Journal of texture studies最新文献

Sous vide meat is an emerging food category, the consumption of which has increased owing to greater convenience, sensory traits, elderly consumers acceptance, and low-cost cuts use. However, required prolonged thermal treatment to achieve desired tenderness, impact energy-consumption besides triggering lipid oxidation, undesired off-flavors, and cooked meat profiles. Using a response surface methodology (RSM), this study evaluated the effects of the vegetal proteolytic papain (0 to 20 mg/kg) and low-temperature sous vide cooking (SVC) time (1 to 8 h at 65°C) in low-value marinated M. semitendinosus beefsteaks on technological characteristics associated with tenderness, and lipid oxidation. Additionally, the sensory profile traits of the pre-selected treatments were described using check-all-that-apply (CATA) and preference mapping. Shear force (WBsSF) was reduced with greater papain addition, whereas higher cooking losses (CL) were observed with longer SVC cooking times. Both the released total collagen and TBARS values increased with increasing papain concentrations and SVC times. Combining high levels of papain (>10 mg/kg) and SVC time (>6 h) resulted in lower WBsSF values (<20 N) but higher CL (>27%) and the CATA descriptors “aftertaste” and “mushy.” The optimized conditions (14 mg/kg papain; 2 h SVC) also reduced WBsSF values (<26 N) with lower CL (<20%) and were most preferred and described as “juicy” and “tender” by consumers. Observed results suggest that combined mild SVC and papain may potentiate tenderness, conjointly favor juiciness and oxidation, further representing a promising tool for reducing SVC time without compromising valued sous vide sensory traits.

The aim of this study was to investigate the modification of mechanical, rheological, and sensory properties of chickpea pastes and gels by incorporating other ingredients (olive oil or quinoa flour), to develop plant-based alternatives that meet consumer demands for healthy, natural, and enjoyable food products. The pastes and gels were made with different amounts of chickpea flour (9% and 12%, respectively). For each product, a first set of products with different oil content and a second set with quinoa flour (either added or replaced) were produced. The viscoelastic properties of the pastes and the mechanical properties of the gels were measured. Sensory evaluation and preference assessment were carried out with 100 participants using ranking tests. The study found remarkable differences in rheological, mechanical, and sensory properties of chickpea products upon the inclusion of oil and quinoa flour. The addition of oil increased the viscosity and decreased the elastic contribution to the viscoelasticity of the pastes, while it improved the firmness and plasticity in gels. It also increased the creaminess and preference of both pastes and gels. Replacing chickpea with quinoa flour resulted in less viscous pastes and gels with less firmness and more plasticity. In terms of sensory properties, the use of quinoa as a replacement ingredient resulted in less lumpiness in the chickpea paste and less consistency and more creaminess in both the pastes and gels, which had a positive effect on preference. The addition of quinoa increased the viscosity of pastes and the firmness and stiffness of gels. It increased the consistency and creaminess of both pastes and gels. Quinoa flour and/or olive oil are suitable ingredients in the formulation of chickpea-based products. They contribute to the structure of the system, providing different textural properties that improve acceptance.

The tribological properties of 19 commercial food products, grouped into six categories (yogurt, dressings, spreads, porridges, emulsified sauces, and syrups) were investigated in relation to their rheological (dynamic oscillatory shear test) and nutritional properties (fat, carbohydrate, and protein). A tribological system (a glass ball and three polydimethylsiloxane pins) generated the extended Stribeck curve, monitoring friction factors (f) over an extended range of sliding speed (v) (10⁻⁸ to 10⁰ m/s). Tribological parameters (f, v) at four inflection points dividing the frictional regimes (X₁, breakaway point between the static and kinetic regimes; X₁–X₂, boundary; X₂–X₃, mixed; X₃–X₄, hydrodynamic regimes) and the slope between X₃ and X₄ (s) were subjected to principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering on principal components, using rheological and nutritional parameters as quantitative supplementary variables. Tribological patterns were predominantly influenced by viscosity, viscoelasticity, yield stress, fat content, and the presence of particles (e.g., sugar, proteins, and fibers) and pasting materials (e.g., starches and modified starches). The 19 tribological patterns were classified into 3 clusters: low f and s for fat- and/or viscoelastic-dominant foods (Cluster 1), low f and high s for food emulsions and/or those with low extent of shear-thinning (Cluster 2), and high f at the boundary regime either for the most viscous foods or for those in the presence of particulates (Cluster 3). These results suggest that the compositional and rheological properties have a more profound impact on the classification of complex tribological patterns than the categories of food products.

Texture and sensory studies at various temperatures are important in evaluating and improving the functionality of butter. While literature is scarce, we evaluated and compared the effect of temperature (5–25°C) on the texture, rheological and sensory properties of commercial butter samples (salted, unsalted, cultured, and spreadable) from the New Zealand market. In addition, the instrumental analyses were compared with the sensory evaluation, to understand the possibility of using instrumental analysis to evaluate consumer liking for different butters. Butter type, temperature, and their type–temperature interaction exhibited significant differences for all instrumental textural parameters. As expected, higher temperature produced softer butter that was more spreadable, liquid-like, less adhesive, less cohesive, had lower storage modulus (G′) and lower loss modulus (G″) with the melting of milk fat crystals; however, the rate of change varied for the different butter samples. We have established meltability as the parameter for evaluating butter selection for different applications. The spreadable butter sample exhibited the lowest hardness and G′, and highest spreadability (p < .05) at all temperatures, owing to its low solid fat content and the abundance of low-melting triglycerides. The cultured butter sample had the highest melting point, owing to compositional differences. The instrumental and sensory texture analyses were highly correlated, indicating the comparative effectiveness of both approaches for studying the effects of different temperatures on butter textural properties. Overall, our findings provide detailed reference to the dairy industry for butter manufacture, considering variation in fatty acid composition, texture analysis, rheology, and sensory analysis, over the range of storage/usage temperatures.

The transition from primary to permanent dentition is an important phase in children's oral development, yet its impact on texture perception and food acceptance are less explored. This study aimed to investigate how changing dentition and tooth loss influence texture preferences and perception of eating difficulty among children aged 5 to 12 years. Children (n = 475) completed a forced-choice questionnaire featuring drawings of six food pairs, each available in hard or soft texture, and reported whether they had started losing primary teeth and the number of tooth gaps present. They also tasted four samples: chocolate snacks (cake and biscuits) and cheddar cheese (grated and cubes), evaluating their perceived eating difficulty and liking for each sample. Analysis of questionnaire responses showed a general preference for softer food textures among children, with a 36% probability of choosing hard foods. Preferences were not related to child's dental state, including primary teeth loss (p = .13) or number of tooth gaps (p = .45). In the taste test, chocolate biscuits and cheese cubes were perceived as significantly more difficult to eat than chocolate cake and grated cheese, respectively (both p < .0001). Children with more than two tooth gaps reported greater eating difficulty for chocolate biscuits and cheese cubes compared to children with fewer or no tooth gaps. This study demonstrated that children's texture preferences for hardness of foods remained consistent during dentition change, while their perception of eating difficulty could vary based on their dental state at specific points in time.

In this study, Provence tomato variety was chosen for investigating the environmental causes of tomato fruit cracking, cracks characteristics, and their propagation prediction in a greenhouse. Fruit bagging approach was used to alter the temperature and humidity and to create a microclimate around the fruit to induce fruit cracking for testing. Results showed that the fruit cracking rate increased when the environment temperature exceeded 30°C, and the difference between the highest and lowest temperature values in a day was greater than 20°C. The cracking rate was aggravated when the difference between the highest and lowest humidity values in a day was less than 20%. The proportions of top cracking, longitudinal cracking, ring cracking, radial cracking, and combined cracking were 5.4%, 16.1%, 28.3%, 26.8%, and 32.1%, respectively. The fruit shoulder was the most susceptible region to crack, followed by fruit belly and top regions, whereas longer cracks were observed in the fruit belly region indicating a higher propensity to crack propagation in that region. Finally, the measured data were used to validate an extended finite element method developed to effectively predict cracking susceptibility and propagation in tomato fruit with a relative error of 4.68%.

The effects of oil type, emulsifier type, and emulsion particle size on the texture, gel strength, and rheological properties of SPI emulsion-filled gel (SPI-FG) and TFSP emulsion-filled gel (TFSP-FG) were investigated. Using soybean protein isolate or sodium caseinate as emulsifiers, emulsions with cocoa butter replacer (CBR), palm oil (PO), virgin coconut oil (VCO), and canola oil (CO) as oil phases were prepared. These emulsions were filled into SPI and TFSP gel substrates to prepare emulsion-filled gels. Results that the hardness and gel strength of both gels increased with increasing emulsion content when CBR was used as the emulsion oil phase. However, when the other three liquid oils were used as the oil phase, the hardness and gel strength of TFSP-FG decreased with the increasing of emulsion content, but those of SPI-FG increased when SPI was used as emulsifier. Additionally, the hardness and gel strength of both TFSP-FG and SPI-FG increased with the decreasing of mean particle size of emulsions. Rheological measurements were consistent with textural measurements and found that compared with SC, TFSP-FG, and SPI-FG showed higher G′ values when SPI was used as emulsifier. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) observation showed that the distribution and stability of emulsion droplets in TFSP-FG and SPI-FG were influenced by the oil type, emulsifier type and emulsion particle size. SPI-stabilized emulsion behaved as active fillers in SPI-FG reinforcing the gel matrix; however, the gel matrix of TFSP-FG still had many void pores when SPI-stabilized emulsion was involved. In conclusion, compared to SPI-FG, the emulsion filler effect that could reinforce gel networks became weaker in TFSP-FG.

The effect of varying extrusion conditions on the functional properties of hulless barley–mung bean (70:30) extruded snacks was investigated using response surface methodology with feed moisture (FM), barrel temperature (BT), and screw speed (SS) as process variables. Results revealed significant impacts on functional characteristics with varying extrusion conditions. Bulk density (BD) of extruded snacks ranged from 0.24 to 0.42 g/cm³, showing that lower FM and higher BT results in lower BD while it increased with increasing FM, SS, and BT. The expansion ratio (ER) of extruded snacks ranged between 2.03 and 2.33, showing BT and SS had a desirable positive effect, whereas increasing FM led to decreased ER. Increasing BT and SS depicted a negative effect on water absorption index, whereas FM showed positive effect, which ranged between 4.21 and 4.82 g/g. A positive effect on water solubility index was depicted by BT and SS, which ranges between 9.01% and 13.45%, as higher SS and BT led to starch degradation and increased solubility suggesting better digestibility. The hardness of extruded snacks ranged from 32.56 to 66.88 Newton (N), showing increasing FM increased hardness, whereas higher SS and BT resulted in lowering the hardness. Scanning electronic microscope (SEM) analysis revealed structural changes in extrudates in comparison with nonextruded flour, indicating starch gelatinization and pore formation affected by varying processing parameters. Shifts in absorption bands were observed in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), suggesting structural changes in starch and protein. Understanding the effects of extrusion parameters on product properties can help tailored production to meet consumers' preferences and the development of functional snacks with improved nutritional quality.

While taste and smell perception have been thoroughly investigated, our understanding of oral somatosensory perception remains limited. Further, assessing and measuring individual differences in oral somatosensory perception pose notable challenges. This review aimed to evaluate the existing methods to assess oral somatosensory perception by examining and comparing the strengths and limitations of each method. The review highlighted the lack of standardized assessment methods and the various procedures within each method. Tactile sensitivity can be assessed using several methods, but each method measures different tactile dimensions. Further investigations are needed to confirm its correlation with texture sensitivity. In addition, measuring a single textural attribute may not provide an overall representation of texture sensitivity. Thermal sensitivity can be evaluated using thermal-change detection or temperature discrimination tests. The chemesthetic sensitivity tests involve either localized or whole-mouth stimulation tests. The choice of an appropriate method for assessing oral somatosensory sensitivity depends on several factors, including the specific research objectives and the target population. Each method has its unique intended purpose, strengths, and limitations, so no universally superior approach exists. To overcome some of the limitations associated with certain methods, the review offers alternative or complementary approaches that could be considered. Researchers can enhance the comprehensive assessment of oral somatosensory sensitivity by carefully selecting and potentially combining methods. In addition, a standardized protocol remains necessary for each method.

Rheological properties of gastric contents depend on the food ingested, and on the volume and composition of secretions from the host, which may vary. This study investigates the impact of saliva regular incorporation in the stomach after a meal on the rheological properties of gastric contents, considering two levels of salivary flow (low = 0.5 and high = 1.5 mL/min). In vitro chymes were obtained by mixing sour cream, simulated gastric fluid, two different volumes of oral fluid (at-rest human saliva, SSF for Simulated Salivary Fluid or water) and adjusting pH at 3. Chymes samples were characterized at 37°C for their particle size and rheological properties. Overall, particle size distribution was not different between samples: incorporating a larger volume of saliva resulted in more heterogeneity, but the surface area moment D[3,2] and volume moment D[4,3] did not differ significantly with the oral fluid type. Shear viscosity of chyme samples was higher when saliva was incorporated, in comparison with water or SSF. In addition, as shown from data extracted at $��\dot{\gamma }�$ = 20 s⁻¹ the higher the fluid volume the lower the shear viscosity, which is attributed to a dilution effect. However, this dilution effect was attenuated in the case of saliva, most likely due to its composition in organic compounds (e.g., mucins) contributing to the rheological properties of this biological fluid. In these in vitro conditions, both saliva and the salivation rate had a significant but slight impact on the rheological properties of gastric contents (of the order of 1–5 mPa s at $��\dot{\gamma }�$ = 20 s⁻¹).