Most of us like a good crunch and abhor a slimy feel in our food. And most of us think that food texture preference is simply a matter of personal taste, perhaps determined by culture or upbringing… “This is really about oral lubrication, based on the amount of water and proteins in saliva that serve as lubricants,” says Paul Breslin, a nutritional sciences professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. One of the things that he studies is “oral haptics,” the scientific name for the sensation of food or liquid coming into contact with your mouth. It’s what food-world people call “mouth feel.”