Texture in foodstuffs

Some of the difficulties associated with any objective attempt at measuring food textures are discussed including the double role played by language as the vehicle for transforming subjective “knowing” of a texture into a form suitable for describing the effect to others. It is stressed that a satisfactory solution to the problem of objectivizing a texture measurement will require a multi‐disciplinary approach since psychology, physiology and rheology all interact when one senses texture during chewing. Therefore, to objectively measure a texture, the causal relations between these “… ologies” must first be established. The reviewer advances the idea that objective texture measuring activities fall into three distinct categories which roughly correspond to (1) What is the magnitude of the texture and how is it best measured? (2) From whence does it arise? and (3) How does one bring it into existence? The major works reviewed are considered in the light of this activity classification.