Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations 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 ...

or drink, 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 recepto ...

. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and

smell Smell may refer to; * Odor, airborne molecules perceived as a scent or aroma * Sense of smell, the scent also known scientifically as olfaction * "Smells" (''Bottom''), an episode of ''Bottom'' * The Smell, a music venue in Los Angeles, Californ ...

, 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 Chewing or mastication is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion, and it increases the surface area of foods to allow a more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, ...

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 ...

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. Research indicates texture and mouthfeel can also influence satiety 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 inte ...

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: 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 Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to ** Arid regions ** Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medica ...

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, 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 hea ...

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 q ...

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

abrasive An abrasive is a material, often a mineral, that is used to shape or finish a workpiece through rubbing which leads to part of the workpiece being worn away by friction. While finishing a material often means polishing it to gain a smooth, reflec ...

ness 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. * 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 inte ...

: 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