Firmness of the gel beads
The measurements were performed on a TA-XT2i Texture Analyser (Stable Micro Systems, Surrey, UK), with the data analysis software package Texture Expert Exceed. Having dried
it gently on filter paper, the bead was placed in the centre of the compression plate. The 12 mm Cylinder Probe was used with the crosshead speed of 0.2 mm/s.