Relationships between flavour and chemical composition of Abondance cheese derived from different types of pastures

The relationships between the flavour and composition of half-cooked pressed Abondance cheese (Haute-Savoie, France) were studied under natural cheese production conditions on the basis of different pastures exploited by 3 producers.Cheeses manufactured from milk produced from mountain pastures (M, n = 5, 1500-1850 m) were deemed to be more "fruity", "animal", "boiled milk" and "hazelnut" and less pungent and "propionic acid" than cheeses made from milk produced from valley pastures (V, n = 5, 850-1100 m).It was possible to partly attribute these differences in flavour to the presence of protein-based volatile compounds in the cheeses.The V cheeses had a greater variety of flavours than the M cheeses.Cheeses from gramineae-rich pastures had the most intense "cooked cabbage" odours, related to the greater amounts of sulphur compounds in these cheeses.Terpenes, which are more abundant in cheeses produced from dicotyledon-rich pastures, did not contribute directly to cheese aroma.The differences in flavour between the cheeses manufactured by the 3 producers were of the same magnitude as those observed between different pastures used by a same producer.The origin of the volatile compounds in the cheeses -whether of microbial origin or from the feed -was discussed.cheese / flavour / volatile compound / proteolysis / pasture Résumé -Relations entre la flaveur et la composition chimique de fromages d'Abondance fabriqués à partir de laits produits sur différents types de pâturages.Les relations entre la flaveur et la composition des fromages à pâte pressée demi-cuite de type Abondance (Haute-Savoie, France), ont été étudiées dans des conditions naturelles de production du fromage à partir de pâturages différents exploités par 3 producteurs.