From food structure to texture

Understanding the relationship between food texture perception and food structure is of increasing importance for companies wishing to produce texturally attractive food products. The perception of texture is a complex process involving the senses of vision, hearing, somesthesis and kinesthesis. Texture perception takes place partly during the dynamic process of food breakdown in the mouth and is affected by oral processes, such as motility, saliva production and temperature. To take account of these factors, a multidisciplinary approach is proposed for studying the relationship between food structure and texture perception, combining sensory research, physiology studies and research into food physicochemical characteristics. Recent developments in these three areas that give potential for a better understanding of texture perception and its relationship with food structure are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.