Composite foods displaying macroscopic food structure heterogeneities

Many foods that are frequently consumed are composed of multiple components such as breads with toppings or French fries with ketchup/mayonnaise. The individual components can differ considerably in composition, mechanical properties and sensory characteristics. Food structure changes continuously during mastication to form a bolus that is safe to swallow. Linking bolus properties to dynamic sensory perception enables to gain a better understanding of the structural transitions of foods that contribute to perception. Individual food components, such as breads, biscuits and cheeses, have been studied previously in terms of these aspects. However, little is known about oral processing behaviour and dynamic sensory perception of composite foods, i.e. foods composed of multiple components. An insight in this relation could be used to increase liking of such foods.

Aim
This research aims to study oral processing behaviour, bolus formation, dynamic sensory perception and liking of composite foods displaying macroscopic food structure heterogeneities and to reveal the underlying mechanisms contributing to sensory perception and liking.

Approach
Foods with different textural properties will be combined to form composite foods, e.g. soft breads and crispy crackers will be combined with soft cheese spreads and firm cheeses. Mastication behaviour (mastication time, number of chews, chewing frequency), bolus properties (water content, saliva incorporation, fat content, mechanical bolus properties), dynamic sensory perception and liking will be determined. Moreover, various food characteristics (e.g. crispness, viscosity, fat content and water content) will be systematically varied to gain a better understanding of the composite food characteristics contributing to sensory perception and liking of composite foods throughout mastication.