For those who are new to this field of science, the following recent articles give a good introduction in several explanatory styles and highlight the importance of food texture:
MAKING DAIRY TEXTURE A PRIORITY
'Making Dairy Texture a Priority' is an interesting article, published recently in Food Business News, reviewing the progress being made by major dairy product manufacturers in their efforts to make quality improvements and gain brand loyalty.
When it comes to dairy products, consumers typically expect smooth, creamy and void of standing moisture, liquid or frozen. They don’t want starchy or gummy lumps in sour cream, protein or mineral sedimentation in drinkable yogurt, or ice crystals in ice cream.
Visual cues are indicators of product texture, which in turn influences how the product feels in the mouth. This is why texture has become a focal point during the early stages of product development.
Most consumers don’t think about a food’s texture or mouthfeel unless it is inferior. Texturants can assist with delivering a product that keeps consumers coming back.
“Texture is our first, and often our lasting impression of the food we eat,” said Brian Surratt, senior dairy applications scientist at Cargill Texturizing Solutions, Minneapolis, USA. “As a result, one of the most basic questions to answer before any development project begins is what is the intended consumer’s textural expectations and desires".
To read more on Cargill and other manufacturers' texturant solutions, click or tap here...
TASTE, TEXTURE AND TEMPERATURE
Getting food texture right for individual needs can make all the difference between enjoying food and being unable/unwilling to eat.
The reality for a fair number of maxillofacial surgery patients is that they will experience difficulties with eating and/or drinking of some sort during or after treatment periods, of varying degrees of severity and varying duration. Understanding the complicated processes that all need to work to perfection in order for us to be able to swallow properly, as well as the role of saliva in supporting chewing and swallowing, equips us with hints and ideas about how to mitigate many of these problems.
Our experience of eating is a complex mixture of contributions from different senses (taste and smell), the texture and temperature of foods, habits and social situations, our sense of (visual) aesthetics, sensual pleasures, as well as the clever ways in which nature runs our appetite in order to ensure that our bodies get the necessary nutrition.
Concentrating on our sense of taste and the texture and temperature of food and drink is therefore a massive simplification but is helpful to gain some understanding of the interplay of food and drink with eating / swallowing. This is important to understand the normal functions, what happens when they are compromised and, hence, how one can best mitigate such difficulties by all kinds of practical tricks and how the modification of texture and temperature of foods enables oral food intake even in difficult circumstances.
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According to CalmerMe, the likelihood of your eating anything during chemotherapy can be improved by focusing on a meal’s texture rather than its ingredients. Different textures will work at different times for different people, so it might take a little experimenting.
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TEXTURE IS THE NEXT BIG THING
According to Mintel, texture is ‘the next big thing’, in food and beverage marketing in the US and Latin America.
As companies try to keep up with demand for new products and experiences texture plays a pivotal role in how consumers experience food and beverages.
Playing up texture can make existing products more exciting and give manufacturers another tool to renovate iconic brands, which in turn can ease the pressure to constantly innovate entirely new concepts.
The Research Manager for Mintel Food & Drink in the Americas told attendees at the Food Tech Summit & Expo in Mexico last week that data points to the fact that 81% of consumers in France say they choose ice creams that have different textures in them, and that 52% of consumers in China say they expect indulgent biscuits not just to have a great flavour but also layers of texture.
To read the full article on Food Navigator USA, click or tap here...
Once manufacturers have decided that their new products need to have a textural focus they will need to measure this texture in order to provide consistency of quality and, in return, consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty.
This is where the TA.XTplus Texture Analyser is the obvious tool for the job.
If you would like to see a summary of the many different textural properties that can be measured, visit our Textural Properties page...
TEXTURE IS THE FINAL FRONTIER OF FOOD SCIENCE
More than ever, products must feel right. Tweaking texture could give us healthy versions of our favourite junk foods – and that's just the beginning.
According to a recent Popular Science article, food’s texture, called rheology, is so intricately tied to our food preferences that it’s becoming a bona fide area of study.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) uses computational models to study how food moves and interacts with all of the surfaces of the mouth – technology previously used to predict tsunamis – to help better understand the connection.
The Tsunami inside our mouths
A lot happens inside of our mouths between the first bite and the final swallow. The tongue may gently nudge the morsel towards the central incisors – whether to the left or on the right is a matter of unconscious preference – to break food down to even smaller pieces.
The pieces may linger there, or get shunted to the back molars, or the tongue may shift them wholly to the other side. Alternatively, pieces may rest chipmunk-style in the cheek sacs along both sides of the mouth while the molars get to work. Or, depending on the person and the food, the piece may linger on the tongue, where salivary acids let it soften a bit before chewing even begins.
Click or tap here to read the full article...
JAPANESE SCIENTISTS PROBE THE MYSTERIES OF FOOD TEXTURE
Food companies are watching with keen interest as researchers in Japan delve into the nuts and bolts of sensations like "crispness" and "springiness". Their findings are expected to lead to new and more appetising products.
Taste, aroma and appearance are important factors in determining the appeal of foods, but the finer details of the dining experience are still little understood. The researchers are working to uncover the secrets of food texture by gathering data on "mouthfeel" and the microstructures of various ingredients.
Takashi Nakamura, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, is conducting studies on the springy textures of various kinds of starch.
Each type has its own characteristics. Tapioca, commonly found in bead-shaped form in Asian milk tea drinks, and "waxy cornstarch," used as a thickener in Japanese sweets, are different forms of starch. Their chewiness is similar, but the "waxy" form is easier to bite through, while tapioca has greater elasticity. The experience of eating them is filtered through the senses, so formulating a numerical index presents a challenge.
Quantifying 'crispy' and 'chewy' points the way to new and better products, according to Rimi Inomata of the Nikkei Asian Review.
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EATING BY TEXTURE
Eating by texture is a common type of disordered eating
When it is not indicative of another condition, eating by texture means that an individual has decided to sort his or her food choices by the way that foods feels rather than by how it tastes or if it is required for a balanced diet.
For example, some disordered eaters may choose only foods that require chewing with the thought that this action may burn extra calories.
Other disordered eaters may choose only foods that “squish” in their mouths because they prefer that feeling to foods that “crunch.” While there is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying some textures over others, if this preference leads to eliminating foods required for healthy eating then it will adversely impact the body and overall health.
To read more of this article, written by Beth Morrisey, please click or tap here...
Texture: Top of the Agenda
It’s taken time, but the food industry now seems to be really getting to grips with texture’s true potential. This is obvious when you look at the direction in which many food companies are currently moving. With the emphasis strongly on mouthfeel, texturisers of all shapes and sizes are being launched into an already competitive market. And it’s not just about perfecting a specific texture – it’s about creating new ones too.
Texture analysis instrumentation has been helping manufacturers to measure and perfect texture for decades, and its scope is continually widening. Texture now tops the agenda; sensory panels are being accompanied by sophisticated instruments that quantify attributes such as stickiness, crunchiness and chewiness.
As the food industry moves forward, texture analysis seems always ready to move with it, offering creative solutions for every need. And with recent advancements including simultaneous force, distance, acoustic and video recordings, we’re sure to see manufacturers and suppliers achieve more great things with texture analysis in the future.
The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.
There is a Texture Analysis test for virtually any physical property. Contact Stable Micro Systems today to learn more about our full range of solutions.
For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.
The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.
No-one understands texture analysis like we do!
To discuss your specific test requirements, click here...
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