92D-13 |
Probing and three-point bend methods for measuring cookie texture |
A. WOODY and M. P. Penfield. Food Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, 2509 River Road, Knoxville, TN 37996-4539 Cookies, an important product of the food industry, have distinctive textural attributes that affect consumer perception of quality. Reliable methods of texture evaluation of cookies are important to manufacture consistent, consumer acceptable products. Instrumental methods for textural evaluation that correlate with sensory values can help with the speed, cost, and ease of evaluating during processing. A study was conducted to evaluate differences and similarities between two methods of texture evaluation for six commercially available varieties of cookies (shortbread, pecan shortbread, a soft and hard sugar cookie, and a soft and hard oatmeal cookie). The probing method involved multiple probes (5) of each cookie and the three-point bend test, a destructive test, was used for measurement of hardness. Probing a soft cookie gave one smooth peak. Alternatively, when a hard cookie was probed it gave multiple peaks. The three-point bend method gave only one measurement of maximum peak force. The probing method, typically used for softer cookies, used multiple probes to obtain peaks that varied depending on type of cookie. For three of the six cookie varieties (shortbread, soft sugar, and soft oatmeal), maximum and first peaks were the same in the three-point bend method. The three-point bend test also had no pattern of differences among cookies for the various measurements. No pattern of differences in maximum peak values was seen for the two methods; however, the values fell in the same order for the two methods. Accordingly, the differences between the measurements for each method indicate a need for study of the relationship of these values to sensory responses to validate the measurements of each method. Future research will be done to look at correlation between the instrumental methods and sensory evaluation of cookie texture.
Session 92D, Quality Assurance: General
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