ABSTRACT
Texture plays a key role in consumer acceptance and market value of many foods. Texture can be defined and characterized in many ways. This range of textural properties found in dairy foods arises from the human demand for variety in the nature of their food. Texture means different things to different people, and the perceived textural characteristics expected from different dairy foods vary widely. In general, the food texture is evaluated using instrumental and sensory methods. The perceived textural attributes of a given dairy food are influenced by a variety of factors such as how we chew the food and how much chewing force is applied. Given this complexity, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to objectively measure and characterizes texture. In this chapter, our focus is primarily on the measurement of perceived textural attributes of different dairy foods.
