The University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo at Cheese 2019

Conferences, tastings, sensory analysis tests, and campus tours

The University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo will be present at Cheese 2019 with a large stand in Piazza XX Settembre, a lively meeting point where students, professors, and all members of the university community will welcome all those who wish to take part in dairy-themed activities and much more.

The schedule is packed, and leading the offerings are the university students with their proposed activities: starting from daily breakfasts with producers, to aperitifs with producers, along with diverse workshops and tastings.

Then there are the conferences organized by professors, ranging from educational practices in food and agricultural studies and projects on tourism training in cross-border mountain regions to analysis of fraud and counterfeiting in the dairy industry and the sustainability of animal welfare, as well as virtuous nomadic pastoralism and the transformation of milk in the worlds most marginal areas, and finally, the concept of circular cooking, attentive to biodiversity and food waste.

With guided visits designed especially for the occasion of Cheese, visitors can tour the University of Pollenzo led by staff, including visits to the library and sensory analysis laboratory.

Further details of UNISG’s proposals for Cheese:

Nomadic Pastoralism and Cheese

Saturday, September 21 at 3:00pm, UNISG professors Maria Piochi and Gabriele Volpato present on the subject “Nomadic Pastoralism and Cheesemaking: New frontiers and global case studies.” This presentation will highlight challenges and innovations, and social, cultural, and ethnographic implications of virtuous nomadic pastoral projects.  Among the guests will be Robert Paget, Austrian cheesemaker and creator of the “Dairy Truck” project, which creates the possibility for nomadic farmers in marginal areas to transform their milk thanks to a truck furnished with a cheesemaking unit.

Phony Cheese!

Sunday, September 22 at 11:30am is the moment for a rather curious and pressing topic addressed in the conference “The Dark Side of the Cheese: A voyage through the world of counterfeit cheese.” Speaking of “cheese,” there are, in fact, many deceitful practices that show the other side of the coin, including innumerable acts of fraud in the food industry, where deception and the recycling and re-labeling of expired foods are the order of the day. UNISG Professor Silvio Greco will discuss.

Gorgonzola, Love it or Hate it? Consumer Tastes

Those who visit Cheese may also decide to take part in a scientific project promoted by the University of Gastronomic Sciences linked to the perception of the sensory qualities of gorgonzola. The scope of the UNISG study is two-fold: firstly, it proposes to analyze the enjoyment and sensory perception of blue cheeses, and secondly to individuate potential genetic differences in the perception of the flavor of blue cheeses among consumers.

The team of university researchers, guided by research director and UNISG professor Luisa Torri, will put volunteers to the test, offering them tastings of six different types of both sweet and spicy gorgonzola.

Volunteers must reserve their place to participate in the test >

Visit to the Carlo Alberto Grounds, UNESCO Heritage Site

For the occasion of Cheese, the University of Gastronomic Sciences offers the opportunity to visit the  campus to discover its fascinating historic structure, the laboratories, and the library, in addition, of course, to learning about the school’s diverse academic offerings.

From Friday, September 20 to Monday, September 23 it will be possible to choose from several visit starting times: at 11:00am, at 2:00pm or at 4:00pm. Reservations are required >

See UNISG’s detailed day-by-day program for Cheese >

Learn about our programmes…