Travel guide to new taste universes

Haven't tried brown cheese with caviar? Lars Haugen Aardal is leading the development of the new taste laboratory and promises many exciting experiences.

Before Lars Haugen Aardal from Leikanger wrote his master's thesis on herring and got a teaching job in Bergen, he was very unsure whether to become a chef or a chemist. Now he gets to use his knowledge and explore topics he is passionate about, as responsible for the development of a taste laboratory at the upcoming ViteMeir -center.

He knows a lot about sensory research and chemistry, but in a taste laboratory the experience is anything but straightforward numbers and formulas. He himself has some favorite combinations that he is happy to share with others.

– Licorice and salmon! Mayonnaise and banana. My youngest loves brown cheese and caviar, he says. The goal is to inspire people to try their hand at it, to make food a great joy in everyday life, to explore how we experience the world through our sense of taste and smell. How do we talk about taste? What words are there? What happens when we mix different flavors?

"Luktoscope"

And why do freshly picked apples from Sogn taste completely different from apples that have traveled far?

– SmaksLab would like to show that the taste experience can also be influenced by learning about where and how the apple is grown. It is more than just the flavor chemistry that makes it taste better, especially when we have a good story or good memories associated with the apple, he says. There really are whole new universes that open up in a SmaksLab.

– Imagine a "luktoscope" that can recreate the smells of different foods - the smell of yellow gravestone, fresh chanterelles or grandfather's deer stew. With knowledge of the chemistry behind smell and taste in addition to high-tech equipment, it is possible to achieve something like this, he says.

From tradition to inspiration

Sustainability is important for ViteMeir -center, also in the development of the TasteLab. Then local involvement from suppliers is important. Lerum factories have already stepped in as a sponsor. Project manager at ViteMeir , Marianne Jevnaker, calls Trine Lerum a "godmother" for the very idea of a taste laboratory, after a brainstorming session last year.

– Very nice! But there were probably several of us who thought the same thing, says the managing director of the Lerum group. She is very enthusiastic about the SmaksLab project.

– With the traditions we have for food and drink in this region, we must have a taste laboratory! All of us who are involved in the production and sale of food and drink locally should contribute, she says. The Lerum Group is among those who have supported ViteMeir from the start, through a collaboration agreement. But SmaksLab is not about testing or finding commercial innovations for any particular manufacturer.

Gift for travel

– We have our own laboratory for product development. The point of SmaksLab for us is to help create interest in food science and nutrition, we have a lot to gain from children and young people getting inspiration that can strengthen recruitment to food science education. This is how Lerum as a company will benefit from the project in the long term, says the director. She nevertheless believes that in addition to local food producers, it is the tourism industry that has the most to gain from the establishment of SmaksLab.

“It is such inspiration at a young age that creates the chefs of the future. At the same time, we know that food experiences are at the top of the list of what many tourists want,” says Lerum, who thus challenges the tourism industry to contribute further.

Strong team

Many other good people are also involved in the development of SmaksLab. Kristin Sætherdal Myhra and Eskil Norne Kveim work at the teacher education department at HVL to create learning objectives linked to the academic focus areas at ViteMeir and anchor these in upcoming new curricula from autumn 2020. Svein Anders Dahl, retired director of VilVite in Bergen, is associated with the project as a science center professional advisor. Stein Joar Hegland at HVL has been heavily involved in the content work and has, among other things, prepared the report 􀎗Idegrunnlag for ViteMeir . Academic profile and concept sketches for content. Several academic environments at HVL are involved in the work of developing various concept sketches, for example SEFAL, various faculties and departments within sports, geology and renewable energy. Vestlandforsking has also established its own working group of researchers to contribute to the development of subject content.