Food Oral Processing and Texture Perception

This chapter examines the dynamic perception of food texture during oral processing. Texture sensations vary across food types – liquids, semi-solids and solids – and evolve throughout oral processing stages, from initial fragmentation and bolus formation to swallowing and afterfeel. For solid foods, early stages are dominated by bulk properties, such as hardness or thickness, whereas later stages reveal surface-related attributes like creaminess, melting and lubrication. Oral movements critically modulate texture perception: studies demonstrate that increased complexity and diversity of tongue and oral movements enhance sensations such as creaminess, while normal eating optimally integrates these movements. Composite foods, consisting of carriers and condiments, create multi-textural experiences: carriers dominate initial perception and structural breakdown, while condiments contribute later through lubrication and creaminess. Dynamic sensory methods (e.g. Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS), Temporal Check All that Apply (TCATA)) capture these temporal changes, revealing how specific sensations align with stages of oral processing. Extended oral processing, harder textures and particle-rich foods slow eating and enhance satiation, whereas lubricating or high-fat condiments accelerate consumption and increase energy intake. Understanding these mechanisms provides opportunities to design foods that are palatable while moderating eating rate and energy intake.