Tuesday, 8 November 2016

Using Texture Analysis in the Competitive world of Haircare development

Human hair and skin become soiled due to its contact with the surrounding environment and from the sebum secreted by the scalp. 

The soiling of hair and skin causes it to have a dirty feel and an unattractive appearance.  Shampooing cleans the hair by removing excess soil and sebum. However, shampooing can leave the hair in a wet, tangled, and generally unmanageable state. Once the hair dries, it is often left in a dry, rough, lustreless, or frizzy condition due to removal of the hair's natural oils. 

Tuesday, 1 November 2016

The Battle of the Confectioners in the Development of Chocolate

Biting a chocolate
Chocolate continues to be the world’s favourite confection bringing to mind images of comfort, indulgence and taste. 

With a successful product comes tough competition between the major players in the confectionery world to make new advances in product development. Pushing the development envelope to create new novel versions of such a product requires the tools to assess and compare the effects of new processes and ingredients. This is where texture analysis becomes a manufacturer’s best friend.

Tuesday, 25 October 2016

Investigating the Full Picture of Adhesive Testing

Opening adhesive tubeThe development of Texture Analysers has opened up a wealth of opportunities for adhesive testing and analysis. 

Most recently the ability to replay, freeze-frame and share your product testing data using a Video Capture and Synchronisation System has been introduced. This is a fantastic tool for teaching others about the nature of your product and for those new to the field or, more importantly, to help you gain a frame-by-frame understanding of your product failure.

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

Lifting the lid on food and drink packaging tests

Opening drink canA new rig has been developed to allow manufacturers of food tins and beverage cans to measure the force needed to lift the ring pull and open the container. 

This new development could signal the end of consumer frustration with trying to open metal packaging that is too stiff, or where the ring pull detaches from the lid. 


Understanding and quantifying the force needed to use a ring pull is vital for both packaging manufacturers and their customers to ensure safety, functionality and consumer experience. 


Thursday, 13 October 2016

Substituting your Meat at mealtimes: Part 3: Battle of the burgers – texture comparison

Eating a burger
Perhaps the easiest of meat products to recreate is the burger or “pattie” as it can take a combination of ingredients in bulk and form a structural mass that attempts to mimic a burger with dense mouthfeel. 

The use of quinoa, brown rice, bulgur and vegetables can be successfully combined as a fibre-rich patty with the texture of a meat burger.

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

Predicting Consumer Juiciness Ratings of Meat


Cutting raw meat
Texture is the most important sensory trait when evaluating meat products. 

According to researchers at the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada: “The four important factors that determine meat tenderness are background toughness (determined antemortem), the toughening phase during rigor onset, the tenderisation phase (during the postmortem aging period), and the denaturation/solubilisation of proteins during cooking. 

Tuesday, 4 October 2016

The Periodic Table of Probes and Fixtures for Texture Analysis

Periodic table of probes and fixtures
Creating families, grouping by common properties: if Mendeleev managed to do it for the elements, then why not collate the range of Stable Micro Systems products into the instantly recognisable form of a periodic table?

Here you will see how all the currently available probes and fixtures that can be attached to a Texture Analyser can be grouped by test principle: Cutting & Shearing, Puncture & Penetration, Friction, Extrusion, Tension, Peel & Adhesion, Compression – plus Special Attachments and Accessories

Tuesday, 27 September 2016

The Texture Analysis of Pizza

Pizza test
Are you interested in the texture of pizza? 

Clearly, the optimum extensibility of the dough and the desirable 'stretch' of the cheese are essential aspects of creating a great result for the consumer. The meat texture must also be suitable for this particular application.

But for quantity production there are also important checks that need to be made to ensure trouble-free processing, such as the ease of grating of the cheese and assessment of consistency of the pizza sauce.