Snack Product Texture Measurement and Analysis

Breakfast cereals and snack foods such as tortilla chips, potato crisps, corn puffs and prawn crackers have many features in common, both in their manufacturing processes and in their product characteristics. 

Many of these products are made from similar types of raw materials and tend to be processed as doughs at much higher temperatures than those used for conventional baked products.

Although the final products in the breakfast cereal and snack food markets are distinctly different in their appearance, they all tend to have low residual moisture contents and similar brittle crispy textures.

It’s time to perform Textural Magic! Part Three

Performing textural magic with the use of new food preparation techniques

The Croquanter Technique – creating crunchy fruit and vegetables

Dehydrating foods is a process which has been carried out forever but, more recently, molecular gastronomy chefs have been using the dehydration technique in very creative ways.

Crunchy Sheets is a technique developed by molecular gastronomy Chef Ferran Adria to create a variety of shapes of crispy sheets of ingredients such as fruit, vegetable and yogurt with the addition of caster sugar, isomalt and/or glucose. The crunchy sheets are made at relatively low temperatures (under 80°C) to preserve the delicate aromas of the main ingredient and a dehydrator is used to obtain the crunchy texture.

Texture Analysis in action: Bloom test for gels

GELS (Bloom test):
P/0.5 - AOAC method;
P/0.5R - ISO method
XT/BL - Bloom jar

The measurement of gel strength is of widespread interest in the manufacture of pharmaceutical, medical and cosmetic products, and also in areas of the food industry such as confectionery.

Gel properties such as elasticity and rupture force of, for example, pectin, gelatine, agar etc. are important in the development of such products as coronary stents where hydrogel polymers are selected due to their soft, rubbery nature which gives them a strong, superficial resemblance to living, soft tissue.

It’s time to perform Textural Magic! Part Two

Performing textural magic with
the use of texturising agents

Continuing our look at the world of Molecular Gastronomy...

Texture Trick No. 1: Spherification:
creating multi-textured gel balls
The spherification technique (created by el Bulli in 2003) consists of a controlled jellification of a liquid which forms spheres when submerged in a bath.

The sphere of liquid surrounded by a delicate membrane of jelly breaks very easily when placed in the mouth, releasing an explosion of flavour.

The spheres can be made in different sizes and have been given names like ‘caviar’ when they are small; or ‘eggs’, ‘gnocchi’ and ‘ravioli’ when they are larger. They are flexible and need to be carefully manipulated. It is possible to introduce solid elements in the sphere which will remain in suspension in the liquid, giving the possibility of introducing multiple flavours and textures in one preparation.

Just about anything can be given the appearance of balls of caviar with this trick. Sodium alginate is mixed with any liquid which is then dripped into a calcium salt and water solution. Scooped out at the optimum time, they should be jellied on the outside and still liquid in the middle as the calcium solution will set the sodium alginate gel. Fruit juices make a nice choice for spherification as you can add them to desserts for a touch of decoration. Alternatively, balls of consommé, or balsamic vinaigrette balls can be presented for an interesting savoury garnish.

Texture Analysis in action: the Kieffer Dough and Gluten Extensibility Rig

The KIEFFER DOUGH & GLUTEN EXTENSIBILITY RIG (A/KIE) was invented by Dr. Kieffer at the Kurt-Hess Institute, Munich, as an improved method for the accurate determination of dough and gluten extensibility.

Parallel tests of dough and gluten can reveal particular characteristics arising from homogenisation, long relaxation times or from adding oxidants, salts, emulsifiers or enzymes.

It’s time to perform Textural Magic! Part One

An introduction to Culinology, Texture and Molecular Gastronomy

Molecular gastronomy, originally a term coined to describe the scientific study of food and cooking, is now more associated with innovative modern cuisine.

Successful chefs have realised that to be at the top of their game they need to create new culinary experiences using a combination of unusual tastes, textures and theatrical twists to give the eating experience a new multi-sensory dimension. This is enabled by a variety of new high-tech equipment, adjusted traditional preparation techniques and a handful of clever chemicals.

Whilst molecular gastronomy has been the application of scientific principles to the understanding and improvement of small scale food preparation, a recent explosion in food technology and the demand for gourmet, nutritious and unique sensory experiences has created a new career opportunity called Culinology. This blends the training of a culinary arts chef with food science and nutrition education to form an exciting new highly desirable career path.

Texture Analysis in action: Universal Syringe Rig

The innovative UNIVERSAL SYRINGE RIG* (A/USR) effectively measures the aspiration and extraction forces of syringe pistons.

The extraction force quantifies how easily the injectable material is expressed during syringe depression and material discharge. This measured force impacts patient comfort during injection and affects how the material is received when deposited under the skin.

Let's get cracking - tips and tricks for successful fracturability testing

FRACTURABILITY is the tendency of a material to fracture, crumble, crack, shatter or fail upon the application of a relatively small amount of force or impact.

It is usually displayed by a product of high degree of hardness and low degree of cohesiveness and is commonly the textural property possessed by baked goods, snacks and generally 'dry' products. 

Fracturability encompasses crumbliness, crispiness, crunchiness and brittleness. A material is brittle if it is liable to fracture when subjected to stress. That is, it has little tendency to deform (or strain) before fracture and usually makes a snapping sound.

Assessing single point fracture

Sometimes you quite simply want to measure the force to break something in the middle.  Many products exist in a solid bar form and as such their snap strength – or force to break – is of interest.

A Three Point Bend test mimics the breaking of the product in half by supporting a bar with guides positioned a suitable distance apart and pushing down centrally with a curved blade from the top. A low force is indicative of a product which requires little effort by the consumer to break whilst the distance at the break point indicates the degree of flexibility, or conversely brittleness, that the product possesses.