Sensory properties of Italian Istrian Milk lamb meat

The Istrian Milk (Istriana or Carsolina) or Istrian Pramenka is an endangered sheep of the Pramenka group, spread over the Adriatic Karst region of three bordering countries: Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. Its preservation is important in the context of genetic variation conservation, and is functional to the protection and restoration of dry grasslands and small wood patches, which has represented for thousands of years the classical landscape of North-Adriatic uplands, characterised by high ecological value.Transhumance, the traditional form of husbandry, has now been substituted by permanent and semi-permanent herds, thus allowing diet supplementation with some forage and concentrates. The typical products are milk, for cheese making, and lamb meat, provided by young animals starting from 5-6 weeks of age, weighing 12 to 25 kg.To provide objective information on Istrian lamb meat quality, three thesis (ten animals per thesis) differing for rearing practices and feeding intensities (milk, milk and forages, milk and concentrates) were compared. A taste panel was carried out on samples of l. dorsi cooked in a oven at 120°C for 20 min, to determine lamb meat sensory profile. In five replicas, eight trained assessors evaluated, for 14 attributes, three samples per session, using 100mm linear scales scorecards. Multivariate analysis pointed out a good thesis discrimination by the taste panel, mainly due to texture parameters.