Relationship between instrumental and sensory measurements of cheese texture

The relationship between sensory and instrumental texture measurements of natural and processed cheeses was studied. A descriptive analysis panel evaluated seven mouth-evaluated and five hand-evaluated texture terms. Instrumental measurements included texture profile analysis (TPA), frequency sweeps, and creep. Multivariate analyses showed that many:of the sensory and instrumental analyses were highly correlated. Principal component analysis showed similarities and differences in how the cheeses were differentiated by sensory and instrumental techniques. TPA and fundamental rheological tests worked equally well at predicting sensory attributes of the cheeses, but TPA was better at predicting sensory attributes when cheeses were divided into two groups, natural and processed. Instrumental measurements predicted sensory attributes of processed cheeses better than natural cheeses. While fundamental rheological tests reveal important information on network structure and molecular arrangement, these results indicate that empirical texture evaluations work equally well or better at predicting sensory texture properties.