Crispness

Somewhat imprecise word for texture that is used to characterize both thin yet hard foods, such as chips, bread crusts, and roasted seeds, and porous foods, such as meringue. “Crispy,” “crunchy,” and “crackly” are often used arbitrarily for both dry and fragile foods. Crispness is associated with the high-frequency sound generated when the teeth pierce the crust, before it has been deformed.