D. Jaros et al., Application of oilseed feeding to reduce firmness of hard cheeses producedin the winter feeding period, INT DAIRY J, 11(8), 2001, pp. 611-619
Modified feeding of dairy cattle has been described frequently as an approp
riate tool to improve rheological properties of fat based dairy products, e
specially butter, made in the winter feeding period. Controlled feeding exp
eriments with subsequent small-scale cheese-making trials were performed to
determine potential effects of oilseed feeding on chemical and physical pr
operties of hard cheeses. Replacement of 1 kg grain by 1 kg shredded rapese
ed in the daily cattle diet resulted in a significant increase of the amoun
t of unsaturated fatty acids in the milk fat. The diet did not affect the f
at, protein or lactose content of the milk, the cheeses' gross composition
or proteolysis. However, cheeses (approx. 60% dry matter, 50% fat in dry ma
tter) made from milk of the experimental group were significantly lower in
firmness as expressed by the modulus and fracture stress measured by uniaxi
al compression than cheeses made from milk of the control group. The differ
ences were also evident in sensory experiments. In accordance with results
from a subsequent large-scale feeding experiment, oilseed feeding might be
considered as an appropriate tool to reduce firmness differences between ch
eeses of summer and winter feeding periods. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier
Science Ltd.