Mouthfeel

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A child bites into a watermelon, experiencing mouthfeel sensations such as juiciness RIAN archive 569736 Boy eating a watermelon.jpg
A child bites into a watermelon, experiencing mouthfeel sensations such as juiciness

Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations in the mouth caused by food or drink, making it distinct from taste. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines the overall flavor of a food item. [1] [2] Mouthfeel is also sometimes referred to as texture. [2]

Contents

It is used in many areas related to the testing and evaluating of foodstuffs, such as wine-tasting and food rheology. [3] It is evaluated from initial perception on the palate to first bite, through chewing to swallowing and aftertaste. In wine-tasting, for example, mouthfeel is usually used with a modifier (big, sweet, tannic, chewy, etc.) to the general sensation of the wine in the mouth. [4] Research indicates texture and mouthfeel can also influence satiety with the effect of viscosity most significant. [5]

Mouthfeel is often related to a product's water activity—hard or crisp products having lower water activities and soft products having intermediate to high water activities. [6]

Qualities perceived

See also

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A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditionally identified as such, many more are now recognized. Senses used by non-human organisms are even greater in variety and number. During sensation, sense organs collect various stimuli for transduction, meaning transformation into a form that can be understood by the brain. Sensation and perception are fundamental to nearly every aspect of an organism's cognition, behavior and thought.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food rheology</span> Study of the fluid mechanical properties of food

Food rheology is the study of the rheological properties of food, that is, the consistency and flow of food under tightly specified conditions. The consistency, degree of fluidity, and other mechanical properties are important in understanding how long food can be stored, how stable it will remain, and in determining food texture. The acceptability of food products to the consumer is often determined by food texture, such as how spreadable and creamy a food product is. Food rheology is important in quality control during food manufacture and processing. Food rheology terms have been noted since ancient times. In ancient Egypt, bakers judged the consistency of dough by rolling it in their hands.

Gustatory technology is the engineering discipline dealing with gustatory representation.

Neurogastronomy is the study of flavor perception and the ways it affects cognition and memory. This interdisciplinary field is influenced by the psychology and neuroscience of sensation, learning, satiety, and decision making. Areas of interest include how olfaction contributes to flavor, food addiction and obesity, taste preferences, and the linguistics of communicating and identifying flavor. The term neurogastronomy was coined by neuroscientist Gordon M. Shepherd.

References

  1. Mouritsen, Ole G.; Styrbæk, Klavs (2017). Mouthfeel: How Texture Makes Taste. Columbia University Press. ISBN   978-0-231-54324-8.
  2. 1 2 Guinard, Jean-Xavier; Mazzucchelli, Rossella (July 1996). "The sensory perception of texture and mouthfeel". Trends in Food Science & Technology. 7 (7): 213–219. doi:10.1016/0924-2244(96)10025-X.
  3. Goodwin, Lindsey (26 December 2017). "Mouthfeel Defined". The Spruce . Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  4. Dollase, Jürgen (2005). Geschmacksschule (in German). Wiesbaden, Germany: Tre Torri Verlag. ISBN   978-3-937963-20-4.
  5. Stribiţcaia, Ecaterina; Evans, Charlotte E. L.; Gibbons, Catherine; Blundell, John; Sarkar, Anwesha (2020-07-31). "Food texture influences on satiety: systematic review and meta-analysis". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 12929. Bibcode:2020NatSR..1012929S. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69504-y. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   7395742 . PMID   32737349.
  6. Katz, E. E.; Labuza, T. P. (March 1981). "Effect of Water Activity on the Sensory Crispness and Mechanical Deformation of Snack Food Products". Journal of Food Science. 46 (2): 403–409. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1981.tb04871.x.

Further reading