PROCESS AND SENSORY EVALUATION OF FOOD

The course aims to provide students with basic knowledge about the processing of raw materials (milk, wine, oil) related to chemical composition, nutritional value, technological aspects. To provide also the basic knowledge of sensory analysis (scopes, objectives, methodology, statistical analysis) to achieve reliable and reproducible results and to communicate with corporate executives of a modern food industry about production, quality control, research and development and marketing.

Food preservation.

Enology: grapes, must and wine; Alcoholic fermentation. Winemaking. Stabilization. Alterations. Special wines: sparkling wines and liqueurs. Vinegar production. Brewing technology.

Dairy industry: Chemical composition of milk. Processing and storage of milk. Production technology for cream, butter, yogurt. Cheese: process, classification, maturation, defects, principal Italian cheeses.

Olive oil industry: chemical composition of oil. Extraction systems. Classification. Regulation for oils and legal parameters; Table olives; Seed oil.

Sensory analysis. Sensory analysis as a tool to define food quality. Physiology of the senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing. Psychological factors; Laboratory. Recruitment, selection and training of judges (panel). Recognition test of the four basic tastes. Recognition test of some odours and flavours; Threshold test. Test to exercise the other senses; methods of sensory analysis. Discriminatory qualitative tests: comparison, triangular, duo-trio. Discriminatory quali-quantitative tests: order test. Discriminatory qualitative tests: measurement scales. Descriptive tests: evaluation of attributes, classification scale and time-intensity method; profile analysis. Consumer science.

1. Bastasin P., Ceresa L. 2014. “Industrie Agroalimentari”. Franco Lucisano Editore (ISBN 978-88-08-10074-0);
2. Pagliarini E. “Valutazione sensoriale aspetti teorici, pratici e metodologici”. Ulrico Hoepli Editore S.p.A., Milano (ISBN 978-88-203-3012-5);
3. Lawless H.T. Heymann H. “Sensory Evaluation of Food Principles and Practices”. An Aspen publication.