Sensory profiles of artisan goat cheeses as influenced by the cultural context and the type of panel.

The research was performed to evaluate influence of the cultural context and the type of panel on sensory profiles of artisan goat cheeses. Two types of sensory panels from the goat cheese-making region (experienced/trained artisan cheese producers vs. goat cheese consumers) and two types of sensory panels from a city area (trained descriptive panellists vs. cheese consumers) were formed. The sensory profiles generated with QDA® and Flash Profile techniques were compared using the hierarchical multiple factor analysis at two levels: type of panel and geographical area. This study demonstrated that sensory panels from the goat cheese-making region used lesser attributes for characterising cheeses. Some discrepancies in sensory profiles were found between the two consumer panels. The two experienced/trained panels were more discriminative and their sensory profiles were similar. Recruiting artisan goat cheese producers for sensory profiling of their own products is a reasonable alternative when training is appropriately conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]