Meat samples were prepared by adding mashed tubers of different kinds (white potato, yam and taro) to minced pork loin, to compare the “ease of eating" of the samples. This was evaluated, by sensory tests, measurement of the masseter muscle activity at the time of mastication, and the physical properties of the samples. The results indicated that, compared with a meat sample, which was soft and had high levels of both adhesiveness and cohesiveness, a meat sample which was hard and had small levels of adhesiveness and cohesiveness induced greater muscle activity. Among the meat samples that were similar in hardness, the samples that demonstrated higher stress at 95% strain showed greater muscle activity. The sensory test showed that the meat samples that were evaluated as “hard" at the time of mastication induced greater muscle activity. The overall results imply that a meat sample needs to have adequate levels of adhesiveness and cohesiveness as well as softness to be easy to swallow.
