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Use of Extensibility to Measure Corn Tortilla Texture

¹Research associate, Cereal Quality Laboratory, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2474. ²Corresponding author. Phone 409/845-2925. E-mail: esuhendr@taexgw.tamu.edu ³Senior project leader, Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, MI 49016. ⁴Professor, Cereal Quality Laboratory, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2474. ⁵Associate professor, Agriculture Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-2474.

An objective extensibility test was evaluated to measure texture of corn tortillas. A tortilla strip is pulled apart by a tensile force during the test. Force at 1 mm deformation, force required to rupture the tortilla strip, modulus of deformation, and extensibility distance were correlated to subjective rollability and flexibility scores. Hard, firm tortillas required more force to deform and to rupture and had greater moduli of deformation than soft, flexible tortillas. Tortilla texture was affected by manufacturer of commercial tortillas and by aging. The coefficient of variation ranged from 6.0 to 16.7% for force at 1 mm deformation and work required to rupture, respectively. The extensibility technique is sensitive, fast, simple, and repeatable.