UMH Summer School students receive training in sensory analysis from IRTA

From 10 to 14 July, the Summer School took place at the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) as part of the sensory analysis project SEASONED

IRTA researchers gave several talks and activities on sensory analysis, tasting and oliviculture

Agustí Romero and Leontina Lipan, IRTA researchers specialized in nuts, olive growing and olive oil extraction, gave several talks. Dr. Romero presented the session “Objective methods of sensory analysis applied to extra virgin olive oil”, while Dr. Lipan, a postdoctoral researcher at UMH, carried out a consumer study for the European project Almonds4future, coordinated by IRTA, and spoke about the application of sensory analysis in IRTA’s plant breeding programme.

Afterwards, and together with Dr. David Bernardo López Lluch (current member of the Valencian Parliament and spokesperson for Agriculture), Leontina Lipan also held a dissemination workshop in which doctoral students from Poland, Denmark and Spain learned how to use the “Pechakucha” presentation format. This format is based on a simple and informal presentation using 20 slides shown for 20 seconds each.

During the different sessions, sensory analysis applied to nougat and hazelnut was also discussed, through a talk comparing a tasting panel trained in a company and a panel trained and accredited by the ENAC in a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). This event was carried out in collaboration with Dr. Ángel Carbonell, current Vice-Rector of Research and Transfer at the UMH, and Dr. Laura Vázquez, head of research at the Basque Culinary Center.

Leontina Lipan, of Romanian origin, is an ambassador for Romanian wines in Spain, and on this occasion she was joined by Dr. Marinela Ardelean, an expert on the subject, to present 14 Romanian wines, both at the Summer School and at the Alicante Tasting School.

More information about the project SEASONED: seasonedproject.eu