Description:
<jats:p>The physicochemical, microbiological, textural and sensory characteristics of Mexican Añejo cheese were studied, as well as the composition of the raw milk used for its production. Differences in cheese (moisture, fat, NaCl, titratable acidity, pH, free volatile fatty acids, total viable count and total coliform count, texture and colour) and process milk were observed. A lexicon of 20 descriptors was generated by a 13 member trained panel using descriptive sensory analysis. Global acceptability was assessed by consumers (<jats:italic>n </jats:italic>= 60) using a nine point hedonic scale. Analysis of variance, internal preference mapping and PLS1 showed a greater acceptability for cheese with higher scores for buttery, crumbly and moisture. However, the least preferred cheese presented greater scores for the attributes: global taste duration, fishy, feet aroma, propionic acid, bitter, astringent and pungent.</jats:p>