Quality of Montasio cheese from Italian Simmental cows grazing on mountain pasture or reared indoor

The aim of this study was to compare Montasio cheese made from milk of 120 Italian Simmental cows reared under two different systems. On an alpine farm, 60 cows were maintained on Gramineae-rich pasture and supplemented with 2 kg head day(-1) of concentrate on average. The other 60 cows were kept indoors and fed a hay-based diet. Cheese production was repeated in two periods (early July and late August) and processed for each period for 3 consecutive days according to traditional production technology of PDO Montasio. Analyses of chemical, textural and fatty acids were performed on two-month-ripened cheeses. Pasture-derived cheese was significantly different from hay-derived cheese in terms of chemical composition (higher dry matter and fat, lower protein), colour (more yellow-red) and textural properties (higher hardness, gumminess and chewiness). In addition, it showed a fatty acids profile more beneficial for human health