ABSTRACT
The tactile sensation of food, mouthfeel, is an important but often overlooked part of the total flavour experience of food. Mouthfeel is determined by the texture of the food, the texture being a multifaceted quality defined as that part of the food structure our sensory apparatus can detect. Texture often determines our food preferences, and modifying texture is therefore a key culinary exercise. Transforming the properties of raw ingredients to achieve a desired texture and preserving it until the food is about to be eaten can be challenging. Irritation and pain caused by capsaicin and piperin reduce the taste intensity of sweet, bitter, and umami tastes, whereas sour and salty tastes have little or no effect. Increasing the viscosity of a food attenuates the intensity of the smell perception.
