Food Texture — Definition, Measurement and Relation to Other Food Quality Attributes

Abstract

Certainly many difficulties, misunderstandings, and actual conflicting conclusions can be avoided when terms are defined precisely so that everyone employing the same term in a specific field is referring to the same things. It would appear therefore that the logical beginning would be with Webster’s Dictionary. Unfortunately, however, this very useful compendium lists seven distinct definitions, none of them applying specifically to food. Certainly the English language is flexible enough so that the same word or term may have more than one meaning, but for specific scientific use, the term should be defined with precision. The one dictionary definition that appears to have some application is: “The disposition or manner of the union of the particles of a body or substance.” Even this definition, however, would seem to apply more accurately as a definition, or a description of the universe, than as a property of food.