Setting up of a sensory panel for the analysis of water (SUSPAW).

Legislation on the quality of water intended for human consumption requires routine taste and odour controls. So far, no procedures or technical documents exist which can be used as a reference in the training of sensory assessors for tap water. This work presents the procedure for the development of a trained panel and it describes all the steps carried out: the recruitment, pre-selection, selection and training phase considering the different odours and flavours that tap water may contain.

Sensory evaluation of Protected Designation of origin Wines: Development of olfactive descriptive profile and references.

Wines covered by PDO or PGI quality labels have specific sensory characteristics. According to EU regulations, product characteristics (including the sensory description) must be defined in the PDO technical specification and should be verified for their compliance. There exist internationally harmonized quantitative descriptive sensory methods applied to products such as virgin olive oil, with well-defined attributes described in the method itself.

Suckling or non-suckling? Sensory characterization of commercialized lamb meat according to feeding.

Consumption of meat from suckling lambs is typical in some regions. However, sensory differences between meat from suckling and non-suckling lambs are barely described in previous studies. The objectives of the present study were (a) to develop a method to describe the sensory characteristics of lamb meat, including the development of sensory references for odor, flavor, and texture attributes; and (b) to study the sensory differences between lamb meat commercialized as "suckling lamb" and that commercialized without this designation.

Development of a Descriptive Profile and References for the Assessment of Taste and Mouthfeel Descriptors of Protected Designation of Origin Wines.

Producers of PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) wines must submit to the EU authorities' technical specifications that include the specific sensory description of each product typology, to be subsequently checked by the competent authority in each country. Unfortunately, there is no consensual and standardized approach for the development of sensory control methods for PDO wines. The aim of this work was to develop a sensory profile for the taste and mouthfeel descriptors that allows the characterization of wines from 11 existing PDOs in Catalonia (Spain), and with the purpose of advancing the process of harmonization of the official sensory analysis of wines.

Short communication: To what extent do environmental or technological conditions affect the sensory differentiation of raw ewe milk cheeses produced in valley or mountain farms?

This work discusses the extent to which differences in technological or environmental conditions affect the sensory properties of cheeses made in mountain or valley farms. The work is focused on Idiazabal cheese, frequently made with lamb rennet paste and with milk from sheep flocks managed under extensive grazing systems. Fourteen sensory attributes were assessed, and free fatty acid content and rennet lipase activity were analyzed in cheeses from mountain and valley farms.

Suitability of a new mixed-strain starter for manufacturing uncooked raw ewe's milk cheeses.

Most raw milk Ossau-Iraty cheeses are currently manufactured on-farm using the same commercial streptococcal-lactococcal starter (S1). One way to enhance the microbial diversity that gives raw milk its advantages for cheese-making is to formulate new starters combining diverse, characterized strains. A new starter (OI) combining 6 raw milk strains of lactococci, recently isolated and characterized, was tested in parallel with the current starter by making 12 Ossau-Iraty raw milk cheeses at 3 farmhouses under the conditions prevailing at each farm.

Dynamic sensory description of Rioja Alavesa red wines made by different winemaking practices by using Temporal Dominance of Sensations.

Background: Although sensory description of wines in scientific literature is very large, there is an evident lack of studies describing wines from a dynamic approach. The objective of this study was to describe the evolution of the sensations perceived in red wines from Rioja Alavesa by using Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) and also to compare wines made with the two winemaking procedures used in Rioja Alavesa: carbonic maceration (CM) and destemming (DS).

Results: Ten sensory attributes were evaluated in eight wines (four CM and four DS wines) in triplicate by a panel of 16 trained assessors.

Interannual and geographical reproducibility of the nutritional quality of milk fat from commercial grazing flocks.

The objective of the present work was to study the differences in the fatty acid (FA) composition of raw sheep milk fat under commercial milk production conditions throughout lactation, in two consecutive years. Particular attention was placed on the C18:2cis-9,trans-11 isomer, C18:1trans-11 acid, and unsaturated FA as the feeding regimen of 10 commercial flocks of latxa dairy sheep changed from indoor feeding to part-time grazing conditions (from early spring) as traditionally practiced in the Basque Country (Northern Spain). Farms located at an altitude of between 600 and 700 m, in two different geographical areas with different rainfall were selected.

Effects of seasonal changes in feeding management under part-time grazing on terpene concentrations of ewes' milk.

Terpene composition of ewes' raw milk from nine commercial flocks was analysed from February to July. Ewes' diet consisted of concentrate and conserved forage in winter (indoor feeding) and part-time grazing from spring (transition and outdoor feeding). Regardless of the feeding, limonene and β-phellandrene were the most abundant monoterpenes and β-caryophyllene showed the highest concentrations among sesquiterpenes.

Seasonal changes in the technological and compositional quality of ewe's raw milks from commercial flocks under part-time grazing.

Rennet coagulation parameters, curd texture and gross compositional variables were studied in ewes' raw milk samples from nine commercial flocks using different concentrate:forage ratios and grazing times. From early lactation to March flocks were fed concentrate pellets and hay whereas from April to the end of lactation flocks were allowed to graze from 6 to 19 h/day receiving concentrate supplementation in the morning and evening. Milk from late-lactation flocks, when allowed to graze, showed higher content of fat, dry matter, protein, casein, soluble protein, total calcium, curd firmness and curd resistance to compression than the milk from early lactation flocks.

Hygienic quality of ewes' milk cheeses manufactured with artisan-produced lamb rennet pastes.

The use of artisan-produced lamb rennet pastes, but not any of the other commercial animal rennets, imparts a characteristic flavour to the cheese, so most Mediterranean ewes' milk cheeses are coagulated with this kind of rennet paste. In contrast to the advantages of using lamb or kid rennet pastes from the sensory point of view, questions are still raised as to their hygienic quality. The goal was to examine the microbiological and enzymic quality of lamb rennet pastes prepared by cheese manufacturers for their own use, and evaluate the hygienic quality of raw sheeps' milk cheeses made with them, using Idiazabal cheese as a model.

Changes in lipid fractions and sensory properties of Idiazabal cheese induced by lipase addition.

This work studied the addition of an adequate lipase to enhance lipolysis reactions and the development of piquant flavour and sharp odour in Idiazabal cheese, as an alternative to the use of lamb rennet paste. Cheeses were manufactured from bulk raw ewes' milk in 50 l vats with commercial bovine rennet and 80 lipase units of pregastric or 180 lipase units of fungal lipase and ripened for 180 days. A higher lipolytic activity was induced by lipase addition promoting strong changes in odour and flavour attributes.