Projects

Project Summary

Ever wondered why some foods feel smooth and others rough? That “rough” feeling is common in foods like cranberries and red wine. Vegan cheese can feel rough and often lacks the creaminess of dairy.
How food feels in our mouth is crucial to enjoyment. We can measure properties like softness or stickiness but understanding friction between food and mouth surfaces is complex.
Hence, we’re pioneering a way to measure food friction using a “biofidelic” test that mimics the
surfaces of the human mouth, incorporating actual oral cells. This allows direct measurement of friction against living surfaces.

We’ll analyse vegan cheese and measure the friction they generate against oral cells and
compare these measurements with existing knowledge and consumer feedback to validate our method.
This increased understanding will help food scientists to design the next generation of alternative protein products with optimised textures, contributing to more enjoyable and sustainable food choices.