Al dente or well done? How the eating rate of a pasta dish can be predicted by the eating rate of its components

•Softer components led to higher eating rates due to fewer chews and larger bite sizes.•Sauce addition increased eating rate by decreasing the number of chews and increasing bite size.•The eating rates of components cumulatively determined the eating rate of a composite dish.•The eating rate of a dish could be predicted from the eating rate of its components. Eating rate (ER) is now recognised as an important driver of food and energy intake, and is strongly influenced by a food’s texture. However, little is known about how the textures of multiple food components combined affect the ER of a composite dish. In a full cross-over study, 54 healthy participants (age: 25 ± 7 years, BMI: 22 ± 3 kg/m2) consumed 12 different pasta dishes. The dishes comprised single penne or carrot (hard and soft; 4 samples), single penne or carrot (hard and soft) with tomato sauce (4 samples), and combined penne (hard and soft) with carrots (hard and soft) and tomato sauce (4 samples). Behavioural coding analysis was used to quantify participant ER and oral processing behaviours for each dish. Soft penne was consumed 42% faster than hard penne (P