Textural Characteristics of World Foods

Katsuyoshi Nishinari

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781119430698
• eBook ISBN: 9781119430797
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

A complete guide to the textural characteristics of an international array of traditional and special foods

It is widely recognized that texture has an intrinsic relationship to food preference. A full understanding of its functions and qualities is, therefore, of crucial importance to food technologists and product developers, as well as those working towards the treatment of dysphagia.

Textural Characteristics of World Foods is the first book to apply a detailed set of criteria and characteristics to the textures of traditional and popular foods from across the globe. Structuring chapters by region, its authors chart a journey through the textural landscapes of each continent's cuisines, exploring the complex and symbiotic relationships that exist between texture, aroma, and taste. This innovative text:

• Provides an overview of the textural characteristics of a wide range of foods
• Includes descriptions of textures and key points of flavor release
• Examines the relationships between the texture, taste, and aroma of each food presented
• Is structured by geographic region

Rich with essential insights and important research, Textural Characteristics of World Foods offers all those working in food science and development a better picture of texture and the multifaceted role it can play.

1
Food Texture – Sensory Evaluation and Instrumental Measurement

Kaoru Kohyama

Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

1.1 Introduction: History of Food Texture Studies

Various types of foods are consumed across the worlds. Humans have experienced different food textures and carried on the tradition during the sharing of their foods over many generations, but it is not known when texture studies of foods first began. The great scientist Robert Hooke, after from Hookean solids are named, explained the principle of elastic deformation of solids, and Isaac Newton, who founded the law governing the flow of simple liquids (Newtonian fluids), may be included in the founding of texture studies. A great number of works were published more than 100 years ago (Bourne 2002, pp. 26–27), but food texture as a main study subject appears to have originated in the late 1950s (Szczesniak 2002). As texture is defined as “all the mechanical, geometrical and surface attributes of a product perceptible by means of mechanical, tactile and, where appropriate, visual and auditory receptors” (ISO 11036 1994), food texture is perceived as the physical characteristics of food experienced by humans; therefore, only humans can perceive and describe texture (Szczesniak 2002). Texture analyses that combine a sensory evaluation and an instrumental measurement have been widely performed since the 1960s. Alina S. Szczesniak and Malcolm C. Bourne, who both passed away in 2016 (Nishinari and Fang 2018), were great pioneers of food texture studies from the viewpoints of sensory evaluation and physics, respectively. Many sensory and instrumental measurements of food texture have been published in a myriad of publications such as the Journal of Texture Studies (1970–) and others (Kohyama 2018). Later, a variety of methods are introduced.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) for the 2030 Agenda (United Nations 2015). Foods are produced and processed in a globally sustainable system as shown in Figure 1.1 (Kohyama 2015). The physical properties of food materials are dramatically changed during each step in the process, and the magnitude of this change is generally significant. The physical properties and structures in the early stages of food processing, where raw materials are not eaten, and those in the digestive stages after swallowing are less important for texture. Most textural information of foods is sensed manually just before eating and orally during oral processing in the food system.

Figure 1.1 Food processing system accompanied by changes in texture.

Source: Edited from Kohyama (2015, p. 139).

When we eat, a bite‐size food is processed using the tongue and teeth, and then subsequently swallowed. The time required for oral processing is very short, approximately 1 second for a liquid such as water, 10 seconds for thick liquids and semisolids, and 100 seconds for hard solid foods (Kohyama 2015). Physical properties of food never reach an equilibrium state during this short period: The food structure is broken down, mixed with saliva, and a bolus is prepared for swallowing (Hutchings and Lillford 1988; Chen 2009; Koç et al. 2013; Kohyama 2015; Lillford 2018; Nishinari and Fang 2018). The oral stage has been more extensively studied (Chen 2009), and a series of international conferences named “Food Oral Processing” has been organized every two years since 2010.

Recently, Jeltema et al. (2015) suggested that food texture is determined by the preferred manner of oral processing or mouth behaviors of each person. There are four distinct patterns (chewer, cruncher, smoother, and sucker) of mouth behaviors, with subjects belonging to different groups perceiving food textures of the same food differently. The mouth behaviors of consumers must be considered in designing the texture of a food. Aging decreases oral adaptation to food textures in healthy individuals, and oral impairments such as tooth loss can also change eating behaviors (Peyron et al. 2017).

Oral processing can be skipped if well‐homogenized diets are served, which is the case for infant foods and diets for those with dysphagia (Cichero 2017). However, oral processing is required for the perception of food texture and flavor, and for enjoyment of food as an essential part of life (Kohyama 2015). The perception of food texture for each individual is determined according to one's capabilities, physical activities, hunger/thirst, and other physiological states such as the time of the day and environmental conditions. The relationships between objective measurements, subjective sensory perceptions, and consumer preferences must be clearly addressed (Tunick 2011).

Figure 1.2 Methods for the evaluation of food texture.

Source: Edited from Kohyama (2015, p. 139).

1.2 Three Methods of Texture Evaluation

Figure 1.2 shows the evaluation methods of food texture (Wilkinson et al. 2000; Kohyama 2015). Texture is assessed by subjective sensory evaluations based on psychophysics and by objective instrumental measurements based on physics and/or chemistry. Texture and related physical properties can be evaluated by instruments that measure rheology, fracture, and acoustics as well as by microscope and spectrometers, which are able to characterize the structure of materials.

These instrumental and sensory results are often inconsistent. In addition to the nonequilibrium nature of food texture mentioned above, other reasons for this inconsistency could be the time during which the instruments are used (before oral processing), while differ from the time of the sensory evaluations, which are typica...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• List of Contributors
• Preface
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1 Food Texture – Sensory Evaluation and Instrumental Measurement
• Part I: North America
• Part II: Middle and South America
• Part III: Asia
• Part IV: Oceania
• Part V: Central Asia Middle East
• Part VI: Russia
• Part VII: Europe
• Part VIII: Africa
• Index
• End User License Agreement