Effects of Particle Size and Shape on the Texture Property of a Solid–Liquid Dispersion System With Gel Particles

Abstract

Food texture is one of the most important factors for assessing the quality and acceptability of food. However, the study of food texture has been delayed compared with other factors, such as flavor and taste, due to the difficulty of quantitative analysis related to real physiological senses. Furthermore, the numerical and systematic evaluation of the texture property of dispersion systems, in which solid particles are dispersed in a liquid medium, is very difficult, despite most foods being in a solid–liquid dispersion state during mastication in the human mouth. In this study, the texture property of a solid–liquid dispersion system with spherical and cubic gel particles of agar and konjac was examined to evaluate the physical behavior of food during mastication using the back extrusion method. The yield stress of the system strongly depended on the size and shape of the particles, the mixing ratio of particles of different sizes and shapes, and the concentration of components in the particles. The proposed index, reflecting the size, shape, and number of particles and the yield stress of a single particle, expressed well the measured yield stress of the entire dispersion system. However, the adhesiveness and recoverability showed relatively little dependence on particle size. The findings obtained in this study will contribute to elucidating the texture property of various foods and to the development of new and novel food products and cuisines, thereby benefiting food science and industry.