Free fatty acids (FFAs) and esters derived from FFAs are important flavour compounds in cheese. Evidence is provided that esterases of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) catalyse not only hydrolysis of milk fat glycerides to release FFAs, but also synthesis of esters from glycerides and alcohols via a transferase reaction. The esterases of LAB prefer di- and monoglycerides for both hydrolysis and ester synthesis and are, in fact, alcohol acyltransferases that use both water (hydrolysis) and alcohol (alcoholysis) as acyl acceptors. Therefore, esterases of LAB can impact on both the lipolytic and ester flavours of cheese. The impact of esterases of LAB on cheese flavour can be controlled by manipulating the amount of the esterase, by regulating alcohol availability and/or by increasing the mono- and diglyceride composition of milk fat. In addition, esterification may play a role in ester synthesis in hard cheeses (e.g. Italian type) where water activity is low.
