Gastronomy, as a part of cultural heritage, has exceptional potential in tourism, and its key representatives and conservationists/guardians are hospitality facilities that provide food services. Vojvodina (the Republic of Serbia) is a region inhabited by more than 30 ethnic minorities that have nurtured their cultural heritage and have been incorporating it into gastronomy for many years. The subject of this paper is the gastronomy of ethnic groups in Vojvodina and its significance for tourism development from the point of view of hospitality workers as important actors in the sustainability of heritage. One of the motives behind this study is the twelfth UN sustainable development goal (SDGs) defined in 2015, which refers to providing sustainable forms of consumption and production and which emphasizes the development and application of tools for monitoring the impact that sustainable development has on tourism that promotes local culture and products (12b). The aim of this study was to obtain data on the preservation of heritage, that is, on authenticity within the region/area and ethnic groups, and then to perform a valorization of dishes and define steps on how to make gastronomic heritage a more visible tourist attraction, from the perspective of sustainability. Our survey included a sample of 508 respondents, all employees in the hospitality industry. The obtained results were statistically processed. The research showed that the Južnabačka district has the greatest importance in tourism from the aspect of the implementation, preservation, and sustainability of gastronomic heritage in tourism. Among the ethnic groups, the Vojvodina Hungarians place the greatest importance on the preservation of gastronomy, which includes dishes such as goulash and uses ingredients such as river fish. The research led to the conclusion that those in the hospitality industry are of the opinion that gastronomic heritage should be promoted through activities such as tourist exposure, marketing activities, and promoting the diversity of authentic food offers in catering facilities.

This study is concerned with the determination of technological quality characteristics of dried pomaces, i.e. blackberry and raspberry seeds, along with the quality parameters, content of total carotenoids and chlorophyl and transparency of crude extracted oil (using organic solvent). Blackberry seeds (Rubus fruticosus L.) were obtained from a domestic variety Cacanska bestrna, while the raspberry seeds (Rubus idaeus L.) were of the variety Willamette. Oil content of the blackberry pomace was 13.97 and 14.34%, while the oil content of the raspberry pomace was 13.44 and 14.33% on dry basis (d.b.). In regard to technological characteristics of the pomaces, i.e. volumetric and specific weight, no considerably difference was found. However, a weight test for 1000 seeds showed a significant difference in weight: 3.5 g (d.b.) for the blackberry pomace and 1.5 g for the raspberry pomace (d.b.). Proximate analysis of blackberry seed oil showed that this oil had better quality since the FFA value was 3.43% (sample B1) and 3.53% (sample B2), while the peroxide value was 8.89 and 11.16 mmol/kg, respectively. Raspberry seed oil had higher FFA (8.59 and 8.83% for sample R1 and R2) and peroxide values (13.99 and 13.84 for sample R1 and R2) than the blackberry seed oil. Crude extracted blackberry seed oil had a brown-greenish color due to the high total chlorophyll content (around 3000 mg/kg dissolved in cyclohexane). Raspberry seed oil had a dark yellowishorange color, due to lower chlorophyll content (around 200 mg/kg) compared to the blackberry seed oil, while the content of total carotenoids was slightly higher in this oil (around 40 mg/kg) compared to the blackberry seed oil (33 mg/kg).

Hull-less pumpkin seed press-cake, a by-product of the pumpkin oil pressing process, was used to formulate a fat-based spread which resembled commercial peanut butter; both in the appearance and in texture. In this study, response surface methodology was used to investigate the effects of a commercial stabilizer and cold-pressed hemp oil added to the pumpkin seed press-cake, on the texture of the formulations using instrumental texture profile analysis. The responses were significantly affected by both variables tested in a central composite, two factorial experimental design on five levels. Strong and firm spreads, without visible oil separation were formed and had an appearance and texture comparable to commercial peanut butter. In terms of the primary food texture attributes such as hardness, cohesiveness and adhesiveness, determined by the instrumental texture analysis, the optimum combination of variables with 1-1.2% of added stabilizer and 20- 40% of added hemp oil (in the oil phase) produced desirable spreads.

Gastronomy is a key driver of regional tourism development. Despite growing recognition of its role in enhancing tourist experiences, the specific contributions of food-related factors remain insufficiently explored, especially from the perspective of hospitality and tourism employees. To address this gap, an investigation was carried out in the tourist region of Srem (A.P. Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia) through the perspective of employees in the hospitality and tourism sector. The custom-made GastroRegDevelop scale, developed for the purpose of this research, was used to comprise the food-related factors. The scale was carefully crafted through expert consultations, pilot testing, and its adaptation to the specific features of the gastronomy of the Srem Region, to ensure its clarity and validity. From a sample of 254 respondents, the survey identified four key food-related factors that contribute to tourism development: authenticity, events, quality, and food offer. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to analyze the collected data to reveal the initial factors, followed by the ordinal regression to evaluate their impact on employees’ satisfaction with the role of food in tourism and its economic effects in the region. The results indicated the importance of these factors for economic growth and tourist attractiveness, where the respondents singled out the authenticity and quality of local products as key elements in attracting tourists and increasing tourism-related income. This study not only highlights the urgent need for addressing specific food-related factors to maximize visitor satisfaction and regional economic impact, but also underscores the critical role of gastronomy in fostering sustainable regional development and establishing a unique regional identity within the global tourism market.

Six cold-pressed oil samples obtained from the seeds of different grape varieties grown in a Fruska Gora vineyard in the Republic of Serbia were examined for chemical and nutritive quality, as well as antiradical capacity. All the tested samples were of good quality, but the results showed noticeable differences in seed oil properties for red and white grape varieties. The highest content in total tocols, 575.23 +/- 4.46 mg/kg, was found in the red grape seed oil of the Merlot variety, but the vitamin E activity of white grape seed oils was significantly higher. Regarding single phenols, the most prevalent fraction in all the oil samples was ursolic acid, up to 336.3 +/- 4.8 mu g/g in the grape seed oil of the Hamburg variety. The highest content in the total phenolic compounds, 54.92 +/- 0.93 mu g GAE/g, was detected in the oil of red grape seeds. Although significant differences existed between samples, EC50 values were the lowest for the red grape seed oils, varying from 29.84 +/- 1.07 to 65.34 +/- 0.32 mg oil/mg DPPH, indicating that these oils had the highest antiradical capacity.

High dietary fibre cookies were manufactured from non-wheat (triticale, spelt and rye) flours with apple, beetroot and pumpkin pomace powders added as natural colourants. Cookies were characterized by nutritional composition, colour, texture and sensory profile and subjected to a 2-month shelf-life study. Additionally, an acceptability study was done to determine consumers’ acceptance of cookies. Cookies prepared from rye flour and pumpkin pomace, as well as cookies prepared from spelt flour and beetroot pomace, can be labelled as ‘high fibre’ (dietary fibre content of 8.90% and 7.09%, respectively), while cookies prepared from triticale flour and apple pomace can be labelled as a ‘source of fibre’ (dietary fibre content of 4.50%). No obvious trend in the colour of cookies was observed after storage at room temperature and 40 °C, indicating the stability of natural colourants. Hardness decrease was observed in all samples after storage; however, the acceptability study showed that consumers prefer softer cookies. Sensory analysis showed that there were no signs of rancidity in samples after storage. Although triticale flour and apple pomace sample received the highest liking scores for appearance, odour and taste, all samples had liking ratings higher than 4 (indifferent) and can be further modified to satisfy consumers’ demands.