An alternative theory to explain the effects of coalescing oil drops on mouthfeel

Abstract

In this letter, we demonstrate that through non-trivial rheological effects occurring in narrow gaps, it is possible to explain how coalescent oil drops contribute to the specific mouthfeel of such unstable emulsions. This theoretical framework allows us to get away from the commonly referred to lubrication argumentation and offers the advantage of being simple enough in terms of computation to be tested both numerically and sensorially using oils of different viscosities. We show that this interpretation allows us to account for around two orders of magnitude of apparent viscosity increase in such emulsions, when the coalescence is catastrophic (total). Such phenomena are predicted to have profound effects on the damping of the mechanical signal perceived by mechanoreceptors in the oral cavity and thus on mouthfeel perception.