Physicochemical composition, fatty acid profile and cholesterol content of “Pecorino Carmasciano” cheese, a traditional Italian dairy product

• Nutritional information on Italian pecorino Carmasciano cheese is rather limited.
• We investigate the fatty acid profile of Pecorino Carmasciano during ripening.
• Pecorino Carmasciano was characterised by a favourable n-6 to n-3 ratio.
• Cholesterol content was low with no significant differences during ripening.
• The data indicate that Pecorino Carmasciano has good nutritional attributes.

“Pecorino Carmasciano” (pecorino C) cheese is produced from the raw milk of Laticauda sheep in the Province of Avellino located in the northwest Campania Region of southern Italy. The objective of this study was to investigate some physicochemical properties, fatty acid profile and cholesterol content of Pecorino C cheese during a 354-day maturation period. Pecorino C was characterised by a relatively high content of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and by a favourable ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids (2.25:1). Eicosapentaenoic acid (C20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6 n-3), in particular, were present at average amounts of 0.26% and 0.21% respectively. The total conjugated linoleic acid was 0.5%. High cholesterol values were not found during ripening time. This study is the first comprehensive report on the chemical and physical properties of Pecorino C cheese.