Sensory and Oral Processing of Semisolid Foods

Abstract

Texture and mouthfeel are the most critical quality attributes influencing consumers’ acceptance and preference of a food product. As one of the most commonly consumed food types worldwide, semisolid (or soft solid) foods provide a widest possible range of textural features due to easily available techniques for structure and microstructure manipulation of such type of food. This chapter highlights the key textural features and property changes of semisolid food that occur during oral processing, as well as the impact of these changes on consumers’ textural experience. The chapter will also outline physiological mechanisms of texture sensation and instrumental principles of texture assessment. As a whole, this chapter provides readers physical and physiological insights of texture design and texture perception of semisolid foods.