Marshmallow as a model foamed gel for dysphagia-friendly transitional food

This study investigated non-brittle foamed gels as novel transitional foods, using marshmallows with controlled porosity (0 – 150 % overrun) as model systems. Textural properties were measured by unlubricated compression tests and evaluated by a sensory panel pressing the samples between the tongue and palate. Increasing porosity markedly reduced fracture stress (< 25 kPa for 150 % overrun), diminished the capacity for strain hardening, and shortened the overall oral processing time to approximately 23 s. Time-intensity sensory measurements showed progressive declines in perceived firmness, cohesiveness and solid-liquid state, while stickiness increased initially before decreasing. Power law modelling further revealed that high porosity samples exhibited a significantly faster rate of decline in firmness and cohesiveness than lower porosity samples. Expectorated boluses appeared as heterogeneous dispersions of small particles within a liquid phase, suggesting a mixed consistency state relevant to swallowing safety. These findings demonstrate that tuning porosity can transform conventional gels into more readily disintegrable, tongue-manageable transitional foods. The mechanistic insight gained from linking instrumental mechanical data with dynamic sensory data provides a basis for rational design of soft, non-brittle transitional foods.