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• Monascus fumeus x08 can be used as adjunct starter to make Monascus -ripened cheese. • Monascus fumeus x08 could promote the extent and depth of proteolysis significantly. • The lipolysis in Monascus -ripened cheese was moderate. • Monacolin K and GABA levels were increased and enrich Monascus -ripened cheese functionality. Monascus spp. are fungi that have been applied in food production for centuries and produce a range of bioactive metabolites. The objective of this study was to investigate the characteristics of proteolysis, lipolysis, textural and sensory properties of internal mold-ripened cheese ripened by Monascus fumeus x08. The contents of pH 4.6-soluble nitrogen, 12% trichloroacetic acid-soluble nitrogen and 5% phosphotungstic acid-soluble nitrogen changed significantly during the ripening of the Monascus -ripened cheese. The peptides in the Monascus -ripened cheese were evaluated by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. During ripening, many low-molecular-weight peptides (MW < 14400) were found to increase significantly and the ratio of hydrophobic to hydrophilic peptides decreased to 0.81 and 0.34 in the Red-O (outer) and Red-I (interior) parts of the cheese, respectively. The content of total free fatty acids (15 acids, C4:0–C18:3) was significantly increased and the content of unsaturated fatty acids reached 47.89 mg/g fat on day 42 of ripening. The sensory attributes of the Monascus -ripened cheese was assessed using quantitative descriptive analysis. Compared with blue cheese, purchased from a local market, the odor and taste intensity of the Monascus -ripened cheese were significantly lower, while the color intensity and overall receptivity were significantly higher. M. fumeus x08 can be used as a secondary starter to make Monascus -ripened cheese and may be particularly acceptable to consumers in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging is an essential operation to perfect the flavor quality of Hungjiu. In this study, formation mechanism of flavor compounds responsible for the characteristic flavor of aged Huangjiu was investigated. The contents of umami and bitter free amino acids (FAA) increased with the storage period prolonged, while that of sweet FAA showed downward trend. Gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry and principal component analysis indicated that the volatile flavor compounds with OAV exceed 1, especially middle-chain fatty-acid-ethyl-esters and aromatic compounds, dominated the characteristic flavor of aged Huangjiu. Low field-NMR was firstly applied to characterize the molecular association between water and dissolved flavor compounds in aged Huangjiu. The results showed that basic amino acids contributed greatly to the flavor formation of aged Huangjiu via molecular association. In addition, the molecular association significantly promoted the accumulation of flavor compounds with OAV > 1, especially ethyl esters., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)