ABSTRACTThe cohesiveness of mass of three commercial food products and three model systems was determined by Time‐Intensity (TI) and single‐value measurements. Two kinds of TI profiles were identified. The first corresponded to products that initially have a cohesive mass which is broken down during chewing. The second profile was characterized by the development and subsequent breakdown of cohesiveness of mass with oral manipulation. Maximum Intensity (Imax), total duration (DUR), area under the curve (AUC) and time to maximum intensity (Tmax) most significantly differentiated the products. Imax was the TI parameter most closely related to single‐value measures of cohesiveness of mass.