Geaux Rouge and Whole Foods Market presented “Building A Better BBQ Sauce” at the LSU AgCenter Sensory Services Lab on Aug. 31.
The lab is working to develop different and better tasting sauces. Graduate student Jose Alonso has been researching a healthier alternative to traditional barbecue sauce.
“Tonight is a follow-up on the sodium reduction approach that we have been working on in the sensory lab,” Alonso said. “The overall idea is to make food products healthier and how science and technology is put into work in the goal to achieve that. My barbecue sauce has less than one-tenth of the sodium content of the average barbecue sauce on the market. Taste-wise, you can tell there is a difference, but it is within acceptable limits.”
Some others who helped Alonso host the event were attorney and owner of Geaux Rouge Franz Borghardt, Professor Witoon Prinyawiwatkul and Sensory Lab Manager Ashley Gutierrez.
“The overall objective is to promote healthy foods while having fun,” Alonso said.
Guests divided into groups to compete to create the best barbecue sauce. They were given Jose’s barbecue sauce as a base and added various ingredients to alter it to their tastes. Among the ingredients were garlic, onions, bacon bits, brown sugar and much more, but no salt.
After 20 minutes, each group evaluated the other’s sauces. Guests agreed that making barbecue sauce without salt was difficult, but when tasting the sauces, they said they did not taste like they lacked salt.
“On social media, prior to this event, I know a lot of barbecue enthusiasts and I asked them, ‘what is the most essential ingredient in barbecue sauce?’ The most common answer was vinegar,” Borghardt said. “Nobody said salt.”
The Sensory Services Lab has an electronic tongue that can measure sweetness, saltiness and bitterness, similar to a human tongue. They also have sensory testing booths where researchers can conduct tests with very little communication to avoid bias. The lab also has color lighting to mask color differences between samples to enhance focus on the flavor, Gutierrez said.
Next week, the lab will be conducting tests involving peanuts and pecans. Consumers who participate in various taste tests are called Tiger Tasters. Anyone 18 years or older can sign up to be a Tiger Taster with the lab, Gutierrez said.
Sensory Booths sit in the Animal and Food Sciences Laboratories on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017.
