Comparison of Shear Press Measurements and Sensory Evaluation of Angel Cakes

SUMMARY Procedures were developed for Kramer shear‐press measurement of compressibility, tensile strength, and tenderness of angel cakes of three degrees of toughness. Both maximum force and area‐under‐the‐curve values were determined for each. These values were correlated with sensory evaluations of tenderness, of moistness and of texture, defined as cell size, cell distribution, and cell wall thickness. Maximum‐force shear‐press values consistently showed differences among the three types of cake in compressibility, tenderness, and tensile strength. Based on area‐under‐the‐curve, compressibility and tenderness differences were detected, but no consistent pattern was noted in tensile‐strength readings. Sensory evaluations showed variance in the 3 types of cake for all characteristics except cell distribution. Correlations between sensory evaluations and maximum‐force shear‐press measurements were high. Area‐under‐the‐curve values for compressibility and tenderness correlated with sensory evaluation at varying levels of significance. Highly significant correlations were found between the area‐under‐the‐curve value for tensile strength and the following factors: cell size, cell wall thickness, tenderness, and moistness. The correlation between area‐under‐the‐curve for tensile strength and cell distribution was not significant.