The texture differences between foie gras and pté are explained by the fat's Microscopic structure. Matias A. Via and Mathias P. Clausen were credited.
The texture of the food can make a difference. Most studies on food texture focus on the composition of the food and its mechanical properties. Our understanding of how the structure of food affects the texture is not up to date.
Researchers from Germany and the Danes conducted a series of experiments on how soft liquids and food change to texture. The fat in food is related to the rheological and mechanical properties of the food through the use of CARS microscopy.
Foie gras and pté are the foods in question.
"We used soft matter physics tools and models to connect structural information in the food across length scales," said author Thomas Vilgis. We joined rheology and microscopy to understand the mouthfeel of food.
The two dishes are similar in structure and fat distribution, but they differ in how fat affects texture.
The author said that there are more interesting aspects that can be targeted to create new products with the same features. Can we make foie gras-like textures without animal abuse? Can we use different fat sources to make a creamy texture?
CARS microscopy uses lasers to vibrate chemical bonds in food to make it emit light. The technique has been used for decades in other fields, but has not received much use in food science.
The fat in foie gras was embedded in a weakly linked fat network, which made it harder to eat and more elastic than pté's.
The pté's softer texture was caused by the lack of an connected network and the greater number of rounder and smoother fat particles.
Clausen hopes that their research will lead to further investigation of which features of food can be changed. The group is looking to study other components of foods with advanced microscopy to see if they can use their findings to create foods that mimic the texture of foie gras.
Matias A. Via and his team studied the texture and structure of foie gras and pté. It's called 10.1063/5.0070998.
Journal information about physics of fluids.
Understanding mouthfeel of food using physics was retrieved fromphys.org on December 3, 2021.
The document is copyrighted. Any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research cannot be reproduced without written permission. The content is not intended to be used for anything other than information purposes.
