231. The assessment of curd firmness prior to cutting

Abstract

The reproducibility of Scott Blair's method for measuring curd firmness has been tested and measurements of the “firmness” of cheese curds immediately prior to cutting have been made and related to an expert's opinion. Contrary to her beliefs it was found:(1) that the mean firmness for normal Cheshire and Double Gloucester curds was the same as that for normal Cheddar curds,(2) that normal curds, regardless of type, were softer in the summer months than in the winter.Though confident opinions are often expressed on very small differences in firmness, the smallest difference in modulus which can be correctly appreciated appears to be of the order of 8%.