High pressure treatments have been applied for improving
goat milk and goat cheese quality, and enhancing nutrient, flavour and colour retention.
Some researchers have focused their studies on the volatile fraction, studying the influence of high pressure treatments on volatile compounds.
Delgado et al. (2011) studied the effect of high pressure treatment on the volatile profile of a mature raw goat milk cheese with paprika in the rind, finding that high pressure treatments applied to cheeses with 30 and 50 days of ripening did not produce new volatile compounds,
so that the application of these treatments could be interesting for increasing food safety without modifying cheese’s aroma.
Saldo et al. (2003) applied high pressure treatments of lower intensity (400 MPa) in a goat cheese made from pasteurized goat milk, observing slight differences in the volatile profile of the cheese. Other authors have studied the influence of high pressure treatments on the fatty acid profile, textural, microstructural and colour characteristics of goat milk and the derived cheeses.
For example, Rodríguez-Alcalá et al. (2009) analysed the effect of high pressure homogenization on goat milk, finding that the extracted fat content in milk decreased as pressure
increased, although the fatty acid composition remained constant. Those authors concluded that high pressure treatments are an appropriate tool for the pasteurization of goat milk since they involve minimal changes in fatty acids and the CLA isomers. Buffa et al. (2001) stated that the use of pressure-treated goat milk improved the elasticity of cheeses, providing a more regular and closed cheese protein matrix, with better colour characteristics.
However,Trujillo et al. (2002) found that high pressure treatments of goat milk affected the primary and secondary proteolysis of the resulting cheeses.