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Mouthfeel
Physical sensations caused in the mouth by food or drink / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations in the mouth caused by food or drink, making it distinct from taste. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines the overall flavor of a food item.[1][2] Mouthfeel is also sometimes referred to as texture.[2]
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It is used in many areas related to the testing and evaluating of foodstuffs, such as wine-tasting and food rheology.[3] It is evaluated from initial perception on the palate to first bite, through chewing to swallowing and aftertaste. In wine-tasting, for example, mouthfeel is usually used with a modifier (big, sweet, tannic, chewy, etc.) to the general sensation of the wine in the mouth.[4] Research indicates texture and mouthfeel can also influence satiety with the effect of viscosity most significant.[5]
Mouthfeel is often related to a product's water activity—hard or crisp products having lower water activities and soft products having intermediate to high water activities.[6]