Success in making a cheese acceptable in both flavour and texture depends partly on curd properties which determine the retention of fat and moisture and, thus, cheese yield and composition (Green & Grandison, 1993). When considering farmhouse and/or Appelation d'Origine Contrôlée cheese where milk treatments are not allowed, curd properties depend only on milk composition and clotting characteristics, which are subject to wide fluctuations over the year owing to the cow's stage of lactation and nutritional factors (O'Keeffe, 1984; Macheboeuf et al. 1993). These variations often result in seasonal differences in the chemical or sensory properties of the cheese (Kefford et al. 1995) which are sometimes difficult to understand (Grandison et al. 1985). Only a few studies have assessed the cheesemaking quality of milk by actually making ripened cheese; most studies report milk coagulation properties and curd firmness.

The object of this work was to study the influence of the chemical composition and clotting characteristics of the milk on the chemical and sensory properties of ripened cheeses when milk characteristics vary widely.