Modulation of biting procedures induced by the sensory evaluation of cheese hardness with different definitions

This study seeks to clarify the bite process in individuals who assess cheese hardness to confirm the relationships among hardness definitions, their causative bite procedures, targeted intra-oral mechanical events, and judgment. Subjects were required to bite and evaluate samples using two different definitions of hardness. We measured an intra-oral bite time-force profile using a tactile pressure-measurement system with a sheet sensor unobtrusively inserted into the subject's mouth along with a sample. The first bite profile was an exploratory procedure adjusted to optimize perception of the designated textural attribute. From the temporal modification of the bite profile, we could estimate the bite parameter that was targeted as the sensory information for a particular texture attribute. We examined inter-definition and inter-subject variations in the relationship between hardness judgment and its sensory source estimated from the bite procedure. We demonstrated that the bite measurement could elucidate both the bite procedures and sensory information for hardness evaluation. Different definitions induced different bite procedures that resulted in a change in the sensory signal. The definition also affected inter-subject variability in bite procedures and sensory-judgment correspondence.