Effet du mode de présentation du même fourrage (foin ou herbe pâturée) sur les caractéristiques de fromages de Saint-Nectaire affinés

Abstract

Effect of forage type (hay or grazing) on milk cheesemaking ability. Sixteen multiparous dairy cows in mid-lactation were used in an experiment with a 2x2 Latin-square design. During each 3-week period, the cows were offered a diet composed of native mountain grassland given as hay (first cut) or grazed (second cut of the same plot). The milk. yielded by these cows was used in the manufacture of Saint-Nectaire cheeses, under controlled technology manufacturing conditions which were identical from one production to another Milk yield was higher at pasture (+1.8 kg/day, p <0.01). Urea content was higher with hay (+5.6 mg/100 mL, P <0.01), and calcium content was slightly lower (-0.05 g/kg, P <0.05). Other chemical contents (fat protein, casein), pH and renneting properties of milk were similar in both treatments, as most of the chemical (dry matter, fat in dry matter, pH) and sensory characteristics (taste, odour, colour) of the cheeses. However, cheeses were firmer and more acid when forage was given as hay.