Texture and Oral Processing Changes Driven by Pectin or Xanthan Shape Liking for Agar‐Plum Hydrogels: Sensory and Chewing Effects

Although hardness dominates food texture preference, the role of secondary texture attributes in consumer liking remains limited. This study investigated the effect of adhesiveness and cohesiveness in agar-gelled plum jellies, using gels varied in agar concentration (2.5%-5.0%) and high-agar (A5.0) blends with pectin or xanthan. These hydrocolloids produced gels (A5.0-pectin, A5.0-xanthan) matching A3.5 hardness (via 45%-49% reduced fracture stress) but with distinct secondary profiles: elevated adhesiveness (pectin) and cohesiveness (xanthan). Sensory evaluations aligned with instrumental texture profile analysis (TPA) measures: perceived hardness increased significantly across fracture stress (36-76 kPa differences), correlating positively with brittleness and stickiness, but negatively with chewiness and juiciness. Electromyography was employed to characterize chewing behavior, including chewing duration, rate, and muscle activity. Salivary flow and bolus characteristics were also assessed. Sensory ratings for hardness, chewiness, brittleness, juiciness, and stickiness, as well as taste, texture, and overall liking scores were compared between the gels in adult females. Softer samples (A3.5, A5.0-pectin/xanthan) were easier to chew, less brittle, and juicier than A5.0, exhibiting shorter oro-sensory exposure (15%-25% less) and reduced masseter/suprahyoid muscle activity. Participants favored softer A3.5 (92%-96%) over adhesive/cohesive variants. Paired preference tests revealed that xanthan-induced cohesiveness impaired liking more severely than pectin-induced adhesiveness in agar-plum gels of matched hardness. Texture-mediated effects realized via suppressed taste intensity, modified oral processing, and altered bolus formation primarily drove reduced palatability, particularly for harder and more cohesive samples. Our findings point to xanthan-induced cohesiveness impairing palatability more than pectin-induced adhesiveness in adult females. These findings offer a framework for optimizing fruit gel textures to improve mouthfeel, oral processing, and palatability.