A low-resolution and high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance integrated approach to investigate the physical structure and metabolic profile of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana cheese

A low-resolution and high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) protocol to characterise the traditional Italian cheese Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is reported. Low-resolution relaxometry was used for the study of the state and distribution of water in different structural elements of cheese resulting from the stretching process. High-resolution NMR allowed definition of the "chemical fingerprint", the cheese complex matrix profile of low molecular weight metabolites extracted from Mozzarella. Both low-resolution and high-resolution NMR seem to provide useful parameters that could be used for monitoring the evolution of PDO (protected destination of origin) Mozzarella di Bufala Campana cheese. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.