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How to measure and analyse the texture of food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and adhesives.

Thursday 7 August 2014

Texture Analysis in action: the Fracture Wedge Set



Fracture test on cheese using the TA.XTplus Texture AnalyserThe FRACTURE WEDGE SET (A/WEG) comprises of upper and lower wedges each with a cutting angle of 30° and 30mm width. 

The lower wedge is fixed directly to the base of the Texture Analyser and the upper wedge is connected directly to the loadcell. 

Typical examples include cheese and vegetables which are held on the lower wedge and the force to fracture is measured. The maximum sample width is limited to 30mm.


Tuesday 5 August 2014

Getting a hold on the texture of gluten free products


Hand crushing bread sliceI hadn't given my sister's Coeliac Disease much thought until she invited me for a Sunday tea party last weekend. 

Whilst, as a food scientist, I appreciated that she had some adapting to do in her diet, I hadn't fully appreciated just what a wide range of products she'd been through to select the products that were as close as possible to the palatability of the gluten-loaded products she used to enjoy.

When gluten is removed from baked products, taste and mouthfeel are usually compromised – and it’s difficult for consumers to find gluten-free alternatives that taste good and have desirable texture properties. Gluten-free bakery product formulations have the tendency to be dense, have no structure, crumble easily and are prone to quicker staling.  Bakery formulators are striving to find solutions to these problems and quantify the effects of their efforts.