The
land, the environment and cheese production: the example of cheese produced
in the Northern Alps
Introduction
l. The Terroir Effect in Cheese Production: Definitions
2. Data on the terroir effect factors for alpine and Comté
cheese (Jura)
3. Soils and the Physical Environment : Factors differentiating
"Grassland" Terroirs
4. Discussion - conclusion
The production of terroir products is no longer considered as folklore.
It is now defined by official frameworks, especially at the EU level. The
consumer can therefore recognise the authenticity, origin and specificity
of these products. The implementation of a terroir product policy
could be an answer to market globalisation (Lambert, 1997).
The controlled label of origin (appellation d'origine contrôlée
- AOC) is the symbol of a quality approach to cheese and is recognised
by consumers. Although AOC cheese production is modest in France (16% of
all tonnage according to the Institut national des appellations
contrôlées - INAO), it plays a decisive role in difficult
areas and, in particular, in mountain areas. As an example, in the high valleys
of the Northern Alps, the products marketed under this official quality label
make up over 50% of the total cheese tonnage. They participate in maintaining
a dynamic agriculture based on grasslands and more particularly on high-altitude
or "alpine" grasslands. They are thus considered as part of the local heritage
by both their producers and the local population (INRA, 1994a).
Beaufort cheese is a typical example of alpine cheese production. It has
gained its reputation through a long-date policy aimed at developing the
cheese quality and owing to the fact that the farmers control the cheese
industry via a co-operative system in charge of processing and marketing
the product. In this political and economic context, production (3,700 t/year,
12,000 cows, 850 farms) is strictly controlled in terms of livestock farming
practices, breeds and geographical area (Dubeuf et Burleraux, 1996). Another
essential component of the product's reputation is the frequently mentioned
association between Beaufort cheese and an exceptional terroir, which
lies close to the highest peaks of the French Alps. In fact, whatever the
alpine cheese considered, both producers and many consumers view the tightknit
link between the product and its terroir as perfectly "natural", with
the original and powerful image of the Alps in the background. Yet, concrete
data confirming that the specificity of the sensorial qualities of these
cheeses is linked to the production area and particularly to the physical
and biological features of the terroir are still rather patchy. The
diversity of terroirs is indeed recognised and even valorised by the
professionals, but contrary to wine (Riou et al., 1995), there have
been few scientific studies to characterise, understand and quantify the
influence of the physical environment and vegetation of the production area
on the cheese quality. The aim of this paper is to take stock of the
cheese-physical terroir link in the Northern Alps. This reflection is based
on research carried out in the GIS Alpes du Nord (scientific interest group
for the Northern Alps), on mountain agronomy, livestock farming and cheese
technology (INRA, 1994a; GIS Alpes du Nord, 1996). Beforehand, we should
define the notion of terroir in relation to cheese production.
[R] l. The Terroir Effect in Cheese Production: Definitions
According to Grappin and Coulon (1996), as regards milk and cheese, we may
consider the terroir as a "geographical area characterised by
environmental conditions and animal species, which, when exploited by people,
results in the production of specific products." As opposed to the
terroir-product relationship in wine (Salette, 1997), there is, first,
one more link to the chain, i.e. animals, and, second, multi-specific plant
populations. The complexity of interactions in quality elaboration is thus
increased, in particular owing to the diversity of vegetation types, animal
characteristics and herd management styles. Finally, four categories of
"factors", organised in causative networks (Fig. 1, below), interlink to
generate a potential effect of the production area on the product :
- physical environment (soil, rocks, climate, water),
- grasslands or fodder (floristic composition, vegetation, phenology),
- animals (characteristics linked to the breed, behaviour),
- human beings (via their practice systems, who define the style of animal
management, the technology to be used - all of which result from tradition,
know-how and specific social organisations).
In theory, the terroir effect may be due first to the strong direct
effects of one or another of these factors. Thus certain genetic features
of local breeds, such as the genetic variant of the ß casein found
in the Tarentaise cattle breed, alter the cheese characteristics (Marie et
Delacroix-Buchet, 1994). But the terroir effect could also be thought
to result from an original combination of several factors; we would thus
be faced with a comprehensive effect. The two cases do not exclude one
another.
We can once more refer to studies on vineyards to support the latter viewpoint.
Research into certain simple links between parameters characterising the
different soils (pH, granulometry...) and wine quality produced disappointing
or contradictory results. Researchers are therefore now attempting to perform
a more synthetic characterisation (Asselin et al., 1999; Salvator
et al., 1997) based on the recognition of "elementary
terroirs", that are homogenous in terms of landscapes, physical
environment and grape maturation itineraries.
Whatever the product considered, its links with its area of production do
not only consist of metabolic and chemical phenomena expressed in terms of
organism or molecule fluxes and linked only to the technical aspects of human
practices. Terroirs also involve a strong cultural dimension, i.e.
the "identity links" associating a product with a society and a territory
(Bérard and Marchenay, 1996). In spite of its importance, I will not
deal with this point in this paper and will exclusively consider the physical
and biological dimensions of the terroir effect.
[R] 2. Data on the terroir effect factors for alpine and Comté cheese (Jura)
The available data underlines the existence of variants within a given cheese
type. This data was either gathered during enquiries with the cheese makers
or stemmed from correlation studies or analytical approaches.
The cheese producers and processor have long known empirically about the
existence of variants within the same cheese type; these can be recognised
from their different behaviour while being processed and from different sensorial
features once they are mature (taste, texture…). These differences are
often attributed to the geographical area, to what animals are fed on and
to their breed. On alpine pastures, for instance, the production conditions
and taste of cheese were observed to vary according to the period and area
grazed (Martin, 1997). The surveys also revealed that certain vegetation
types, such as snowbed vegetation which characterise habitats with late snow
cover, are often and have long been considered to supply grass which is
particularly favourable to the cheese quality (Party, 1995; A. Bornard, pers.
com.). This empirical knowledge is derived from practice and observation,
but does not enable us to define the specific role of vegetation as many
other important factors also intervene, such as the area grazed, grass phenology,
lactation stage and weather conditions. Such knowledge should nevertheless
not be overlooked as it induces us to consider the cumulated effects and
particular combinations of certain factors in designing our models.
The scientific studies available validate several of these empirical observations
and provide hypotheses on the phenomena involved. Thus there is a characteristic
difference between the taste and composition of "summer Beaufort" and that
of "winter Beaufort", which may be traced back to the type of fodder used
(dry or green). The type of pastoral area grazed in the summer also has its
consequences: some sesquiterpenes are only found in Beaufort cheese produced
from the milk of cows that are grazed on alpine pastures (Dumont and Adda,
1978). A recent study, carried out in 20 co-operative cheese dairies producing
Comté cheese in the Jura, highlighted the existence of a significant
correlation between the type of physical environment (climate-soil-rocks),
the floristic composition of the pastures grazed and the cheese sensorial
features cheese (Monnet, 1996). This is an important result as it objectively
confirms the reality and comprehensive nature of the terroir effect.
However, it does not give sufficient information to order hierarchically
the diverse factors potentially involved or to define the role of the factors
that are not directly or strongly linked to the environment and vegetation,
such as the management of animals or cheese technology. Parallel to these
comprehensive approaches, an experimental approach was recently initiated
in the Massif Central and Northern Alps (Grappin and Coulon, 1996; Martin,
1997). In the Alps, the studies involved alpine grasslands and two different
types of cheese: Beaufort and farm-produced Abondance. The results showed
that with similar technology, the same herd grazing on two opposite mountain
sides with highly contrasted vegetation (e.g. acidophile and calcicolous
grasslands) produce cheeses that differ in terms of sensorial quality, texture
and flavour (Buchin et al., 1999; Asselin et al., 1999). These variations
are recorded in milk having otherwise the same macroelements content (protein
and fat content).
These tests reveal that, with controlled animal management and cheese processing
conditions, the forage can have a significant effect on certain cheese sensorial
characteristics. The nature of fodder may thus directly act via the aromatic
molecules present in the plants (terpenes, sesquiterpenes) and traced in
the cheese (Viallon et al., 1999) and that could translate into sensorial
characteristics (although this remains to be proved). Indirect actions should
also be considered. Thus certain enzymes that may come from microorganisms
associated with a particular plant species can be traced in the milk and
could potentially modify the cheese characteristics. Yet, once again, these
are merely leads for further research.
[R] 3. Soils and the Physical Environment : Factors differentiating "Grassland" Terroirs
Converging data suggests that the diversity of the grassland composition
is a source of variation in a cheese type. Therefore investigating the
relationships between the physical environment and grassland vegetation is
crucial in analyses of the terroir effect. Concretely, this means
exploring the specificities of alpine vegetation by taking into account both
the floristic composition and plant communities and their ecophysiological
functioning (phenology, metabolism). The hypotheses presented lower down
in the discussion section of this paper are based on these analyses.
The first particularity of the alpine environment is its selective climatic
conditions, in particular temperature, and the diversity of its biotopes.
The alpine flora and vegetations are thus original and diversified. The
originality of the grassland flora is expressed in a high proportion
of particular species at 800-900 metres that become dominant above 1500m.
These species are rarely found in the surrounding plains and are mainly
affiliated to the Dicotyledoneae group (Leontodon hispidus, Geranium
sylvaticum, Polygonum bistorta, Chaerophyllum hirsutum, etc.). Many genuses,
and sometimes entire botanical groups, occur only at high altitudes
(Gentianaceae, for example). These species often make up a high proportion
of the grassland biomass and seem to have a major effect on the herbage chemical
composition. Therefore, according to Mariaca et al. (1997), in
Switzerland, high-altitude grasslands contain more terpenoid-type secondary
metabolites than low altitude grasslands. Analyses of the main species occurring
in these grasslands have shown a relation between this phenomenon and the
higher diversity of high-altitude Dicotyledoneae.
The taxonomic originality of alpine vegetation is due to a combination of
historical and biogeographical factors (origin and migration of species)
and to the selectivity of the physical environment (Favarger, 1972; Richard
and Pautou, 1982). This originality is to be found in all grassland areas
but is far more marked in subalpine grasslands ("alpages") and, in
general, in all less-intensified areas and pastures. The more intensified
high-producing grasslands at an altitude over 800-1000 m to roughly 1500-1700m,
include a diversity of species, in particular grasses (Poaceae), which are
both ubiquitous and common. They can nevertheless be distinguished from
grasslands in the neighbouring lowland by the absence of certain grasses
that are dominant in intensive conditions in plains, such as Lolium
perenne (effect of altitude) and owing to the correlative exuberant growth
of certain Dicotyledoneae such as Geranium silvaticum, Chaerophyllum
hirsutum... In addition, environmental conditions in mountain areas induce
changes in the morphological state of many ubiquitous species (Fleury et
al., 1992). For instance, at high altitude, grasses display major
physiognomic and morphological changes (stem/leaf ratio, heading and senescence
dynamics). These differences all have an influence on the forage quality
(digestibility, harvestability, appetency…) and the dynamic of the different
vegetations (Dorioz et al., 1987; Jeannin et al., 1991).
The alpine environment displays another key characteristic: the diversity
of species and plant communities (Richard and Pautou, 1982; Bornard et
al., 1994). In grasslands, this is expressed by vegetation gradients
and contrasted vegetation mosaics, an adaptation to the high variation in
topoclimates, soils and agricultural practices. Once again, diversity is
more frequent in high-altitude grasslands. As a result, a dairy cattle herd
grazing on alpine grasslands will regularly feed in more than ten plant
associations which include about 250 to 300 higher plant species (as against,
at best, two or three dozen species on intensified lowland grasslands).
Contrasted soils and soil-practice interactions mainly account for the marked
differentiation of the plant cover (Dorioz 1995; INRA, 1994b). The soils
change over very small distances - on average 10 m. - in relation to the
length of the snow cover, the local bedrock, the water circulation on the
mountain sides and finally according to the dip of the rock strata (Dorioz
and Van Oort, 1991). Such variability produces an extremely diversified forage
offer in the same area and even during the same day, supplied from a wide
range of habitats: from limestone to acidophile and from xerophile to moister
environments (Legros et al., 1987; Dorioz, 1995).
There is less diversity in the hay meadows (three plant associations including
approximately a hundred common species) and vegetation variation depends
first on the diversity of practices and then on the soil hydrological regime
(Jeannin et al., 1991). Owing to the topographic and topoclimatic
constraints prevailing in the Alps, there is a great diversity in the dates
of cutting and fertiliser application on the grasslands. This induces situations
that are favourable to the existence and use of unfertilised grasslands,
whose botanical composition is moreover the most original. As a result, the
hay harvested in these areas includes more frequently batches from grasslands
with original vegetation, and its botanical composition is generally more
diverse than hay from the neighbouring plains. Obviously, the generalisation
of intensification would induce a decreased frequency of these specific
characteristics linked to the physical terroir.
[R] 4. Discussion - conclusion
The alpine terroir is first associated with the presence - in grazed and harvested grassland - of particular species, some of which are most probably key species as regards cheese characteristics, owing to their chemical composition, especially in secondary metabolites. An analytical and systematic approach to this phenomenon will be time-consuming, given the variation in animal feeding behaviour, the diversity of chemical compounds concerned and the number of species (Table 1, Hypothesis 1). There is also a strong within-species differentiation according to the plant phenological stage, the ecotype and the growth conditions. All these factors are known to have an influence on within-species changes in the plant secondary metabolites (Lebreton, 1982; Zucker, 1983; Fily and Balent, 1991; Mariaca et al., 1997). The phenomena to be studied are so complex that choices will need to be made: we suggest focussing the analyses on the species known in the literature for their high aromatic compounds content (Table 1, Hypothesis 2). The probability that such species participate in the diet of animals is higher for alpine grasslands and for forage from little-intensified grasslands.
Table 1. Main working hypotheses concerning the biophysical component of the terroir effect
| Hypotheses | Data | Possible working method |
| 1 A vegetation is the addition of species, which each
contributes to the sensorial quality of cheese. . |
Our current knowledge shows that many new species (in particular, grasses) lack aromatic compounds | To be dropped given the present state of knowledge and
available analytical means. |
| 2 Due to their secondary metabolite content, certain species have specific aromatic properties and play a key role. | Many species are known from the literature, but there exist many within-species variation factors. | Analytical approach to be centred on species reputedly aromatic so as to investigate within-species variation factors. |
| 3 The secondary metabolite composition of plants can be interpreted in the light of the adaptive strategy concept: there exists a limited number of ecological responses which can be organised and ordered by taking into account the botanical affiliation and the plant environmental conditions. | Knowledge on the plant distribution : for example, the
aromatic plants used in human food (thyme, sage, etc.) are more aromatic
when they grow in dry mountainous areas, whereas plants that are rich in
tannin generally grow in rich grasslands. |
Analytical approach carried out on specific samples (for
example, such and such a species, in such environmental condition) or on
comprehensive samples (for example, Dicotyledoneae in rich
grasslands). |
The alpine environment is also associated with changes in plant functioning.
This concerns many species, including the most common and often abundant
species, as shown by the morphological changes observed in several ubiquitous
species growing in high-altitude grasslands (such as the highly frequent
Dactylis glomerata, Decshampsia caespitosa, Festuca pratense,
Geranium silvaticum, etc.). The same modifications affect different species
(Fleury, 1994). This may be assumed to reflect the selection - in a
high-constraint environment - of several major "adaptive strategies", as
defined by Jacquard (1978) and Grime (1979). The effect of this selection
is relatively independent of the taxonomic affiliation.
Analogically, it seems logical to assume that some alterations also affect
the plant metabolism, and in particular, the synthesis of secondary metabolites
involved in the variation of the aromatic composition of the different vegetation
types (Table 1, Hypothesis 3). The number of these alterations is probably
limited and could be interpreted with the help of the adaptive strategy concept.
Indeed, the quantity of secondary metabolites has been shown to be
physiologically regulated and to play a crucial role in the adaptation of
plants to predators and physical constraints - especially alpine (Favarger,
1972; Lebreton, 1982; Lachaise, 1982; Fily et Balent, 1991). The content
in secondary metabolites is thus linked not only to plant systematics but
also to the relationships between the plant (the individual) and its environment
(Lebreton and Touati, 1988). Gouyon et al., (1979) have, for example,
shown that, in thyme, there is a strong relationship between chemical forms
(chemotypes linked to genetic polymorphism in the species) and pedoclimatic
moisture.
A typology of plant groups (rather than plant species) having the same adaptive
strategy or morphological type and growing in a particular environment, could
be developed on this basis. This typology could provide a realistic foundation
to explore the relationships between vegetation, aromatic compounds and cheese
sensorial quality.
The presence of specific species, mainly strongly aromatic ones, and the
similar ecophysiological responses of more common species are not mutually
exclusive. They could both explain the particular richness of mountain hay
and pastures in aromatic substances and other secondary metabolites observed
by Schehovic (1991). As a consequence, it seems logical to consider that
the diet of an alpine herd (dry or green fodder) periodically includes a
notable proportion of specific and original fodder. This could be a sound
argument to preserve, as a matter of precaution, the floristic diversity
of grassland vegetations. The existence of a link between floristic diversity
and the aromatic richness of certain cheeses confirms that grassland diversity
could be a key factor in the terroir issue regarding alpine cheese.
If the physical environment and vegetation components of the terroir
effect on alpine cheese were above all linked to the originality and diversity
of the exploited environments, alpine grasslands would be privileged sites
for this terroir effect. This is an attractive viewpoint, since alpine
grasslands are the historical birthplace of several cheeses (Beaufort,
Reblochon...). Besides, this type of land use is what best characterises
and differentiates the alpine agricultural territory (Dorioz, 1995). Yet
the terroir cannot be solely considered as a complex of biological
and chemical relationships between the animal-vegetation-environment and
the cheese produced. The identity of a cheese is also based on social processes,
means of production, knowledge and practices. It would thus be wise to not
focalise future studies on the "natural" cheese-producing vocation of mountains,
but also to consider the contribution of people and their culture to the
identity of cheeses.
Acknowledgments
This text is the result of an interdisciplinary reflection
carried out in the framework of the GIS "Alpes du Nord" on the theme
"Product Quality and the Environment". It was presented at the COMIFER Congress
- Comité Français d'Etude et de Développement de
la Fertilisation Raisonnée (Blois 1997, "Quality of soils and
agricultural productions") and at a seminar that took place at the Agriculture
Show (1998).The authors would like to thank D. Roybin (INRA SAD), A. Bornard
(CEMAGREF) and A. Hauwuy (GIS Alpes du Nord - SUACI) for their remarks and
critical comments.
This article is taken from the "Courrier de l'environnement de l'INRA, n°40", by J.-M. Dorioz, P. Fleury, J.-B. Coulon and B. Martin. Translated from French by Nicole Scott.
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