Texture Quality Research Articles

Nutritional, Textural and Sensory Quality of Cookies Supplemented with Moringa oleifera and Spinacia oleracea

Iron deficiency is a prevalent global nutritional issue, especially in developing countries. This study focuses on developing iron-rich cookies by incorporating Moringa oleifera and Spinacia oleracea leaf powders, which are excellent sources of essential nutrients such as iron, protein, magnesium, and vitamins. Both ingredients were selected for their ability to improve the nutritional profile of the cookies while providing a natural source of iron to address anemia. The cookies were subjected to extensive physico chemical analyses, including moisture content, diameter, shape, thickness, and color, with results comparable to standard values. Nutritional analysis revealed that the fortified cookies contained increased levels of protein (7.2 g), iron (5.1 mg for sweet cookies and 5.6 mg for khara or savory cookies), magnesium (0.9 mg), and vitamin C (21.1 mg), providing a significant boost over conventional cookies. Sensory evaluation was conducted using a 9-point hedonic scale to assess appearance, texture, taste, flavor, and overall acceptability. The panel, consisting of untrained members, showed a favorable response to both sweet and savory varieties of the cookies. The antioxidant properties of the cookies were also evaluated using DPPH free radical scavenging activity, demonstrating strong antioxidant potential with a radical scavenging activity of 95.99% at a concentration of 10 µg/ml. Moreover, work such as stability test has to be done to check the shelf life and storage condition of the product. These nutrient-enriched cookies not only meet sensory quality expectations but also provide health benefits, making them a functional food product with potential market appeal.

TENet: Attention-Frequency Edge-Enhanced 3D Texture Enhancement Network

Oblique photogrammetry imagery often suffers from uneven resolution and blurred details, leading to poor surface texture quality in 3D reconstructions, particularly for building facades. To address these challenges, we propose a novel Attention-Frequency Edge-Enhanced 3D Texture Enhancement Network (TENet) and introduce a comprehensive 3D texture enhancement pipeline. This pipeline applies 2D texture super-resolution techniques to 3D models for fine-grained texture restoration, enhancing the surface texture quality. TENet leverages attention mechanisms and frequency-domain techniques to improve texture sharpness and edge accuracy. Our approach includes a Region-Resolution Adaptive Enhancement Module (RAEM) and a Frequency-Domain Edge Enhancement Mechanism (FDEEM) to enhance local details and restore critical edge features. The experimental results demonstrate that TENet outperforms existing methods, significantly improving texture quality and 3D reconstruction performance. Ablation studies confirmed the effectiveness of each component in enhancing 3D texture reconstruction. The network is validated for real-world applications, showing its ability to significantly reduce edge artifacts and restore clear, accurate textures in real-world 3D surface models.

Evaluation of Rice Quality Storage Stability: From Variety Screening to Trait Identification

Rice, a staple global food crop, requires the maintenance of its quality stability during storage. This study aimed to screen rice varieties with high storage stability and elucidate their traits. Thirty-four widely cultivated varieties were selected to examine the changes in grain quality after one-year natural storage. The normalization method, hierarchical analysis, and cluster analysis were used to identify rice varieties maintaining their grain quality during storage. Meanwhile, the yield and its components, panicle traits, grain size, grain major component content, physiological indicators (such as antioxidant enzyme activity), and key growth stages were analyzed at rice maturity. The results showed that the processing, appearance, and eating quality of rice declined after storage. Specifically, the chalkiness degree increased significantly by 32.4%, while the cooked rice appearance, texture, and taste quality decreased significantly by 18.7%, 19.1%, and 14.2%, respectively. The grain quality storage stability was evaluated using a hierarchical analysis method based on the storage stability scores of the brown rice rate, milled rice rate, head milled rice rate, chalkiness degree, cooked rice appearance, cooked rice texture, and cooked rice taste. A judgment matrix was established, determining their corresponding weights of 0.0149, 0.0369, 0.0910, 0.286, 0.060, 0.148, and 0.364, respectively. Based on cluster analysis and the normalization method, these varieties were classified into three categories: high storage stability, intermediate storage stability, and low storage stability, accounting for 26.5%, 52.9%, and 20.6%, respectively. Finally, nine rice varieties with high storage stability were screened. The validation results of the principal component analysis also indicated the reliability of this result. Correlation analysis revealed that the storage stability of the rice grain quality was significantly and negatively correlated with the amylose starch content and malondialdehyde content. The average value and median value of the amylose starch content in high-storage-stability varieties are 10.7% and 6.99% lower than those in sensitive varieties, respectively. Therefore, the major feature of rice varieties with high storage stability is a low amylose starch content. This study provides valuable theoretical insights into the safe storage of rice grains and the selection and breeding of rice varieties with high storage stability.

Gellan Gum Enhances the Quality of Egg-Based Yoghurt by Changing the Water Phase Distribution and Improving the Gel Texture.

Egg-based yoghurt (EBY) is a novel yoghurt fermented by lactic acid bacteria with high nutritional and health values, serving as a potential alternative to milk-based yoghurt. However, the hardness, adhesiveness, and water-holding capacity of egg-based yoghurt need to be further improved. In this study, the improvement in EBY quality by gellan gum and its underlying mechanism were investigated. The results showed that gellan gum significantly improved the quality of EBY (p < 0.05). Among the five concentration gradients tested, the EBY supplemented with 0.045% gellan gum exhibited the best quality with the highest sensory score of 83.57. With the increasing amount of gellan gum, hydrogen bonding interactions in the yoghurt significantly increased, while ionic bonding remained unchanged, but hydrophobic interactions and disulphide bonding gradually decreased. Low-field NMR assay results demonstrated that gellan gum significantly raised the amount of strongly bonded water while decreasing the amount of immobile water in the yoghurt. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that EBY with 0.045% gellan gum had a better texture, whereas too much or too little gellan gum led to a coarser structure. In summary, gellan gum altered the water phase state and enhanced the water holding capacity through increased hydrogen bonding interactions, which consequently improved the yoghurt's texture and sensory qualities. This study provides a reference for the development and application of EBY.

The Beneficial Role of Polysaccharide Hydrocolloids in Meat Products: A Review.

Polysaccharide hydrocolloids have garnered increasing attention from consumers, experts, and food processing industries due to their advantages of abundant resources, favorable thickening properties, emulsification stability, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and high acceptance as food additives. This review focuses on the application of polysaccharide hydrocolloids and their beneficial roles in meat products by focusing on several commonly used polysaccharides (i.e., cellulose, chitosan, starch, sodium alginate, pectin, and carrageenan). Firstly, the recent advancements of polysaccharide hydrocolloids used in meat products are briefly introduced, along with their structure and potential application prospects. Then, the beneficial roles of polysaccharide hydrocolloids in meat products are comprehensively summarized and highlighted, including retarding lipid and protein oxidation, enhancing nutritional properties, improving texture and color quality, providing antibacterial activity, monitoring freshness, acting as a cryoprotectant, improving printability, and ensuring security. Finally, the challenges and opportunities of polysaccharide hydrocolloids in meat products are also introduced.

Enhancing Meat Analog Texture Using Wet-Spun Fibroin Protein Fibers: A Novel Approach to Mimic Whole-Muscle Meat.

The increasing demand for protein-rich, plant-based foods has driven the development of meat analogs that closely mimic the texture and mouthfeel of animal meat. While plant-based fibrils and electrospun silk fibroin fibers have been explored for texture enhancement and scaffolding in both meat analogs and cell-based meats, the use of wet-spun fibroin protein fibers as a food ingredient remains underexplored. This study investigates the potential of wet-spun recombinant fibroin fibers to enhance the textural properties of meat analogs. Short fibers, with varying tensile strengths and diameters, were incorporated into a commercial ground pork analog to create improved patty samples. The results showed that adding hydrophilic, 30 μm-diameter, 3-mm short protein fibers at 1% (w/w) significantly increased the springiness of the pork analog by 45%. Additionally, fiber sheets designed to mimic the endomysium structure of intramuscular connective tissue were integrated into the minced pork analog using a three-dimensional needle punching technique. This approach successfully recreated the interlacing endomysium structure found in whole-muscle pork, yielding a texture that closely matched the slice shear force, springiness, and cohesiveness of traditional pork. In conclusion, the incorporation of wet-spun protein fibers offers a promising strategy to enhance the textural qualities of meat analogs, making them more comparable to animal meat and potentially more appealing to consumers seeking high-quality plant-based alternatives.

Gustatory cortex neurons perform reliability-dependent integration of multisensory flavor inputs.

Flavor is the quintessential multisensory experience, combining gustatory, retronasal olfactory, and texture qualities to inform food perception and consumption behavior. However, the computations that govern multisensory integration of flavor components and their underlying neural mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we use rats as a model system to test the hypothesis that taste and smell components of flavor are integrated in a reliability-dependent manner to inform hedonic judgments and that this computation is performed by neurons in the primary taste cortex. Using a series of two-bottle preference tests, we demonstrate that hedonic judgments of taste+ smell mixtures are a weighted average of the component judgments, and that the weight of the components depends on their relative reliability. Using extracellular recordings of single-neuron spiking and local field potential activity in combination with decoding analysis, we reveal a correlate of this computation in gustatory cortex (GC). GC neurons weigh bimodal taste and smell inputs based on their reliability, with more reliable inputs contributing more strongly to taste+ smell mixture responses. Input reliability was associated with less variable responses and stronger network-level synchronization in the gamma band. Together, our findings establish a quantitative framework for understanding hedonic multisensory flavor judgments and identify the neural computations that underlie them.

Unveiling the Texture Secrets of Morchella Germplasm: Advanced Grading and Quality Assessment Through Texture Profile Analysis (TPA).

Morchella is an edible mushroom with medical applciations. To explore the correlation between the texture indices of Morchella and to establish a sensory quality evaluation system, the texture quality characteristics of 214 Morchella germplasm resources from our country were analyzed via the Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) method on a texture analyzer. The research revealed significant differences in the texture quality characteristics of both the pileus and stipe among Morchella populations. After the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the six texture characteristics were seen to conform to a normal distribution. According to the correlation analysis, there was a significant correlation between the texture characteristics of the pileus, and a significant positive correlation between the hardness and the gumminess of the stipe (correlation coefficient of 0.96). Additionally, the hardness was negatively correlated with cohesiveness and resilience, with correlation coefficients of -0.51 and -0.38. Variation analysis indicated abundant genetic variation in each characteristic. Furthermore, the coefficient of variation for the characteristics of Morchella sextalata was higher than those of other species. Principal component analysis simplified the texture evaluation indices of Morchella pileus into a palatable factor and cohesive factor, and arranged the texture evaluation indexes of Morchella stipe into toughness-hardness factor and cohesive factor. Through comprehensive evaluation and cluster analysis, 10 Morchella strains were selected for subsequent use as breeding or cultivation materials. By comparing three different methods, the 'probability grading method' was determined to be the most suitable evaluation method for the texture quality characteristics of Morchella. The research results established a texture evaluation system for Morchella, offering a reference for selecting and cultivating breeds with superior texture qualities.

Design of a chocolate tempering machine with thermosyphon installation – a new concept study

This research presents a case study of applying a thermosyphon for energy conservation in a chocolate temper process. The use of the thermosyphon, made of 304 stainless steel, aimed to achieve a uniform temperature distribution, control temperature and reduce electric consumption. The results show that processing time and electric consumption could be reduced by 10%. The quality of crystallisation and texture of the chocolate tempering exceeded manufacturing standards.

Optimizing Young Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) Processing for Plant-Based Meatballs: Impact of Thermal Treatments on Quality Parameters and Organoleptic Properties.

As global demand for plant-based foods increases due to their nutritional and environmental benefits, young jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is emerging as a promising meat alternative. This study evaluates the effects of heat treatments-specifically blanching for 5 min and boiling for 15, 30, and 45 min-on the quality and sensory attributes of jackfruit-based meatballs. The results indicate consistent color values (L ∗, a ∗, and b ∗) across the samples, with L ∗ values ranging from 53.68 to 54.92 and a ∗ values from 3.02 to 3.38. The browning index increased with longer boiling times, while the water holding capacity improved from 2.22 to 4.35 as the cooking time extended. Blanching increased the hardness (536.93 g) and springiness (8.30%) of the meatballs. However, these properties decreased with longer boiling times, reaching 317.44 g and 7.68%, respectively, after 45 min. Sensory analysis revealed a strong preference for meatballs made from young jackfruit boiled for 45 min, with the highest score in appearance, flavor, and overall acceptability. These findings suggest that boiling young jackfruit for 45 min optimizes its texture and sensory qualities, highlighting its potential as a sustainable, nutritious, and appealing ingredient for plant-based meat substitutes.

Preparation, characterization, and application of composite oleogels based on whey protein isolate and sodium alginate.

Oleogels with solid-like properties can serve as substitutes for fats, thereby avoiding the consumption of high levels of saturated fatty acids. In this study, we developed a protein-polysaccharide composite network oleogel using whey protein isolate (WPI) and sodium alginate (SA) through an emulsion-templated method. Analysis with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the presence of hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces between WPI and SA, which bolstered the oleogel's structure. The enhanced oxidative stability and oil binding capacity of the WPI-SA composite oleogels were attributed to these interactions, as compared to the WPI single-network oleogel. Large-amplitude oscillatory shear testing demonstrated that the WPI-SA composite oleogels exhibited good plastic behavior and irreversible shear thinning, whereas the WPI single-network oleogel displayed more viscous behavior and shear-thinning characteristics. In applications, replacing pork fat entirely with the WPI-SA composite oleogel in Harbin red sausage resulted in a product with similar texture and sensory qualities to the original sausage. These results suggested that the WPI-SA composite oleogel could be a potential suitable fat substitute in the food industry, particularly for meat products.

Heat-stable single-helical structures formed during the extrusion process play a key role in the cooking and texture qualities of rice noodles.

Extrusion is a critical process in rice noodle production. However, the underlying mechanism by which it influences noodle quality remains inadequately understood. In this study, rice noodles were processed at extrusion temperatures ranging from 100 °C to 140 °C and characterized in terms of molecular structure, short- and long-range order, microstructure, cooking loss, and texture properties. The results indicated that extrusion at 120 °C promoted the formation of heat-stable amylose single-helical structures, including VII-type crystals. These stable amylose structures reduced their interference with the rearrangement of amylopectin, facilitating the formation of amylopectin double-helical structures and A-type crystals during the subsequent retrogradation process. The highly ordered helical structures and crystals were further organized into larger, denser domains, characterized by a gyration radius of 21.45 nm, a fractal dimension of 2.54, and a correlation length of 6.64 nm. These dense domains were uniformly distributed throughout the gel matrix of rice noodles, acting as cross-links within the gel network and thereby enhancing its mechanical strength. The enhancement in the gel's mechanical strength ultimately contributed to improved eating quality of rice noodles extruded at 120 °C compared to those extruded at 100 °C. This improvement was evidenced by a 53.4 % reduction in cooking loss, a 52.5 % decrease in adhesiveness, and significant increases in hardness (51.4 %), springiness (21.3 %), and chewiness (52.3 %). This study underscores the critical role of heat-stable amylose single-helical structures, particularly VII-type crystals, formed during the extrusion process in determining the cooking and texture qualities of rice noodles.

Mechanism of starch multi-scale structural in determining the textural properties and formability of starch pearls

Starch pearls are widely used in bubble tea and desserts, yet the mechanistic understanding of the formation process of their textural properties remain unclear. To investigate the relationship between the multi-scale structure of starch and the textural properties of starch pearls, analyses of fine structure, crystal structure, rheological behavior, and textural profiling were conducted. The results showed that starch gels with a higher content of short-chain amylose (100 < X ≤ 1000) exhibited weaker formability during starch pearl preparation, leading to a lower flow behavior index (n*). This, in turn, positively influenced the hardness and resilience of the starch pearls. Cassava, potato, and yam starch pearls contained a large amount of long-chain amylopectin (24 < X ≤ 100) and long-chain amylose (5000 < X ≤ 20,000). The high proportion of long chains resulted in a weaker ordered structure, leading to increased peak viscosities and final viscosities and a higher consistency coefficient (k*). This structural feature enhanced the formability stability, viscosity, and chewability of starch pearls. Our findings reveal that variations in starch multi-scale structure significantly influence the textural quality and formability of starch pearls, providing valuable insights for optimizing starch selection and processing techniques in the food industry.

Effect of Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana) Flour and Maize Flour on Nutritional, Texture and Physico-chemical Qualities of Edible Dessert Cup

Background: The concept of edible tableware is a recent area of development to address the alarming situation that the excessive generation of non-recyclable plastic wastes has created. Non-biodegradable plastics are a major threat to the environment. The demand for green alternatives are increasing, the edible tableware is a new concept in which the utensils like plates, bowls and spoons are eaten along with the meal. Methods: Various composite flours can be used for making edible dessert cups. Finger millet, one of the nutritious and commonly available millets can be utilised for the development of edible dessert cup effectively. Hence, the present study was carried out to formulate healthy and environment friendly edible dessert cups. Finger millet flour was used in varying proportions ranging from 90 to 40 per cent along with 10 to 60 per cent maize flour. The best treatment was selected through organoleptic evaluation and textural properties. Result: Among various combinations 50 per cent finger millet flour and 50 per cent maize flour was found to be better than other combinations with respect to organoleptic and textural properties. The selected edible dessert cup was subjected to physico-chemical analysis and observed to have pH (5.32), water absorption index (4.44%), water solubility index (8.56%) and oil absorption capacity (1.20%). The selected edible dessert cup was subjected to proximate analysis and observed to have moisture (3.46%), energy (406.39 Kcal), carbohydrate (83.31 g 100 g-1), protein (9.31 g 100 g-1), fat (3.99 g 100 g-1), crude fibre (1.95 g 100 g-1), starch (50.62 g 100 g-1) and total ash (1.44 g 100 g-1). Biodegradable tablewares plays vital role in green marketing for sustainable environment.

Preparation of Soybean Fiber/Sodium Alginate Microgel and Its Application in Low-Fat Yogurt.

This study investigates the oral processing characteristics and application of soybean fiber and sodium alginate microgel in enhancing the texture and sensory attributes of low-fat yogurt. By combining soybean fiber with sodium alginate, a stable composite microgel system was developed with a uniform particle-size distribution. Oral lubrication performance was assessed by evaluating particle size, texture, friction coefficient and rheological properties, providing insights into how microgels improve food lubricity. The results showed that adding soybean fiber/sodium alginate microgel to low-fat yogurt significantly enhanced lubrication, texture and sensory quality compared to standard low-fat yogurt. The yogurt sample containing 2 wt% microgel achieved optimal sensory results, improving hardness and adhesiveness. This study suggests that soybean fiber/sodium alginate microgel offer a promising strategy for enhancing the sensory quality in low-fat dairy products, supporting healthier food innovations.

The Effect of Honey Powder Addition on Chosen Quality Properties of Model Chicken Products.

The objective of our paper was to evaluate the effect of honey powder addition on the quality of model chicken products over 14 days of refrigerated storage. Three model chicken product variants were produced: C-control, HP1%, HP2%-with 1 or 2% of honey powder addition. The cooking loss, basic chemical composition, water activity, texture, color, lipid oxidation (TBARS and PDSC), microbiological and sensory quality, and volatile compounds profile were determined. The adverse changes in lipids were slower in products with honey powder added compared to control product, revealing lower TBARS index values and longer oxidation induction times. After 14 days of storage, HP2% products showed significantly lower (up to 50%) TBARS values than control products. Furthermore, honey powder addition reduced the growth of psychrotrophic and lactic acid bacteria for up to 14 days of storage in comparison to the control products. However, deterioration of the volatile compounds profile (presence of alcohols and sulfur compounds) and occurrence of storage odor and flavor had an impact on the poorer sensory desirability of the control and HP1% products. Additional research is necessary aiming to improve the sensory quality of products with honey powder addition.

Fungi influence in the chemical composition, textural quality, buoyancy, and floatation time of poorly stored fish feeds

This study assessed the effects of fungal contamination on the chemical composition, texture, buoyancy, and floating time of poorly stored fish feed. Among 21 commercial and six artisanal feed samples analyzed, 81% showed fungal growth. Nutritional losses were significant: commercial feeds lost 41.97–50.61% of minerals, 17.11–21.69% of crude protein, 38.28% of lipids, 35.16–50.66% of carbohydrates, and 37.77% of raw energy. Artisanal feeds experienced even greater losses, with reductions of 66.12–84.06% in minerals, 43.29–47% in crude protein, and 25.60–42.40% in raw energy. Contamination altered pellet texture, causing hardening, crumbling, and increased fracturability in water, reducing buoyancy (~50%) and causing nutrient leaching. This led to feed accumulation at pond bottoms, accelerating eutrophication. These findings emphasize the economic and environmental risks of fungal contamination in fish farming. Proper storage with humidity and temperature control is crucial to prevent fungal growth, nutrient loss, and mycotoxin contamination.

An efficient no‐reference image quality analysis based on statistical perceptual features

AbstractIt is well known that image quality needs to be measured with human perception in many computer vision applications. However, these approaches are expensive and require more time for image quality analysis. Therefore, this paper proposes a robust and computationally efficient objective‐mathematical model based on statistical perceptual features. The structural and textural features are computed using the modified regularized heaviside local binary pattern (RH‐LBP) approach and the concept of entropy. The higher‐order probability coefficients of images are considered to extract features that are highly correlated to the human visual system features. Further, the additivity property of Renyi entropy is used to show the randomness of the information combining two terms: One extracts the images spatial intensity changes, and therefore their texture qualities, and the other attain structural details. The features in the proposed approach are jointly optimized to achieve better robustness, monotonicity and match human assessments on image quality, while minimizing the computational complexity and run time. Experiments are conducted with three synthetically distorted datasets, KonIQ‐10K, BIQ2021, and LIVE (wild), and two intentionally distorted datasets, TID2013 and CSIQ and are used to evaluate performance index. The proposed method offers competitive performance compared with state‐of‐the‐art methods.

Textural Characteristics and Anatomical Structure of Hard- and Soft-Fleshed Jujube Fruits

The aim of this study was to establish a standardized and unified method for identifying and evaluating jujube fruit texture quality and to provide a theoretical basis for determining the texture quality of jujube germplasm resources. The texture of 56 jujube germplasms was characterized via the texture profile analysis (TPA) method, and the texture and anatomical structure of three each of the hard- and soft-fleshed germplasms were analyzed. Cluster analysis was used to categorize the 56 germplasms into hard- (17) and soft-fleshed jujubes (39). Significant positive correlations were found between all other textural parameters of jujube fruits except adhesiveness. The hardness, springiness, and chewiness of the full-red period hard- and the soft-fleshed jujube fruit were lower than those of the half-red period. The hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness of the hard-fleshed jujube fruits in the full-red period were 2.13–3.57, 3.00–4.99, and 4.39–9.58 times higher than those of the soft-fleshed jujube fruits, respectively. The findings of this study provide a theoretical foundation for the evaluation and classification of the texture and quality of jujube fruits and a basis for the breeding of new, high-quality jujube varieties with distinctive characteristics.

Quality Assessment of Organic Kefirs Made with Kefir Grains and Freeze-Dried Starter Cultures

Organic dairy products, including fermented milk, are gaining popularity among consumers. Traditionally, for kefir production, kefir grains are used; however, in the modern industry, freeze-dried cultures are commonly employed. This study aimed to analyze the quality of kefirs produced from organic cow milk with two fermentation times (12 and 24 h) with the use of kefir grains or freeze-dried culture. During a 3-week storage period, physicochemical properties, color, syneresis index, texture, sensory, and microbiological quality were evaluated. The results proved that organic cow milk was suitable for kefir production both with the use of kefir grains and freeze-dried culture. Using freeze-dried culture and a 24 h fermentation period resulted in kefir with the lowest syneresis tendency (3.65–9.62%), along with the best textural properties (the highest cohesiveness and viscosity index), and desired sensory characteristics. Kefir grains had a better acidification ability, and the resulting products had a higher count of yeasts, lactobacilli, and lactococci compared with kefirs obtained with freeze-dried culture. However, both the type of starter culture and the fermentation time influenced the product’s quality. The longer fermentation time of 24 h was more appropriate for the kefir production. Kefir grains, as a traditional form of kefir culture, may be preferred in organic kefir production.