2.6.3. Crispness
Crispness is attributed to intermolecular bonding of starch
forming small crystalline-like regions when little water was
present. These regions require force to break apart, which
gives the food a crispy texture. The detailed definitions and
calculation methods of crispness were adopted from Texture
Technologies (1998). Crispness was evaluated using
a TA.XT2 Texture Analyzer (Texture Technologies Corp.,
North America). Dried banana samples were tested using
a 1⁄4
00 diameter ball probe and an accompanying chip/cracker
fixture (TA-101). A ‘‘pipe’’ cylinder with an outside diameter
of 25 mm and an inside diameter of 18 mm was mounted on
the plate component of the TA-101 to support a banana piece
for the test. The measurement settings on the Texture Analyzer
were pre-test speed of 3.0 mm/s and test speed of 5.0 mm/s.
The values of initial slope, indicating crispness, were