## 1 Introduction  
The disappearance of many pastoral farming methods in Europe has revealed the importance of sustainable livestock management for environmental conservation [1]. In the Balearic Islands (Spain), traditional sheep systems based on the use of autochthonous breeds deserve to be highlighted. Many of these breeds, such as the Roja Mallorquina, are considered endangered according to the Official Catalogue of Spanish LivestockBreads [2]. The Roja Mallorquina sheep is a meat breed raised under grazing systems. However, traditionally, some breeders have produced artisanal Mallorquin cheeses with a highly characteristic flavour attributed to the breed's very fatty milk. Normally, two types of cheese are made: a fresh soft cheese (white in the beginning and slightly yellowish after ten or fifteen days) and a cheese ripened for approximately two months [3]. To our knowledge, no scientific data have been published so far concerning milk or fresh and ripened cheeses from the Roja Mallorquina.  
Cheeses made from small ruminants' milk are widely appreciated for their organoleptic properties. The composition of the lipids plays an essential role in the sensory traits of these products. However, dairy products have often been associated with many negative health effects due to their saturated fatty acid (SFA) content; this may lead to increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) levels and thus an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) [4]. Nevertheless, recent research has demonstrated the benefits of full-fat dairy consumption [5] and suggests that milk has a neutral effect on cardiovascular health, whereas fermented milk and cheese may be beneficial. Furthermore, foods containing natural antioxidants have grown in popularity, as antioxidants can neutralise harmful effects of free radicals both in humans and animals and because oxidation processes in milk can result in a deterioration of its nutritional quality [6; 7]. However, few studies have investigated the milk and cheese characteristics of endangered sheep breeds.  
Moreover, there is interest in assessing the effects of different feeding regimes on dairy quality, including the pathways that transfer nutritional components from milk to cheese and other dairy products. On the one hand, several feeding strategies, including grass feeding and pasture grazing, are known to confer specific organoleptic features on the dairy products while improving nutrition [8]. Moreover, in some European countries (including Spain) and mainly in cow dairy (most likely due to their large volume and economic importance), industry or marketing intermediaries fund farmers more for milk produced in grassland conditions [9; 10; 11]. Although the small ruminant dairy sector is more limited [10] and, in Spain, incentive payments for pasture-fed milk do not yet exist, labelling products as \"pasture-fed\" could improve the profitability of farms and industries. On the other hand, while numerous studies have been carried out on FA transfer, results vary: some authors have suggested that the FA profile of fresh or ripening cheese reflects that of the milk from which it has been made [12; 13; 14], while others [15; 16; 17] have suggested that alterations to the FA profile occur during ripening. However, few studies have specifically addressed the transfer of fat-soluble vitamins from milk to cheese [18], and no reports are available on phenolic compounds. Therefore, the aims of the present work were (i) to perform a nutritional analysis of the dairy products (milk, fresh and ripened cheeses) of the Roja Mallorquina sheep breed, including the determination of their physicochemical, antioxidant, fatty acid (FA), and volatile properties and (ii) to identify and explain changes in nutritional composition during the manufacturing procedure.