PAIRING PARMESAN AND CANASTRA CHEESE WITH CACHAÇA

In recent years, cachaça has established itself as a refined beverage capable of pleasing even the finest palate, gaining prominence as an export product. It is essential to grasp that cachaça has already become part of the gourmet milieu, where diverse sensory and cultural elements are considered. As a source of potential enhancement, harmonizing cachaça can incentivize consumers to add value to the product. Consequently, this study aimed to assess the harmonization of a commercial sample of cachaça aged in amburana wood barrels alongside two distinct types of cheese: Parmesan and Canastra. The test involved 26 participants from different stages of the cachaça production chain, aged between 18 and 60. The sensory analysis unfolded in two phases: initially, the tasters were asked to try the cheese before proceeding to taste the cachaça. They were instructed to articulate their sensory perceptions arising from the pairing. The cheese samples were systematically balanced and identified by randomized three-digit codes. Subsequently, in the second phase, participants were solicited to express their preference for one of the cheese samples in terms of pairing. Sensory perceptions and harmony preferences were scrutinized by analyzing the frequency of mentions. The outcomes revealed that the combination of cachaça with Parmesan cheese emerged as the most favored choice, garnering a preference rate of 54%. For both cheese varieties, tasters consistently reported a sweet sensory perception, accompanied by a heightened perception of alcohol content during the pairing. In the case of Parmesan cheese, the sensory attributes encompassed descriptors such as "intense cachaça", "bitter", "good harmonization" and "cheese taste". In contrast, for Canastra cheese, tasters predominantly characterized it as "mild", "spicy" and "acid". In conclusion, it can be deduced that both Parmesan and Canastra cheese constitute commendable choices for harmonizing with cachaça, thereby increasing the added value of cachaça.