LAUSR

In this work we used the canonical biplot (CB) method to discriminate between cow’s ewe’s and goat’s cheese through their content of unsaturated fatty acids. The variables employed for this discrimination were as follows: unsaturated fatty acids C14:1; C16:1; C17:1; C18:1; C18:1 cis; C18:1 trans, C18:2, ΣC18:1 and Σunsaturated. We used pure cheeses or mixed cheeses whose minimum content of the main milk was 75%, the rest being present at 25%. Nine groups or populations of cheeses were defined, comprising pure cow’s (C100), ewe’s, (S100) and goat’s (G100) milk cheeses and mixtures of 75% cow’s milk plus 25% ewe’s (C75S), mixtures of 75% cow’s milk with 25% goat’s milk (C75G), mixtures of 75% ewe’s milk plus 25% cow’s milk (S75C), mixtures of 75% ewe’s milk and 25% goat’s milk (S75G), mixtures of 75% goat’s milk and 25% ewe’s milk (G75S), and mixtures of 75% goat’s milk and 25% cow’s milk (G75C). All cheeses were allowed to ripen for a period of six months. The canonical biplot method permitted the discrimination of the 9 groups of cheeses.