What is food texture?

When we talk about food quality, we often think first of flavour and aroma. But texture – the way a food feels when we bite, chew and swallow it – is just as important, and often the reason we accept or reject a product. 

This page explains what food texture is, how we perceive it and why it has become a major focus for food and beverage innovation.

Food texture refers to the sensory qualities of a food that we perceive through touch and movement, primarily in the mouth but also with the fingers. 

Everyday examples include:

• The crispness of a potato chip from a freshly opened bag
• The crunch of a just-picked apple or fresh celery
• The springiness of newly baked bread
• The chewiness of a piece of liquorice or gummy confectionery
• The spreadability of soft cheeses or spreads
• The firmness of jam or gelled desserts 

Texture is also an index of quality. A crisp apple that becomes leathery, bread that turns stale or limp salad leaves all signal a loss of freshness and acceptability.

The term mouthfeel is often used to describe the overall textural experience of a food in the mouth. During chewing, we subconsciously evaluate a sequence of characteristics:

• First bite (hard, soft, brittle, crunchy)
• Breakdown (how it crumbles, melts, toughens or becomes pasty)
• Residual feel (coating, astringency, stickiness, viscosity) 

Researchers and sensory scientists use a broad vocabulary to describe these sensations, including terms such as:

• Crisp, crunchy, crackly
• Firm, hard, tough, chewy, rubbery
• Smooth, creamy, velvety, grainy
• Sticky, tacky, gummy, stringy
• Thick, thin, runny, viscous

Subtle changes in formulation e.g. reducing sugar or fat, or replacing ingredients such as gluten, can significantly alter texture and mouthfeel, even when flavour is unchanged.

Texture is one of the main criteria consumers use to judge quality, freshness and indulgence. 

• We expect pickles and crisps to be crisp and crunchy.
• We expect yoghurts and desserts to be smooth and creamy, not grainy.
• We expect bread to be soft inside but not gummy; crusts to have a pleasant bite, not be hard as rock.

Food manufacturers have recognised that texture can be a powerful point of difference. Many products now carry explicit textural claims such as:

• “Extra crunchy”, “super crispy”
• “Soft and fluffy”, “rich and creamy”
• “Chewy centre”, “smooth and spreadable” 

Texture is also becoming more complex:

• Products with multiple textures in one bite (crunchy inclusions in smooth matrices, layered textures).
• Novel shapes and structures designed specifically to deliver new mouthfeel experiences. 

Once a product is launched, maintaining the intended texture consistently is critical for consumer loyalty.

Texture and food structure have become “big business”. Leading brands:

• Design recipes and processes specifically to hit target textural profiles.
• Use texture as a key message in advertising and on pack.
• Substantiate claims such as “10% more spreadable”, “20% crispier” or “less sticky” with data. 

Changes in:

• Ingredients (e.g. sugar, fat, emulsifiers, proteins, stabilisers)
• Process (mixing, cooking, cooling, freezing, drying, extrusion)
• Storage and distribution (temperature, humidity, time)

can all affect texture and must be considered in development and scale-up.

Consumers judge texture with their senses, but manufacturers need reliable, repeatable data to design and control it. That’s where instrumental texture analysis comes in.

Texture analysis involves using a Texture Analyser to apply controlled forces to a food sample – such as cutting, shearing, compressing, stretching or bending – and measuring how it responds. 

These tests:

• Optimise product quality and consumer satisfaction.
• Support claims and product positioning.
• Provide rapid, objective measurements for quality control.

Find out more about how a Texture Analyser works and what a Texture Analyser measures

For a review of the textural properties we are measuring most commonly, visit our Texture Properties page.

Texture, alongside flavour and aroma, is a core part of how people experience food. It signals freshness and quality, drives preference and loyalty, and can be a powerful differentiator in the market.

Measuring and understanding food texture allows you to:

• Design products that deliver the desired eating experience.
• Protect that experience through processing, storage and distribution.
• Communicate authentic, defensible textural claims to consumers.