The textural characteristics of African foods made from yam and cassava were characterized by the sensory profile technique. Products with identical processing techniques reconstituted to the same moisture content showed similar characteristics of firmness, adhesiveness and ease of working to a spherical mass. The important attributes of smoothness, springiness or bounciness, and ease of swallowing without mouth coating were common to all the products and are good measures of their overall acceptability. This method is simple and provides a method of quality control that could be used by industrial manufacturers of these products.