Snack food is an important part of human life across the world, in part, due to its convenience, availability, and of course its sensory qualities. Because texture is such a critical aspect of snack foods, a lexicon applicable to various processed and unprocessed snack foods (e.g., crackers, chips, vegetables, yogurt, etc.) is needed. This study also investigated how textures are experienced by vision, hand tactile, lip feel, first bite, multiple bite, and in throat swallowing. This study developed a texture lexicon for various snack foods. Eighty‐five different food products from eight countries around the world were used to create an initial lexicon. The highly trained panel used descriptive analysis techniques to identify 76 texture attributes and develop definitions, techniques, and references for product evaluation. Fifty of the products then were selected and evaluated for intensities using references. Principal component analysis of the data shows that the developed terms differentiated the products. K‐means cluster analysis was done to find the existing clusters between attributes, and correlation analysis used to find the highest correlated and uncorrelated attributes. The article presents attributes, definitions and techniques in English, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.
Practical application
The texture lexicon developed in this study for various snack foods can be useful for researchers and food manufacturers to identify and describe similarities and differences present in textures of foods to help with product development and assessment of snack categories in various countries. The lexicon can serve as a tool for texture evaluation for correlating descriptive data, consumer preferences and conduct studies with same standards applicable to wide range of products.