some traditional cheese manufactories in Germany and France intentionally use mites for fermentation of special varieties (i.e. Milbenkäse and Mimolette). While their production includes different mite species, both are characterized by a “lemon-like” flavor. However, the chemical nature and origin of this flavor-component is unknown. The cheese mites possess a pair of opisthosomal glands producing blends of hydrocarbons, terpenes and aromatics. Here, we describe the chemical profiles of the astigmatid mite species Tyrolichus casei (Milbenkäse) and Acarus siro (Mimolette). Although the chemical profiles differ in several aspects, both mite species produce neral (a volatile flavor component of lemon oil), which was absent from the headspace of both cheeses without mites. We conclude that the lemon-like flavor of mite cheese is not a consequence of fermentation of the cheese itself but a component from secretions of the cheese mites.

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Acknowledgments

We want to thank Sebastian Schmelzle for sharing his Milbenkäse with us. The first auhtor was supported by the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes).

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  1. Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Darmstadt University of Technology, Schnittspahnstraße 3, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany

    Adrian Brückner & Michael Heethoff

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  1. Adrian Brückner
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  2. Michael Heethoff
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Correspondence to Michael Heethoff.

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Brückner, A., Heethoff, M. Scent of a mite: origin and chemical characterization of the lemon-like flavor of mite-ripened cheeses. Exp Appl Acarol 69, 249–261 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-016-0040-7

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