Food choice and energy intake are influenced more in the short-term by the sensory and cognitive aspects of eating than the nutritive properties of the food being consumed, yet chronic disease and ill-health result from prolonged exposure to diets low in nutrients and high in energy-density.  A foods sensory and structural properties are important in shaping ‘what’ and ‘how much’ we eat, and how our metabolism responds to the nutrients and matrix-structures consumed (1).  Not all calories are created equal, and research has shown how a foods texture can increase calorie intake rate (kcals/min) and increase our meal size (2).  Our research has highlighted the impact of consuming food textures that can be consumed at a faster eating rate in promoting higher energy intakes in controlled feeding trials, cohort studies and nationally representative cross-sectional population based studies (3).  Food texture can be applied to moderate the energy intake rate of the foods we choose to consume, and the flow of calories through our diets.  In studies comparing energy intakes from minimally and ultra-processed foods, we have shown that texture based differences in meal eating rate, not degree of processing, are responsible for observed differences in energy intake at the level of the meal and the day (4-5).  The relationship between processing, food-matrix properties and our metabolic responses remains poorly understood, and we have recently begun some new investigations to understand how different processes influence in vitro digestion and human in vivo metabolic responses (6).  By understanding the mechanisms by which raw materials and food processing interact, we aim to influence both the rate and extent of consumption, and our metabolic response to ingested nutrients to guide the development of healthier and more sustainable foods and food processes.