SENSORY TEXTURE RELATED TO LARGE‐STRAIN RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF AGAR/GLYCEROL GELS AS A MODEL FOOD

Abstract

ABSTRACT Descriptive sensory analysis and large‐strain rheological methods were used to evaluate textural characteristics of agar gels as a model food. The gels were differentiated in the same manner by sensory analysis and rheological properties ( P ≤ 0.05), and significant correlations between sensory and rheological properties were reported. First bite and chew‐down sensory terms correlated with each other and with fracture properties. Specifically, the first bite sensory term “fracture force” correlated with the chew‐down sensory term “chewiness” ( r = 0.99, P ≤ 0.001), and both of these sensory terms were correlated with fracture stress ( σ f ) and modulus ( r = 0.94 − 0.97, P ≤ 0.05). The first bite sensory term “deformability” was positively correlated with fracture strain ( r = 0.88, P ≤ 0.05) and negatively correlated with the strain‐hardening constant ( r = − 0.93, P ≤ 0.05). The chew‐down property “particle breakdown” was negatively correlated with σ f values ( r = − 0.97, P ≤ 0.05). For agar gels, each sensory texture term can be linked with a large‐strain mechanical property.