Relationships between Abondance cheese texture, its composition and that of milk produced by cows grazing different types of pastures

The relationships between the texture and composition of Abondance cheese ( Haute-Savoie, France) and the milk used for its production, were investigat ed under real conditions of cheese production. Ten different types of pastu re, exploited by three producers, were involved. Milk characteristics, link ed to the type of pasture, affected cheese texture, as did the cheesemaking process. Cheeses from milk produced on mountain pastures (M, n = 5, 1 500- 1 850 m) exhibited different rheological properties from those produced wit h milk from valley pastures (V, n = 5, 850-1 100 m): they were less elastic and less deformable. Rheological characteristics were mainly linked to the proportion of 18 atoms of carbon unsaturated fatty acids, which was higher in M milks, and to the proteolysis of cheese. Plasmin activity, which was higher in M milks, could enhance primary proteolysis in the corresponding c heeses. Differences in sensory texture, which were greater between M cheese s than between V cheeses, were attributed to variations in moisture and sal t content. These differences could be linked to the cheesemaking process an d also to the characteristics of milks, such as their pH-value and acidifyi ng ability.