# "Gritty" Foods-Why?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gritty-foods-why/571650>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 17, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gritty-foods-why/571650 "2011-02-17T00:56:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gritty-foods-why/571650/1 "2011-02-17T00:56:33Z")

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When you bite into a nice, ripe pear, your teeth will concounter a gritty feeling-what causes this? Are there little particles of sand/dirt in a pear?  
Same with fine parmesan cheese-it has a gritty feel to it-what are these particles?

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**Author:** ![False\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee7513/32.png) [@False\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/False_God)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gritty-foods-why/571650/2 "2011-02-17T01:41:28Z")

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In pears they’re known as brachysclerids[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground\_tissue#Sclereids](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_tissue#Sclereids) and in Parmesan they’re calcium lactate. Similar calcium lactate cells will be found in old Gouda-- it has to do with amino acids breaking down during aging.

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**Author:** ![Heyoka13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Heyoka13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heyoka13)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gritty-foods-why/571650/3 "2011-02-17T01:48:42Z")

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Thanx for the question and reply. I have wondered about pears possibly being sinister because of that characteristic.

Why does tapioca do what it does? A similar mechanism?