Abstract
This study examined the relationship between the physical properties and ease-of-eating of rice gruel samples, made using glutinous rice or two types of amylose rice containing different ratios of amylose (middle- and low-amylose), each having the same level of hardness. The glutinous rice gruel sample was found to create a more ‘sticky’ feeling in the mouth making it more difficult to convey from the mouth into the throat than the middle and low-amylose rice gruel samples. The outcome of the present study implies that the textural property of adhesiveness, as well as the feeling of stickiness assessed through sensory evaluation, has a major impact on the ease-of-eating of rice gruel. Presumably, when young and healthy individuals eat rice gruel, they ‘comprehend’ its adhesiveness, and thereby adjust their frequency of mastication to make the boluses easier to swallow.
