Instrumental and Sensory Texture Assessment and Fracture Mechanisms of Cheddar and Cheshire Cheeses

Textural attributes of Cheddar and Cheshire cheeses, falling within narrow compositional ranges, were assessed by sensory panels, and from force‐compression curves generated by compression between two plates, and, for Cheddar cheese only, by penetrometry. Individual sensory measurements did not relate well to any instrumental one, and were better at discriminating between cheeses. Samples of each cheese variety were fractured in different ways and the fracture surfaces were examined in a scanning electron microscope. Fracture surfaces were formed by cutting directly through the matrix, tearing of the matrix along planes high in fat or cracking at grain boundaries. It is suggested that consideration of fracture mechanism may aid the selection and development of useful instrumental methods for texture assessment of cheese.