Exploring the Taste of Place in Lamb

In France, the essence of food and culture is formed on the foundations of le gout de terroir (the taste of the land). This led to our interest in investigating further whether a similar concept exists in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This research focused on lamb as it represents a large part of our culinary and rural culture. The research investigated whether there is a difference in the flavour and texture of New Zealand lamb due to the region in which the meat is produced.

The demographic for this study included butchers, restaurateurs and farmers. Small tasting groups blind-tasted lamb from different regions of New Zealand and rated flavours on a number of dimensions. Ratings were completed by individual tasters, and were not open to group discussion.

The findings enabled the Faculty of Business Development and Service Industries to better equip students with extended learning, especially within the culinary sphere, so that the students may understand regional differences in flavour and texture.

Read the full report: Exploring the Taste of Place in Lamb (pdf, 3.7MB)