The volatile flavor substances of 5 representative Mongolian cheese samples collected from different regions of Inner Mongolia were determined by headspace purge and trap (PT) coupled with triple quadrupole gas chromatography (QqQ-GC), and a flavor intensity evaluation model was constructed based on principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that a total of 86 volatile substances were identified in Mongolian cheese, among which 24 were the main volatile substances. The flavor intensity evaluation model (F = 0.353 51F1 + 0.280 46F2 + 0.198 46F3 + 0.167 56F4) showed that the cumulative contribution rate of the first four principal components was 100.000%, which included ethyl caprylate, n-hexanol, ethyl decanoate, n-decanoic acid, acetic acid, and acetaldehyde, ect. They could reflect the original data accurately. In addition, the sensory evaluation results of the 5 cheese samples were consistent with the scores from the flavor intensity evaluation model, which indicated that the constructed model could effectively evaluate the flavor of Mongolian cheese, providing a new method for the evaluation of the flavor of Mongolian cheese.

As a traditional Chinese dairy product with a long history, Mongolian cheese has rich nutrients and a unique flavor, which is of great significance in the development history of dairy products in our country. The industrialized production of Mongolian cheese will promote the economic development of Inner Mongolia. Therefore, it is urgently needed to optimize the production process of Mongolian cheese, improve its palatability, and solve the problem of excessively monotonous product form. This paper mainly reviews the nutritional value and functional characteristics of traditional Mongolian cheese, discusses the current problems of its flavor and storage, proposes possible solutions to these problems, and puts forward some ideas for the development of new functional Mongolian cheese products in the future. We expect this review to provide a reference for the research and industrial production of Mongolian cheese.