Caratterizzazione del formaggio Pecorino Siciliano attraverso l’area di produzione

Pecorino Siciliano is a PDO ewes’ row milk cheese produced in Sicily. The aim of this study was to investigate aroma profile differences for traditional Pecorino Siciliano cheese produced in different Sicilian areas and to identify the “cru areas”. Seven Sicilian areas were selected geographically: Iblean (A), Etnea (B), Southern-center (C), Northern-center (D), Western (E), Western-center (F), Peloritana (G). Two, four and eight months ripened cheeses, obtained from 21 farms (3 for each area), were analyzed by a MS-based Electronic Nose (SMartNose). Principal Components Analysis (PCA) showed more marked differences in volatile compounds among cheese samples respectively at 2 - 4- 8 months of ripening, as expected. This differences might be due to the more advanced lipolytic and proteolytic processes releasing the aroma compounds that characterize the cheese. Eight months cheeses showed the best separation (PC1 60%; PC2 22%) than the other samples. Comparing two areas, each time, all the areas showed a good separation. except for Iblean area (A) versus Southern-center area (C) and Iblean area (A) versus Northern-center (D). In addition, the discriminant function analysis (DFA) was performed on the five identified areas by PCA, confirming the same results. In conclusion, the SMart Nose system confirmed the presence of five Pecorino Siciliano “areas cru” of production. Electronic Nose technology is simple and fast to use and represents a very useful tool in discriminating the geographic origin of a product.