Glossary of food and drink textures Part 1

In this glossary, you’ll find definitions and useful explanations of the food and drink textures that enrich our diets.

The secret to texture in food and drink

Sensory qualities: the appearance, smell, texture, taste and flavour of a food. Sensory qualities vary from one product to the next and from one person to the next, because they stem from feelings and experience.

Spreadability: how easily a food can be spread.

Sensory signature: the sensory characteristics specific to a food brand that set it apart and make it unique. The signature gives the product a stronger appeal, since sensory experience is a key buying factor. The end goal is for the consumer to recognise the product through distinctive cues.

Dual-texture: a dual-texture food has two different textures.

Paste texture: the consistency of a paste, with a texture somewhere between solid and liquid.

Jelly texture: much-loved on the Asian and British markets, this soft, sticky texture is completely smooth.

Sensory properties: the ways in which a food can stimulate the body’s senses.

Chewing: the action of chewing, in other words of crushing food between the teeth to break it into small pieces before swallowing it.

Mixing with the tongue: the process of mixing ingested food inside the mouth with the water and digestive enzymes found in saliva. This step is essential to ensure food is properly swallowed and digested.

Sticky: a food is sticky when it has a viscous appearance and can stick to the insides of the mouth.

Crumbly: a food is crumbly when it crumbles easily. Underworked dough is less supple, and therefore more crumbly.

Sparkling: a sparkling product, usually a drink, is a product containing gas. The gas forms air bubbles that rise to the surface to burst.

Mechanoreceptor: a sensory neuron that responds to mechanical actions. There are mechanoreceptors in the wall of the digestive tract. They provide the nervous system with information about muscle tension, for example if the stomach is full and taut, which leads to a feeling of fullness.

Texturizing additives: substances that change the texture of a food.

Extrusion cooking: a widely used method in the agri-food industry that results in quick-cook products (with a cooking time of 3 to 10 minutes) or crunchy finished products. The food products, often based on cereal flours, are heated inside an extruder. When they come out, the pressure difference causes a “puffed” effect, found in many breakfast cereals and snacks.

Fibre solubilisation: a process that enables soluble fibres to dissolve in an aqueous medium, leading to accelerated stomach emptying and increased protection of the gut lining.

Pectin: a soluble fibre found in certain vegetables. It is used as a texturizing agent in jams, dairy products, sweets and some baked goods. It is referred to as E440 on industrial food labels.

Hemicellulose: a complex carbohydrate of plant origin that humans can’t digest.

Granulation: a process used in the food industry to make substances dense and grainy. The aim of this technique is to make a product that contains grains or small pieces.

Steeping: the process of leaving a food, usually legumes and pulses, in cold water for several hours. Steeping gives the food a much more easily digestible texture by partially removing anti-nutrients.

Emulsion: a mixture of a fatty substance and an aqueous medium. The reaction is unstable, unless a binding agent (egg, mustard, etc.) or an emulsifier (lecithin, polyphosphates, cellulose gel, etc.) is added.

Texturizing agents: food additives that alter the physical properties of a food without changing its taste. Examples include gelling agents, thickeners, emulsifiers and stabilisers.

Texture: the feel of the food when you touch or eat it. Texture relates to how solid, rough or soft a food is.

Rheology: the science that studies the deformation of materials under the influence of different stresses.

Smooth texture: a type of texture characterised by a lack of lumps or bits.

Rough texture: a product has a rough texture when its surface contains small depressions. It might feel like it has grip.

Grainy texture: a type of texture characterised by the presence of granules of varying thickness.

Silky: a product is silky if it has the softness and sleekness of silk.

Liquid texture: a substance has a liquid texture if it flows. In terms of food, the liquids used are water, fruit juices and fruit-based drinks, different types of milk, plant-based drinks, carbonated drinks and alcohol.

Thick texture: thickness relates to a product’s consistency. The thicker the product, the longer it will take to flow. The thickness of a liquid is linked to its viscosity.

Viscosity: a fluid’s resistance to flow, with or without agitation. Viscosity is measured in pascal-seconds (Pa. s).

Heat-reversible: a food is heat-reversible when it can regain its properties after being altered by heat exposure.

Heat resistance: the ability of a molecule to resist a certain temperature. Vitamins, for example, are not heat resistant. Certain pathogens are resistant to temperatures of up to 70°C (Escherichia coli) or 100°C (salmonella).

Elasticity: how elastic a food is. When making dough with cereal flour containing gluten (wheat, barley, spelt, etc.), working the dough will make it more elastic.

Sensory analysis: the analysis of sensory perceptions. Sensory analysis or evaluation is based on three types of testing: perception, identification and discrimination.