Ripening and geographical characterization of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese by (1)H NMR spectroscopy

Samples of Italian Parmigiano Reggiano cheese of different ripening stages (14, 24 and 30 months) were analyzed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and the water-soluble metabolites content compared with samples of "Grana type" cheese from east Europe countries. Different multivariate statistical protocols were examined to build up a stable model for both ripening and geographical discrimination among the samples. The discriminant approach revealed a larger metabolite content increasing with ripening process; in particular younger samples were characterized by a higher content in leucine and isoleucine, while 30 months samples by a larger extent of threonine.