Organizing and characterizing the sensory terms used to describe food

Texture terms such as "firm," "crisp," and "juicy" play an important role in food texture studies, especially in sensory evaluation. A well-organized texture lexicon assists researchers with texture evaluation. Therefore, we developed a texture lexicon consisting of 445 Japanese terms through questionnaires and a literature survey, to provide a reference material for food quality analysis and for communication of quality information. In addition, to obtain basic data for communication with consumers, we clarified consumers' recognition of each term, and further discussed dietary habits and food preferences, etc. behind terminological recognition.