Meg Kirchner (FDSC '15)
One of the best decisions that I made senior year was to apply for the Italy trip. I though “when else was I going to tour food plants in an amazingly beautiful country?” It was so much better than I ever could have hoped for. All three cities are breathtaking and different. While Bologna is a smaller university town, Torino was a busy city with it’s own subway system, and Parma was somewhere in between. Ordering food in halting Italian was less daunting with a couple friends from food science and the all of the food was more than worth the effort to order.
Touring the plants was without a doubt the best part of the trip. The Parmigiano-Reggiano plant was amazing and we got to see every step of cheese making from initial milk receiving to aging. Seeing literally over 1,000 cheeses in one room stacked to the ceiling was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Some of the plants are all about “craft” and “art” and others, like the Gorgonzola plant, were more stringent on sanitation and contamination. You get a feel for what it takes to make each product just by walking in. Needless to say, Ferraro was one delicious-smelling, mouth-watering, chocolate-eating experience. Everyone was so excited to show us just how they made the products and we got to taste a plethora of food. Seeing how Europe and the US differ with food production and management systems was enlightening. I understand why DOP products are such a big deal in Europe and why they don’t like it when we call our Kraft cheese “Parmesan”. Seeing how food is produced and treated in two separate continents has given me a different outlook on Food Science. Just because the exact science isn’t know doesn’t mean that making something in a very particular way is silly. Visiting all those plant made me more open to small scale factories making exceptional products. It’s a wonderful experience that can change your perspective and allow you to eat tons of food. Everyone should go on this trip. |
Lizz Carney (FDSC '17)
Going to Italy was an awesome experience for both personal and professional growth. The food tours were a little bit of everything, from small scale artisan cheeses to mass produced commercial products. I think the food tours were extremely interesting and I was genuinely surprised by how much of the production process some of the facilities let us see. Companies like Barilla and Ferrero were the most fun, and the shear volume of product they can produce in a single day is mind-blowing. However, these types of facilities are easy to imagine after you’ve seen any kind of mass production line; the smaller facilities were a lot more unique. Seeing the traditional production of prosciutto and balsamic vinegar was so cool. The trip to Italy is worth it to see these traditional products that are not made in the United States.
Personally my favorite tour was Parmigiano-Reggiano. Visiting this facility really gives you an appreciation for how much of an art cheese making is. As food scientists, we’re conditioned to think about measurements and technical procedures, but watching the Parmigiano-Reggiano production makes it clear that there are other ways to manufacture food products. While the food tours were the main focus of the trip, going to Italy was so much more than just watching food manufacturing. I’m so happy that we had plenty of free time to explore the cities we were in. I loved Bologna. I’m also glad we had the opportunity to eat on our own a lot. Picking restaurants and trying to commutate with limited language skills ended up being a fun challenge, and the food was always worth it! I still miss getting espresso after every meal. And gelato every day! Overall I would highly recommend that trip to anyone in food science. The exposure to the industry is great, and the freedom to explore Italy and learn a different culture is invaluable. |