Relationships between flavour and chemical composition of Abondance cheese derived from different types of pastures

Abstract

The relationships between the flavour and composition of half-cooked pressed Abondance cheese (Haute-Savoie, France) were studied under natural cheese production conditions on the basis of different pastures exploited by 3 producers. Cheeses manufactured from milk produced from mountain pastures (M, n = 5, 1500-1850 m) were deemed to be more "fruity", "animal", "boiled milk" and "hazelnut" and less pungent and "propionic acid" than cheeses made from milk produced from valley pastures (V, n = 5, 850-1100 m). It was possible to partly attribute these differences in flavour to the presence of protein-based volatile compounds in the cheeses. The V cheeses had a greater variety of flavours than the M cheeses. Cheeses from gramineae-rich pastures had the most intense "cooked cabbage" odours, related to the greater amounts of sulphur compounds in these cheeses. Terpenes, which are more abundant in cheeses produced from dicotyledon-rich pastures, did not contribute directly to cheese aroma. The differences in flavour between the cheeses manufactured by the 3 producers were of the same magnitude as those observed between different pastures used by a same producer. The origin of the volatile compounds in the cheeses - whether of microbial origin or from the feed - was discussed.