This article outlines the outputs from a series of our research activities on food texture studies. This includes mechanical and physiological approaches to texture quantification and their applications to product design, which aims to meet the increased demand for foods/beverages that are palatable as well as safe for consumption. As a result of tremendous efforts and supports, we have published approx. 40 research papers, including original papers and reviews, since 2011. This can contribute to novel academic insights into the mechanism and behavior of food oral processing in humans and serve as a practical tool for industry to facilitate inter-company and international collaborations to produce qualified and standardized products.

In the production of high-quality processed foods, it is essential to satisfy consumer preferences, which determine the purchase of products. However, although there are many previous studies on quality evaluation for processed foods, there are few studies on quality evaluation methods with consideration of consumer preference characteristics. In this study, we measured the sugar content, β-carotene content, and color of carrot juices produced by different blanching methods as model samples. In addition, we analyzed the preference characteristics by conjoint analysis, and utilized the results of that analysis as measured values of quality to construct a quality evaluation model considering consumer preference characteristics. The newly developed quality evaluation method may be applied to the development of processed foods that reflect consumer preferences.

Combinationally cooking a low-amylose cultivar of brown rice with pearled waxy barley is expected to improve nutritional balance and taste. When grains were soaked in water at 30 °C for 3 hours, water absorption volume in the brown rice was smaller than that in the waxy barley. Water contents of grains of the brown rice and waxy barley were decreased and increased, respectively, when cooked together compared to when cooked separately. When the brown rice was soaked for 2 hours before the waxy barley was added and then soaked for an additional 1 hour together with the barley, the difference in the water contents of both grains was smaller and the texture of cooked brown rice was softer than that of combinationally cooked brown rice with waxy barley in which both grains were soaked at the same time.

To demonstrate the importance of sound in the perception of food texture, a sensory evaluation of texture was conducted using a custom device by feeding bone-conducted sounds generated during the mastication of potato chips through headphones as auditory feedback. In agreement with previous reports, it was verified that the perceived crispness was generally augmented depending on the presented sound pressure level. It is also suggested that enhanced mastication sounds have a complementary effect on deteriorated texture of foods that have absorbed moisture.