8/13/2021 Mouthfeel - Wikipedia

Mouthfeel
Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations in the mouth caused
by food or drink, as distinct from taste. It is a fundamental
sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines
the overall flavor of a food item.[1][2] Mouthfeel is also sometimes
referred to as texture. [2]

It is used in many areas related to the testing and evaluating of

foodstuffs, such as wine-tasting and food rheology.[3] It is
evaluated from initial perception on the palate, to first bite,
through chewing to swallowing and aftertaste. In wine-tasting, for
example, mouthfeel is usually used with a modifier (big, sweet, A child bites into a peach, with
tannic, chewy, etc.) to the general sensation of the wine in the mouthfeel sensations such as
mouth.[4] Research indicates texture and mouthfeel can also juiciness
influence satiety with the effect of viscosity most significant.[5]

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.[6]

Contents
Qualities perceived
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Qualities perceived
Cohesiveness: Degree to which the sample deforms before rupturing when biting with molars.
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 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 a 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.

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

See also
Food
Psychorheology
Texture
Umami
Wine tasting

References
1. Mouritsen, Ole G.; Styrbæk, Klavs (2017). Mouthfeel: How Texture Makes Taste. Columbia
University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-54324-8.
2. Guinard, Jean-Xavier; Mazzucchelli, Rossella (July 1996). "The sensory perception of texture and
mouthfeel". Trends in Food Science & Technology. 7 (7): 213–219. doi:10.1016/0924-
2244(96)10025-X (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0924-2244%2896%2910025-X).
3. Goodwin, Lindsey (26 December 2017). "Mouthfeel Defined" (https://www.thespruce.com/mouthfe
el-765730). The Spruce. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
4. Dollase, Jürgen (2005). Geschmacksschule (in German). Wiesbaden, Germany: Tre Torri Verlag.
ISBN 978-3-937963-20-4.
5. Stribiţcaia, Ecaterina; Evans, Charlotte E. L.; Gibbons, Catherine; Blundell, John; Sarkar,
Anwesha (2020-07-31). "Food texture influences on satiety: systematic review and meta-analysis"
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7395742). Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 12929.
doi:10.1038/s41598-020-69504-y (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41598-020-69504-y). ISSN 2045-
2322 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2045-2322). PMC 7395742 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm
c/articles/PMC7395742). PMID 32737349 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32737349).
6. Katz, E. E.; Labuza, T. P. (March 1981). "Effect of Water Activity on the Sensory Crispness and
Mechanical Deformation of Snack Food Products". Journal of Food Science. 46 (2): 403–409.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1981.tb04871.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1365-2621.1981.tb04871.x).

Further reading
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.

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Stokes, Jason R.; Boehm, Michael W.; Baier, Stefan K. (August 2013). "Oral processing, texture
and mouthfeel: From rheology to tribology and beyond" (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cocis.2013.0
4.010). Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science. 18 (4): 349–359.
doi:10.1016/j.cocis.2013.04.010 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cocis.2013.04.010).

External links
Snack Foods and Water Activity (http://www.aqualab.com/applications/snack-foods-and-water-acti
vity/)

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