To provide a preliminary analytical characterization of Malga cheese (Alpine herdsman's cottage cheese), produced during the summer from the milk of cows grazing on high altitude pastures, a large number of samples ripened for about 30 days from 11 Malgra samples located over a wide area around Carnia, Val Canale and Canal del Ferro (Italy) were analysed. The most significant analytical parameters for typifying Malga cheeses were the contents of DM, fat and protein and the C 18:1 /C 16 fatty acid ratio, which was always >1.
