Classification of starch gel texture for the elderly diets based on instrumental and sensory methodology

An experimental attempt was made to bridge the gap between instrumental and sensory texture for the elderly diets in a corn starch gel system. Uniaxial compression was applied to measure the instrumental hardness of corn starch gels that was correlated with their sensory properties perceived by the elderly aged 60 and older. Instrumental and sensory hardness values of the starch gel samples were found to have good polynomial and linear correlations (R² =.99) with the level of corn starch, respectively. A fairly linear relationship (R² =.96) was observed between the instrumental and sensory hardness in terms of the logarithm of stress. In principal component analysis, two principal components that accounted for 86.71% of the total variability, separated the gel texture in terms of hardness/springiness and moistness, respectively. The categories of the starch gel samples were subdivided into five groups with different stress ranges. This classification suggested in this study appeared to provide useful information for modifying the texture of solid foods for the elderly diets.

As the elderly population is increasing throughout the world, there are growing interests in developing food products for older adults with difficulties in chewing and swallowing in the food industry. In this study, the instrumental texture of solid foods in a starch gel system was correlated with the sensory properties perceived by the people aged 60 and older. Based on the principal component analysis, the corn starch gel samples with different hardness were classified into the five groups that were presented with the ranges of stress values. The results obtained in this study may thus provide valuable information on the standard criteria and guidelines customized for the elderly.