THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS - IFEAT

While lectures are given by the BSF expertsand University staff throughout the course,hands-on, practical and creative training is thecore element.The course commences with gaining practicalfamiliarity with the taste and smell of over100 natural and nature identical rawmaterials, plus the art of creative flavourings.The training ingredients include: herbs andspices, essential oils, extracts, isolates andoleoresins, natural defined chemicalsubstances, nature identical and artificialsubstances, process flavourings and smokeflavouringsIngredient training• Naturalo Herbs and spiceso Essential oilso Extracts, isolates and oleoresinso Natural defined• Flavouring substances• Process flavouringsThe course emphasises the development of individual creative flavouring skills.This involves practical ingredient training, thus:• Each ingredient is evaluated afterdilution in sugar syrup or salt solutionby the students• The emphasis is on practicalparticipation• Each ingredient is odour assessed andtasted by the students and ratedagainst selected organolepticparameters. The group rating wasplotted against a previous expertscore and the differences discussedby the group• 150 ingredients were assessed in 6working days.Practical ingredient training• During the first week 150 ingredients were assessed• Odour and flavour were discussed and individuallyrated for specific organoleptic properties• The groups ratings were collated and comparedagainst those of expertsThe course also emphasises practical creative training, in particular the emphasis is on individualcreativity.• Each student is given an initialbriefing on how to use the results ofthe ingredient evaluation in thecreation of flavourings.• Then working in pairs the studentscreate simple flavourings and thegroup then evaluates these.• As part of their final assessment, eachstudent then has to produce two finalcreations for evaluation, for example,yoghurt and alcoholic drink.Practical creative training• Emphasis was on individual creativity• Each student was shown how to usethe results of the ingredientevaluation in the creation offlavourings• As part of the final assessment, each student had toproduce two final creations for evaluation in differingmedia, e.g. Yoghurt or alcoholic drink• IFEAT award a prize for the best student292