A QUANTITATIVE METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF SHREDABILITY OF CHEESE

The shreddability of mozzarella cheese was studied by sensory, instrum ental and chemical means. This property is normally assessed visually after the cheese is shredded, but none of the compositional parameters alone is able to predict the shreddability. An image analysis system is able to measure accurately the physical characteristics of the shre ds and assign values that correlate well with the ability of the chees e to shred. This property seems to be directly related to the length o f the shreds produced, indirectly related to the number of fragments p resent and to the stickiness among the shreds.