Comte Cheese Research Articles

The Influence of “Tastiness” and “Healthiness” Labels in Cheese Flavor Perception

Tastiness and healthiness labels are known to influence consumer expectations, acceptance, attention, and hedonic ratings regarding the food so labeled. Surprisingly, few studies have focused on flavor perception in relation to these labels. Thus, the present study rated the perceived intensity of flavors in Comte and Emmental cheeses in three groups named “tastiness group,” “healthiness group,” and “control group” (without label). Results showed a significant effect of the label with Comte cheese, i.e., the intensity of perceived flavors was rated higher with a “tastiness” label than with either no label or with a “healthiness” label and higher with no label than with a “healthiness” label. Furthermore, no significant difference in relation to label was observed in the case of Emmental cheese. Additionally, the effect of label on flavor perception appeared to be strongly dependent on age. These findings are discussed in terms of the possible subsequent influence of changed perception on eating behavior.

Institutional Market Power in Comté: Insights from a ‘Double Marginalisation’ Model

This article explores the economic efficiency of a horizontally and vertically coordinated industry where upstream producers are atomised, but downstream processors are few, explicitly considering participation incentives and allowing the coordinated industry to exert market power towards buyers. The model offers insight into the probable social impacts of the government-sanctioned supply control scheme in place in the French Comte cheese market, suggesting it falls short of constituting a Pareto-improvement compared with a laissez-faire situation. More generally, our theoretical model provides guidance to identify instances where encouraging industry coordination may be socially desirable. We formally introduce the concept of ‘seller-equivalent degree of overall market power’ of the separated industry, a market characteristic comprised of measurable or inferable parameters, the value of which is shown to determine the potential for Pareto improvements through industry integration.

Using cross-modal interactions to counterbalance salt reduction in solid foods

We investigated odour-induced saltiness enhancement (OISE) in a solid model cheese with the aim of evaluating the influence of cross-modal interactions (odour–texture–taste) on saltiness perception and assessing the efficacy of using OISE to counterbalance salt reduction. Four model cheeses, varying in texture, were flavoured with three commercial tasteless aromas (comté cheese, sardine and carrot) differently associated with salty and cheesy food products. Twenty-seven consumers evaluated taste intensity, aroma intensity and its congruence with the product flavour, and the overall pleasantness of 12 flavoured and four unflavoured samples. The comparison of the perceived saltiness in flavoured and unflavoured model cheeses with identical salt contents revealed a significant saltiness enhancement induced by the comté cheese and sardine odours. However, the carrot odour, not associated with saltiness, did not enhance saltiness. These findings revealed that well-selected aromas could enhance saltiness in low-salt-content solid-food products of various textures.

Embedding Local Places in Global Spaces: Geographical Indications as a Territorial Development Strategy

Geographical indications (GIs) are place-based names that convey the geographical origin, as well as the cultural and historical identity, of agricultural products. GIs are unique, in that they provide a means of ensuring that control over production and sales of a product stays within a local area, but at the same time they make use of extralocal markets. Although control over GIs largely rests with local actors, GIs are nested in wider regional, national, and international networks; and the passage from local to extralocal markets introduces new costs and benefits and new relations of power into the supply chain. The degree to which GI protection spurs development and protects local environmental and cultural resources depends on the structure of the GI legislation and on the territorial context in which protection is embedded. Using a commodity-chains approach, I compare two GI production systems, tequila in Mexico and Comte cheese in France, in order to develop a theory of the factors that contribute to more sustainable, equitable GI production systems. I argue that three key differences in the design of the GI schemes help to explain the varying effects of the two cases: (1) the manner in which supply-chain actors define quality, (2) the way that the GI valorizes the terroir of the region, and (3) the strength and cohesion that the collective organizing body exhibits. Moreover, the institutional and political context in which GI supply chains “touch down” plays a critical role. Contrary to a conceptualization of GIs as compatible with a purely market-oriented model, my comparison of these two cases indicates that some level of state involvement, in order to level the playing field and empower small farmers, is a necessary, although not sufficient, precondition for successful and sustainable GIs.

Measuring market power in the French Comte cheese market

A new empirical industrial organisation approach is used to measure seller market power in the French Comté cheese market, characterised by government-approved supply control. The estimation is performed on quarterly data at the wholesale stage over the period 1985–2005. Three different elasticity shifters are included in the demand specification, and the supply equation accounts for the existence of the European dairy quota policy. The market power estimate is small and statistically insignificant. Monopoly is clearly rejected. Results appear to be robust to the choice of functional form and suggest little effect of the supply control scheme on consumer prices.

Creating the taste of place in the United States: can we learn from the French?

In the United States, there is a growing awareness of the implications of our globalized food system, a system that incorporates all manner of agriculture, food distribution, food processing and transformation, and consumption. The ever increasing distance between where our food is produced and where it is consumed has helped spur a movement to develop a system of place based foods. Right now multiple models are in play, including farmers markets, community supported agriculture, and the localvore movement. This article will do a close examination of another model from France, the French system of appellation d’origine controlee (AOC); nationally regulated by the French Ministry of Agriculture it supports and protects foods and drinks with unique links to particular territories. The AOC system is based on geographically distinct and historically specific food and drink found throughout France. By closely examining one AOC product—Comte cheese produced in the rural agricultural region in Jura—the authors consider the possibilities for an AOC-style system in the United States.

Sensory and Chemical Analysis of Fractions Obtained by Gel Permeation of Water-Soluble Comte Cheese Extracts

The pure water extraction of Comte cheese solubles and their chromatographic separation facilitate sensory analysis experiments with the fractions directly collected from the column. Two extracts, one obtained after ultrafiltration, the other after chromatography on Sephadex G25, have been separated on Toyopearl HW-40S. The sensory evaluation of the obtained fractions shows in the two cases that some fractions have interesting flavors. However, physicochemical analysis shows that organoleptic characteristics are linked more to the presence of amino acids and salts than to the presence of peptides. Apart from monosodium glutamate, most of the amino acids are present in the fractions at concentrations lower than their threshold values measured in water. Therefore, the hypothesis of synergistic effects among amino acids or between amino acids and other kinds of compounds, such as salts, can be raised. Moreover, the fractions containing free amino acids are also generally the most aromatic. The nature and the origin of these volatile compounds responsible for these aromas have to be determined.

Flavor Constituents of Aqueous Fraction Extracted from Comte Cheese by Liquid Carbon Dioxide

ABSTRACTIsolation, purification and identification of some low‐molecular‐weight compounds from a water‐soluble extract of Comté cheese was achieved. We used liquid CO2 extraction, subsequent fractionation (by gel permeation and reserve‐phase HPLC) and mass spectometry. Major constituents were N‐acyl amino acids (N‐acetyl methionine, N‐propionyl methionine, N‐propionyl leucine, N‐propionyl phenylalanine), dike‐topiperazines (cyclo(Pro‐Pro), cyclo(Pro‐Val), cyclo(Pro‐Phe), cy clo(Pro‐Leu), cyclo(Pro‐Ala)) and non‐peptide compounds (theo‐bromine, 4‐methyl‐t‐thiazoleethanol, uracil, (5–6)dihydro‐uracil, thymine). These compounds were synthesized and tasted. Most were bitter. N‐propionyl methionine had a cheese flavor but was not detected when added to a simulated cheese at 180 mg/L.

Characterizing ripening of Gruyère de Comté: Influence of time × temperature and salting conditions on eye and slit formation

Abstract Gruyere de Comte is a Swiss-type, hard cheese, made of raw milk and produced exclusively in a limited area, in the East of France. Comte cheese is regularly salted on the surface throughout the ripening period, with simultaneous rubbing. This process leads to an important bacterial surface growth (10 11 CFU/g), a production of NH 3 (50 ppm), and a regular increase of the salt level. The kinetics of salt intake and its final level strongly influence the propionic fermentation and eye formation, as well as the primary proteolysis. Hydrolysis of α s 1 - CN decreases regularly with the salt level, whereas plasmin activity is maximum at 2·3% salt/moisture. Variations in the ripening time × temperature cycle influence the rate of hydrolysis of α s 1 - CN and to a lesser extent of β-CN. The improntance of the propionic fermentation increases with the temperature of ripening. The modifications of the rheological properties of Comte during ripening appear to be time × temperature dependent. Slit formation is closely related to cheese composition and also to the nature and extent of proteolysis. It was shown that when several of the following physicochemical characteristics: low moisture, high fat, high NaCl, low calcium and high level of protein breakdown are associated, the rheological properties are modified in such a way (increase of the shortness), that the cheeses are more likely to have slits. The relative importance of the anisotropy of the rheological properties explains the direction of the slits which are always parallel to the surfaces. A high correlation (r = 0·96) was found between the log of the fracture strain difference and the slit intensity. From all the results obtained in various studies, it appears that monitoring both the nature and extent of proteolysis through milk quality, cheese making, and ripening conditions, is a major challenge to produce regularly high quality Comte cheese.