Food Texture - How To Get It Right

By Chris Freeman, Texture Product Manager, Brookfield Viscometers Limited

Texture can be regarded as an expression of the rheological properties of a food. Research has revealed that the three major components of food product acceptability are texture, flavour and ap­pearance. The ability to consistently reproduce the texture of food products is crucial for the success of food manufacturers. Food texture not only influences customer selection and preference, but also repeat buys.

For the last 50 years the food industry has invested heavily into academic research for an instrumental means of assessing the quality of their products. The need for a more sophisticated means of objectively quantifying the subjective characteristic of food products has been the main drive behind the venture by the industry. One aspect of food technology that is getting more recognition as an effective tool within the food industry is the Texture Analyser.