Texture analysis is primarily concerned with the measurement of the mechanical properties of a food product, as they relate to its sensory properties detected by humans. Texture analysis is primarily concerned with the evaluation of mechanical characteristics where a material is subjected to a controlled force from which a deformation curve of its response is generated. These mechanical characteristics in food can be further sub-divided into primary and secondary sensory characteristics.

Food texture vs rheology

There is considerable overlap between rheology and food texture. The deformation of a food item squeezed in the hand is both a textural property and a rheological property. The flow of the bolus of chewed food in the mouth, and the flow of fluid and semifluid foods, are both a textural property and a rheological property. However, the fracturing and grinding of solid foods that occurs during mastication is not a rheological phenomenon, and neither are the textural perceptions of particles, the release or absorption of moisture or oil. So food texture is partly rheology and partly non-rheology. Some rheological properties are probably not detected by the tactile sense, which means that some rheological properties are related to texture and some are not.

Food rheology is the study of the rheological properties that is, the consistency and flow of food under tightly specified conditions. The consistency, degree of fluidity, and other mechanical properties are important in understanding how long food can be stored, how stable it will remain, and in determining food texture. The most important factor in food rheology is consumer perception of the product. This perception is affected by how the food looks on the plate as well as how it feels in the mouth, or "mouthfeel". Mouthfeel is influenced by how food moves or flows once it is in a person's mouth and determines how desirable the food is seen to be.