Inventing Texture: Edible Science and the Management of Familiarity, 1963–1975

Abstract

In the 1960s, food scientists turned their attention to the problem of texture, asking how it could be defined as a discrete sensory property of food, measured with instruments, and made useful for industrial manufacturers. In the ensuing decade researchers in North America, Japan, and elsewhere proposed answers to these questions in specialized trade journals, where they crafted sophisticated mathematics, described measuring apparatuses and protocols, and shared the results of social surveys that pointed to the deep cultural relevance of their work. The result of their efforts was an articulation of eating as a physiological practice that lay below the surface of human consciousness, one that could be engaged by informed food manufacturers seeking to increase their share of the retail market. By literally restructuring the physical sensations of nutrition and domestic economy, this knowledge of texture was positioned to assist corporate food manufacturers in expanding their role in the lives of ordinary consumers.

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