A team led by Melanie Köhler and Veronika Somoza from the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology has presented a new research approach in the journal Nature Food. The perspectives article focuses on different ways to study the mouthfeel of food using atomic force microscopy to better understand the biophysical mechanisms that contribute to the overall sensory impression of a food. New findings in this area could drive the development of health-promoting products that contain less salt, fat, sugar and calories but still have a convincing mouthfeel.