food science

Meet ‘the Million-Dollar Palate’ Behind a Flood of New Foods

PORTLAND, Ore. — Most makers of fancy food like to supply a romantic story behind the birth of their triple-berry jam or new ice cream flavor. Maybe it was Grandma’s recipe, or a life-changing trip to Vietnam.

Here in Oregon, there is a fair chance that the inspiration was Sarah Masoni, a university laboratory manager with a title that is less than lyrical: director of the product development and process program at the Food Innovation Center of Oregon State University.