CATEGORIZATION OF ENGLISH AND FINNISH TEXTURE TERMS AMONG CONSUMERS AND FOOD PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

ABSTRACTApproximately 70 texture and mouthfeel descriptive words were studied in English and in Finnish for their conceptual categorization via sorting, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis. Two groups were tested within each language, a consumer group and a group of food professionals. Categories for texture terms were generally similar for the two knowledge groups and for the two language groups. Major categories included a geometric, particle‐related category, a category describing the degree of open structure, firmness/compressibility, thickness and adhesiveness, deformability and elasticity, moisture terms, oiliness, and a category related to the presence of effervescence. Differences between groups appear to be due to the adoption of specific frames of reference (specific foods) assumed by some participants (e.g. sauce‐related terms for Finnish food professionals). Other variations may be attributable to nuance or differences in shades of meaning and connotation and to the different levels of specificity in the two languages (e.g. Finnish has three specific words for the English term “thick”).