«SEAWEEDS: An Ingredient for a Novel Approach to Artisanal Basic Dairy Products»

Bruno Campos, one of the members of the ALGA4GFood team, presented on November 28th, 2019, at the 2nd International Conference on Food Design and Food Studies (Experiencing Food: Designing Sustainable and Social Practices, EFOOD 2019) the work entitled “Seaweeds: an ingredient for a novel approach to artisanal dairy products”. This work describes the development of dairy products enriched with seaweeds in collaboration with the specialist cheese maker Adolfo Henriques at “Granja dos Moinhos” dairy factory. Qualitative sensory assessments of two products were carried out through a focus group. Butter enriched with three seaweeds (Palmaria palmata, Porphyra spp. and Ulva spp.) was extremely well accepted. The development process was complemented with a handmade packaging made with dry leaves of “Palha de Tabugo” (Typha domingensis). The cheese supplemented with seaweed consisted of a first version, and suggestions were made for its improvement (several months later, the product is in the final stage of development). This work has two objectives, to contribute for the introduction of seaweeds in Portuguese eating habits, and also promoting innovation in the artisanal sector of dairy products.