Abstract
Purpose: Cheese texture is an important sensory attribute mainly considered for consumers' acceptance. The feasibility of nondestructive measurements of cheese texture was explored using non-contact ultrasonic sensors. Methods: A novel non-contact air instability compensation ultrasonic technique was used for five varieties of hard cheeses to measure ultrasonic parameters, such as velocity and attenuation coefficient. Five texture properties, such as fracturability, hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness were assessed by a texture profile analysis (TPA) and correlated with the ultrasonic parameters. Results: Texture properties of five varieties of hard cheese were estimated using ultrasonic parameters with regression analysis models. The most effective model predicted the fracturability, hardness, springiness, and chewiness, with the determination coefficients of 0.946 (RMSE = 21.82 N), 0.944 (RMSE = 63.46 N), 0.797 (RMSE = 0.06 ratio), and 0.833 (RMSE = 17.49 N), respectively. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the non-contact air instability compensation ultrasonic sensing technique can be an effective tool for rapid and non-destructive determination of cheese texture.