I’m excited to introduce and share this article and lesson plan collaboration by Dr. Courtney Simons and I titled, “Mastering Food Textures: Why Some Foods Crunch, Chew, or Melt in Your Mouth“. Dr Simons is a food science educator and is an Associate Professor at Wright State University-Lake Campus and the founder of Food Science Toolbox. His goal, like mine, is to help teachers feel confident and prepared by giving them resources to deliver engaging, effective lessons while saving time and reducing stress. Continue reading to learn more about this topic!

Set

• Write the word “TEXTURE” in the middle of the board. Have students quickly shout out or write as many words as they can related to food textures (smooth, crunchy, sticky, gritty, fluffy, dense, slimy, crispy, etc.). Ask students to think about the last meal they ate; what textures were included? Does texture make a difference in whether we like or dislike a food? If so, how?  If no, why not?
• Have you ever wondered why some foods make a satisfying crunch, why some foods take effort to chew, or why some foods melt so effortlessly on your tongue? The way food feels in our mouth isn’t just an accident—it’s a science. Texture is just as important as taste in shaping our food experiences, influencing everything from what we enjoy eating to how food is manufactured.
• Food texture isn’t just about preference; it’s about physics, chemistry, and biology working together to create different sensory experiences. Let’s break down what makes food crunchy, chewy, or melty and explore ways to bring these ideas to life in the classroom.

Materials

• Projector & Screen
• Printed Station Notes
• Food Experiment Supplies
• Decibel Meter App (optional)

Activities

• In order for students to learn more about the science behind food textures, either assign the article and have students complete the notes at their seats or set up stations for students to take notes while circulating the room. It really doesn’t matter where they start as long as they get to each station to complete the notes form. The stations were created from Dr. Simons article which you can find in full under attachments.
• After students have completed the notes, you can either collect them for a grade or go over each in class and discuss in more detail.
• Provide students with the seven food textures worksheet where they are to make predictions, using food pairs, on the textures each represent. Use Dr. Simons infographic to go over the correct answers to see how students did.
• One way to illustrate food textures is to conduct some food texture experiments using common foods. I’ve put together five different food experiments that could easily be done in class, providing hands-on experiments for students to make connections to the textures they just learned about. However, before conducting any of the experiments, please be aware of any food allergies your students may have. Note: If you don’t have time to conduct all of the experiments, simply pick and choose according to your time, budget and available resources.

Attachments

• Mastering Food Textures Full Article by Dr. Courtney Simons (PDF)
• Station Cards for Mastering Food Textures by Dr. Courtney Simons (PDF)
• Student Notes Form (PDF)
• Seven Food Textures & Guess the Texture Activity (PDF)
• Infographic of Food Textures and Food Pairs (PDF)
• Food Texture Experiments (PDF)