On the assessment of fracture in brittle foods: The case of roasted almonds

In this work the in-mouth fracture pattern of roasted almonds was related to the characterization of sensory and instrumental texture and to their acceptability by consumers. The experimental conditions of instrumental texture tests were also evaluated and related to the sensory perception of crispness; two test speeds were essayed in compression (1 mm/s and 30 mm/s). It was found that the texture perception generated by the breakdown of an almond, a dynamic process occurring in the mouth, was closely related to its acceptability. A simple method to measure in-mouth fracture pattern of roasted almonds was presented. It was demonstrated that results obtained at slow and high tests speeds could be complementary, showing the parameters obtained at lower test speeds to be better correlated to human perception and the in-mouth fracture pattern to be more effectively characterized at higher compression speeds.