Evaluation of Spreadability of Food Products by Penetration Tests and Panel Scores

Instrumental evaluation of spreadability was carried out on different products by measuring the stress and the energy required to penetrate specimens with a plunger, a probe, and a cone. The instrumental findings were correlated with the spreadability scores from a semi‐trained panel. The correlations existing among the three methods and, with reference to each method, the correlations existing among the parameters evaluated under various operating conditions were determined. In most cases, objective measurements correlated significantly with the judgement expressed by the panel and, among the three methods, penetration with a cone appeared the most suitable for instrumental testing of spreadability.