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15 - Methods of ingestion and incisal designs
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- By Kalpana R. Agrawal, Department of Anatomy, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong, K. Y. Ang, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Republic of Singapore, Zhongquan Sui, Department of Botany, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, Hugh T. W. Tan, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Republic of Singapore, Peter W. Lucas, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, 2110 G St NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA
- Edited by Joel D. Irish, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Greg C. Nelson, University of Oregon
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- Book:
- Technique and Application in Dental Anthropology
- Published online:
- 12 September 2009
- Print publication:
- 07 February 2008, pp 349-363
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Summary
Introduction
Those who research in food texture have long known that the first bite is a critical element of the feeding process. It is probable that many sensory decisions about the nature of the food mechanical properties that control particle fracture are made at this point (Bourne, 2002; Vincent et al., 2002). At least this is likely to be true for homogeneous foods that do not change much in texture as they are chewed (but is much less valid for industrially processed foods that melt or dissolve in the mouth). This “fact” appears to be recognized culturally, and is often imbued with social importance, such as when someone is expected or encouraged to express his or her appreciation of a dish at a social occasion immediately after “trying” something by biting into it (Visser, 1991). Taste is, of course, involved in such assessments, but texture nearly always has a role too.
Despite this interest, the first bite has not been the subject of much mechanical investigation. What happens when humans bite into food particles with their incisors? Is there simply flow of the food particle as the upper and/or lower teeth ease their way through it so as to eventually contact? It might be felt that the name “incision” implies that this is what happens. However, is fracture of the food particle involved?
Fracture and Energy Partitioning in Uncooked and Cooked Noodles
- Zhongquan Sui, Harold Corke, Michelle L. Oyen, Peter W. Lucas
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- Journal:
- MRS Online Proceedings Library Archive / Volume 975 / 2006
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 26 February 2011, 0975-DD06-13
- Print publication:
- 2006
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Humans perform fascinating science experiments at home on a daily basis when they undertake the modification of natural and naturally-derived materials by a cooking process prior to consumption. The material properties of such foods are of interest to food scientists (texture is often fundamental to food acceptability), oral biologists (foods modulate feeding behavior), anthropologists (cooking is probably as old as the genus Homo and distinguishes us from all other creatures) and dentists (foods interact with tooth and tooth replacement materials). Material scientists may be interested in the drastic changes in food properties observed over relatively short cooking times. In the current study, the mechanical properties of one of the most common (and oldest at 4,000+ years) foods on earth, the noodle, were examined as a function of cooking time. Two types of noodles, each made from natural materials (wheat flour, salt, alkali and water) by kneading dough and passing them through a pasta-making machine. These were boiled for between 2–14 min and tested at regular intervals from raw to an overcooked state. Cyclic tensile tests at small strain levels were used to examine energy dissipation characteristics. Energy dissipation was >50% per cycle in uncooked noodles, but decreased by an order of magnitude with cooking. Fractional dissipation values remained approximately constant at cooking times greater than 7 min. Overall, a greater effect of cooking was on viscoplastic dissipation characteristics rather than fracture resistance. The results of the current study plot the evolution of a viscoplastic mixture into an essentially elastic material in the space of 7 minutes and have broad implications for understanding what cooking does to food materials. In particular, they suggest that textural assessments by consumers of the optimally cooked state of food has a definite physical definition.
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