SPREADABILITY is the ease with which a product can be spread.
It is a desirable characteristic of margarines, butter, jams, chocolate spreads, etc. but is also an important property of ointments, creams and waxes.
It is related to the firmness of a product and, more often than not, the ease of spreading is associated with a loss in firmness.
Long missions and stays on the International Space Station mean that variety and acceptability of food are important for astronauts. Following many years of freeze-dried powders, bite-sized cubes and semi-liquids in toothpaste tubes, a more diverse and interesting range of meals is now on offer. In order to make sure they will withstand the journey and maintain their freshness and taste, repeatable, quantifiable texture analysis is essential.
In conjunction with NASA, Stable Micro Systems’ instrumentation is now being used to advance space food technology. The Space Food Systems laboratory, located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, has enlisted Stable Micro Systems’ expertise to ensure that astronauts are provided with food with optimal appearance, colour, odour, flavour, texture and overall palatability.
