Mouthfeel refers to the

physical sensations The sensory nervous system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory neurons (including the sensory receptor cells), neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved i ...

in the mouth caused by

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies ...

, making it distinct from

taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines the overall flavor of a food item. Mouthfeel is also sometimes referred to as texture. It is used in many areas related to the testing and evaluating of foodstuffs, such as wine-tasting and food rheology. It is evaluated from initial perception on the palate, to first bite, through chewing to

swallowing Swallowing, sometimes called deglutition in scientific contexts, is the process in the human or animal body that allows for a substance to pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, and into the esophagus, while shutting the epiglottis. Swallowing i ...

and

aftertaste Aftertaste is the taste intensity of a food or beverage that is perceived immediately after that food or beverage is removed from the mouth. The aftertastes of different foods and beverages can vary by intensity and over time, but the unifying ...

. 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. Research indicates texture and mouthfeel can also influence

satiety Satiety ( ) is a state or condition of fullness gratified beyond the point of satisfaction, the opposite of hunger. It is a state which induces meal termination.Hetherington, M.Sensory-specific satiety and its importance in meal termination ''Neur ...

with the effect of

viscosity The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the int ...

most significant. 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.

Qualities perceived

* Chewiness: The sensation of sustained, elastic resistance from food while it is chewed. *Cohesiveness: Degree to which the sample deforms before rupturing when biting with molars. *

Crunchiness Crunchiness is the sensation of muffled grinding of a foodstuff. Crunchiness differs from crispness in that a crisp item is quickly atomized, while a crunchy one offers sustained, granular resistance to jaw action. While crispness is difficult t ...

: The audible grinding of a food when it is chewed. *Density: Compactness of cross section of the sample after biting completely through with the molars. * Dryness: Degree to which the sample feels dry in the mouth. * Exquisiteness: Perceived quality of the item in question. * Fracturability:

Force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...

with which the sample crumbles, cracks or shatters. Fracturability encompasses crumbliness,

crispiness Crispiness or crispness is one of the most common food texture attributes. Crispiness refers to a hard food that emits a sound upon fracturing. Foods described as crisp tend not to show signs of deformation prior to fracture. Crispiness and crunc ...

, crunchiness and brittleness. * Graininess: Degree to which a sample contains small grainy particles. * Gumminess:

Energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of ...

required to disintegrate a semi-solid food to a state ready for swallowing. * Hardness: Force required to deform the product to a given distance, i.e., force to compress between molars, bite through with incisors, compress between tongue and palate. * Heaviness:

Weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weight as a scalar qua ...

of product perceived when first placed on tongue. * Moisture absorption: Amount of

saliva Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can ...

absorbed by product. * Moisture release: Amount of wetness/juiciness released from sample. * Mouthcoating: Type and degree of coating in the mouth after mastication (for example, fat/ oil). * Roughness: Degree of abrasiveness of product's surface perceived by the tongue. * Slipperiness: Degree to which the product slides over the tongue. * Smoothness: Absence of any particles, lumps, bumps, etc., in the product. * Uniformity: Degree to which the sample is even throughout;

homogeneity Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences and statistics relating to the uniformity of a substance or organism. A material or image that is homogeneous is uniform in composition or character (i.e. color, shape, size, ...

. * Uniformity of bite: Evenness of force through bite. * Uniformity of chew: Degree to which the chewing characteristics of the product are even throughout mastication. *

Viscosity The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the int ...

: Force required to draw a liquid from a spoon over the tongue. * Wetness: Amount of moisture perceived on product's surface.

References

External links

Snack Foods and Water Activity
Food science Gustatory system Sensory systems Wine tasting Characteristics of cheese

Qualities perceived

See also

References

Further reading

External links