Anàlisi sensorial de l'espigall (Brassica oleracea L. var. Acephala) del Garraf

The espigall del Garraf (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala) is a popular landrace rooted in the Garraf region. It presents numerous singularities, not only regarding its morphology, but also its sensory characteristics. Its sensory characteristics have provided to this vegetable a deserved recognition among consumers because it is a gastronomic treasure, with a great culinary versatility and potential. However, in recent years, its consumption and consequently, its culture, have suffered a substantial decline. Aiming to revive the cultivation and consumption of this variety, Fundacio Miquel Agusti started a project three years ago to invigorate and improve its genetic features financed by Diputacio de Barcelona, the improvement of its organoleptic features is one of the cornerstones of this project and the frame of this work. This work has two main objectives. The first objective is to develop a standardized cooking method for the preparation of espigall for a subsequent sensory analysis. For the achievement of this aim, it has been necessary to conduct a series of interviews with consumers, producers and restaurateurs of the Garraf region linked with espigall. The second objective of this paper is to perform the prior steps to the training of a panel of tasters. To achieve this, a consumer survey has been done at the Vilanova i la Geltru Central market and, once the information has been collected, processed and verified with the literature, the sensory attributes that describe espigall have been obtained. Subsequently, references associated with each descriptor have been selected and a cooking method has been developed for each one of them. A first result has been the obtaining of the attributes that describe the espigall: odor intensity, hardness, fibrosity, taste intensity, sweetness and bitterness. In addition, a standard cooking protocol for both espigall and reference for each descriptor has been developed as well as an espigall tasting sheet for training tasters and a tasting sheet proposal for descriptive sensory analysis.