Understanding creaminess

Our research has concerned creaminess in low-fat dairy products of different types, covering the range from liquids (acidified milk drinks), over weak gels (vanilla yoghurts, plain stirred yoghurt) to semi-solids (cream cheese). We have studied both physical background for creaminess and sensory perception of creaminess. The intention has been to understand general aspects of creaminess that applies to the whole range of product categories studied, but also to explore differences between different types of dairy products. The goal has been to collect a coherent mass of knowledge linking different types of measurements with multivariate data analysis. The present paper presents an overview of our findings and discusses them, as well as drawing upon others’ work to cover what we have not studied.