Hay or silage? How the forage preservation method changes the volatile compounds and sensory properties of Caciocavallo cheese.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the forage preservation method (silage vs. hay) on volatile compounds and sensory properties of a traditional Caciocavallo cheese during ripening. A brown-midrib sudangrass hybrid was cultivated on a 7-ha field and at harvesting it was half ensiled in plastic silo bags and half dried to hay. Forty-four lactating cows were equally allotted into 2 groups fed a isonitrogenous and isoenergetic total mixed ration containing as the sole forage either sorghum hay (H group) or sorghum silage (S group). Milk from the 2 groups was used to produce 3 batches/diet of Caciocavallo ripened for 30, 60, and 90 d. Milk yield and composition as well as cheese chemical and fatty acid composition were not markedly affected by the diet treatment and ripening time. By contrast, ripening induced increased levels of the appearance attribute "yellowness," along with the "overall flavor," the odor/flavor attributes "butter" and "hay," the "salty," "bitter," and "umami" tastes, and the texture attribute "oiliness," whereas the appearance attribute "uniformity" and the texture attribute "elasticity" were reduced. The silage-based diet induced higher perceived intensities of several attributes such as "yellowness"; "overall flavor"; "butter"; "grass" and "hay" odor/flavors; "salty," "bitter," and "umami" tastes; and "tenderness" and "oiliness" textures. In S cheese we also observed higher amounts of ketones and fatty acids. Conversely, H cheese showed the terpene α-pinene, which was not detected in S cheese, and a higher intensity of the appearance attribute "uniformity." These differences allowed the trained panel to discriminate the products, determined an increased consumer liking for 90-d ripened cheese, and tended to increase consumer liking for hay cheese.

The inclusion of fresh forage in the lactating buffalo diet affects fatty acid and sensory profile of mozzarella cheese.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of inclusion of fresh forage in diet for lactating buffalo on properties of mozzarella cheese under intensive farming conditions. Thirty-two buffalo cows were equally allotted into 2 groups fed diets with (fresh group, FRS) or without (control group, CTL) fresh sorghum. The study consisted of 2 trials. In the first one, animals from group FRS were fed a diet containing 10 kg of fresh sorghum (10-FRS diet) that was doubled to 20 kg (20-FRS diet) in the second trial. All diets were isonitrogenous and isoenergetic, and fresh forage accounted for 13.4 and 26.5 of dietary dry matter, respectively, for the 10-FRS and 20-FRS diet. In each trial, milk from the 2 groups was used to produce 3 batches/diet of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana Protected Designation of Origin cheese. Milk yield and composition were not influenced by dietary treatment. The use of 10-FRS diet did not affect any properties of mozzarella. As the inclusion rate of fresh sorghum doubled to 20 kg, an increment of unsaturated fatty acid percentages and a lowering of short-chain and saturated fatty acids were observed. Moreover, the sensory characteristics of mozzarella were modified, although no effects were observed on consumer acceptance. We conclude that the use of green fodder can represent a low-cost feeding strategy to improve the healthiness of buffalo mozzarella under intensive farming conditions with no detrimental effect on consumer blind acceptance.

Effect of group size and maize silage dietary levels on behaviour, health, carcass and meat quality of Mediterranean buffaloes.

The effects of different dietary levels of maize silage (10% v. 36% DM) and group size (7 v. 14 animals) were assessed on growth performance and in vivo digestibility of 28 male fattening buffaloes. In addition, the effects of diet on meat quality and group size on behaviour and immune response were separately evaluated. Animals were weighed and assigned to three groups. The high silage - low size group (HL) was fed a total mixed ration (TMR) containing 36% DM of maize silage and consisted of seven animals (age 12.7±2.6 months; BW 382.2±67.7 kg at the start of the study). The low silage - low size group (LL) was fed a TMR containing 10% DM of maize silage and consisted of seven animals (age 13.0±2.7 months; BW 389.4±72.3 kg). The high silage - high size group (HH) was fed the 36% maize silage DM diet and consisted of 14 animals (age 13.9±3.25 months; BW 416.5±73.9 kg). Total space allowance (3.2 indoor+3.2 outdoor m2/animal) was kept constant in the three groups, as well as the ratio of animals to drinkers (seven animals per water bowl) and the manger space (70 cm per animal). Growth performance, carcass characteristics and digestibility were influenced neither by dietary treatment nor by group size, even if the group fed 36% maize silage diet showed a higher fibre digestibility. No effect of diet was found on meat quality. Group size did not affect the behavioural activities with the exception of drinking (1.04±0.35% v. 2.60±0.35%; P<0.01 for groups HL and HH, respectively) and vigilance (2.58±0.46% v. 1.20±0.46%; P<0.05 for groups HL and HH, respectively). Immune responses were not affected by group size.