Effect of season on characteristics of pecorino cheese and ricotta of Pistoiese Appennine: first results

The "Pecorino pistoiese" is made from milk of Massese Sheep. The flocks are reared by grazing on natural pastures of Pistoiese Appennine. The farms product cheeses by milk without pasteurization. The handmade cheeses are characterized by a remarkable variability due to farm and to season. The aim of this work is to study the effect of season on characteristics of the pecorino e ricotta pistoiese with particular attention for the determination of the yield. One trial was run in each season (4 trials) and in 3 farms. Every phases of the cheesemaking were controlled and milk, cheese and ricotta were weighed and analysed. The season showed some significant effects on the chemical composition of milk: lactose and SNF showed lower values in summer. The pecorino cheese showed 18.5% of fat and 24.7% of protein on average. In spring and in summer the yield in pecorino cheese (15.8%) was significantly worse than in winter (19.3%). The ricotta cheese was fatter in summer (27.6%) than in winter (17.5%). The yield of ricotta at 24 hours was 13.5% on average

Seasonal effect on the technological and chemical traits of sheep "ricotta Pistoiese" cheese

The "ricotta di pecora pistoiese" is comprised in the list of the traditional agrofood products of Tuscany and the relative PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) has be required. This research, analysing the making process, aimed to evaluate its chemical and nutritive traits as influenced by some factors, with particular attention to the season. During the four seasons of two consecutive years, the making process of ricotta cheese was monitored in four farms for a total of 32 control-days. Yields, chemical composition and fatty acid profile of fat were determined. The amount of milk added to whey influenced the fat and protein content and the yields at 0 and 24 hours. Season affected only the protein content, higher in winter and spring. Fatty acid composition was influenced strongly by the season being the ricotta cheese of summer richer of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated FA than that of autumn and winter, probably due to the feeding regimen based mainly on fresh grass

Productivity of Cinta Senese and Large White x Cinta Senese pigs reared outdoors in woodlands and indoors. 2. Slaughter and carcass traits

The aim of this paper was to study slaughter and carcass traits of Cinta Senese pigs, both pure and crossbred with LargeWhite, reared outdoors in woodland and indoors. Sixteen Cinta Senese (CS) and 16 Large White x Cinta Senese (LWxCS)pigs were reared outdoors (OUT) on woodland pastures with some food supplementation; 70 animals (29 CS, 29 LWxCSand 12 LW) were reared indoors (IN), allotted in pens for genetic type and sex. Pigs were slaughtered at about 140 kgof live weight and at an age greater than 8 months. After slaughter, carcass length, thorax depth, number of vertebraeand backfat thickness were measured, and carcasses were dissected into lean, fat and bone cuts. Average daily gain toslaughter differed markedly among the five GTxRS combinations (598; 512; 438; 338; 250 g/d, respectively for LW-IN;LWxCS-IN; CS-IN; LWxCS-OUT; CS-OUT). LWxCS-IN and LWxCS-OUT had respectively the highest and the lowest dressingpercentages (83.3% and 80.1%). A greater compactness of CS carcasses was evident from the length to depth ratio.In both farming systems CS pigs had the thickest backfat, and their differences with the other genetic types increasedproportionally according to a cranio-caudal gradient. Moreover, CS pigs showed lower percentage of lean cuts and a higherpercentage of fat cuts, than the other breeds. In the indoor system an additive effect was evident, with crossbred pigsshowing lean cuts yields (62.8%) of almost intermediate value with respect to the parental breeds (57.7% for CS and69.1% for LW). Some effects of the availability of woodland pastures on growth and carcass composition were alsoobserved, particularly showing CS-OUT pigs’ higher percentage of backfat and kidney fat, and lower percentage of loinand shoulder than the CS-IN ones