Consumer textural food perception over time based on Mouth Behavior

Food texture assessment is difficult because it is constantly being modified as a food is eaten. While texture has generally been statically assessed, methods aimed at measurement over time are becoming more common. However, even when texture is assessed over time, that assessment is based on averages across all individuals. This study shows that individuals with different Mouth Behaviors eat foods differently in an effort to develop a texture that suits their Mouth Behavior. Because of this, their texture assessments differ over the eating experience. Overall liking was driven by whether individuals were able to transform the product texture into one that aligned with their Mouth Behavior and how well they liked the dominant texture attribute.