mouthfeel

Mouthfeel is a product’s physical and chemical interaction in the mouth. It is a concept used in many areas related to the testing and evaluating of foodstuffs, such as wine-tasting and rheology. It is evaluated from initial perception on the palate, to first bite, through mastication to swallowing. 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.

Modifiers of foodstuffs

Common modifiers in relation to the texture of foodstuffs include:

• Adhesiveness, Force required to remove the material that adheres to a specific surface (e.g., lips, palate, teeth).
• Bounce/Springiness: The resilience rate at which the sample returns to the original shape after partial compression.
• Chewiness: Number of chews (at 1 chew/sec) needed to masticate the sample to a consistency suitable for swallowing.
• Coarseness: Degree to which the mass feels coarse during product mastication.
• Cohesiveness: Degree to which the sample deforms before rupturing when biting with molars.
• Denseness: 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.
• Fracturability: Force 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 required to disintegrate a semi-solid food to a state ready for swallowing.
• Hardness: Force required to deform the product to given distance, i.e., force to compress between molars, bite through with incisors, compress between tongue and palate.
• Heaviness: Weight 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 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.
• Uniformity of Chew: Degree to which the chewing characteristics of the product are even throughout mastication.
• Uniformity of bite: Evenness of force through bite.
• Viscosity: Force required to draw a liquid from a spoon over the tongue.
• Wetness: Amount of moisture perceived on product's surface.

References

• Dollase, Jürgen, Geschmacksschule [engl.: Tasting School], 2005 Tre Tori, Wiesbaden, Germany (ISBN 3937963200). German language textbook by a renowned food critic covering some, but not all of the above mentionend properties/mouthfeelings.

See also

• Wine tasting
• Food
• Texture

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