Abstract
The effect of feeding supplementation on the nutritional characteristics of milk and cheese was studied in dairy sheep grazing on low mountain dry-grasslands during summer in typical sub-Mediterranean conditions of aridity. The control group (CG) of 25 sheep grazed on grass, while the experimental group (EG) of 25 sheep grazed on grass and received 600 g a day of a barley and corn mixture. Daily milk production showed a less pronounced decrease in EG than in CG (p ˂ 0.0368). After one month of supplementation, the concentrations of retinol and α-tocopherol in milk and cheese from EG were higher than CG (p < 0.05). Supplementary feeding had a positive effect on the fatty acid composition of the sheep milk. For the first time, positive effects on the volatile composition were found in EG cheese, displaying lower percentages of carboxylic acids associated with the pungent and rancid odour with respect to CG.
Highlights
Sheep milk products can provide a profitable alternative to those from cows because of their specific taste, texture, typicity and the perception of these foods as natural and healthy
This study highlights the important effects of feeding supplementation on the composition and quality of milk and cheese from sheep grazing on dry pasture, more in terms of specific compounds and milk production than in terms of nutritional composition
experimental group (EG) samples displayed a lower content of carboxylic acid associated with the “pungent”, “rancid”, “sweat”, and “metal” odour with respect to control group (CG)
Summary
Sheep milk products can provide a profitable alternative to those from cows because of their specific taste, texture, typicity and the perception of these foods as natural and healthy. In this context, there is increased consumer interest in the nutritional composition of these products. In arid and poor areas where it is difficult to raise cattle and the population is at risk of malnutrition, sheep milk is a sustainable source of ev high quality protein and calcium. Consumers often consider sheep-rearing to be iew more ecological than cattle-rearing, and view their products a priori as more healthy than others. The composition in macro- and micro- nutrients of milk and cheese depends on the main production factors of the farming system: genotype, reproduction, agro-
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