JUDGING COMMERCIAL QUALITIES 87 



Testing body. This quality is found by pressing 

 a piece of cheese between the thumb and fingers. 



Terms describing body. The following terms are 

 among those used in describing the body of cheese: 

 (i) Perfect, (2) solid or firm, (3) smooth, (4) silky, 

 (5) waxy, (6) pasty or salvy, (7) stiff, corky or 

 curdy, (8) weak-bodied, (9) mealy, (10) gritty, (n) 

 watery, (12) over dry. 



(1) Perfect body in cheese is indicated when it 

 feels solid, firm and smooth in its consistency or 

 substance. It does not crumble under pressure. A 

 plug drawn from a cheese of perfect body should 

 be smooth in appearance and not "fuzzy." 



(2) Solid, firm or meaty body is indicated when 

 cheese offers a certain amount of resistance under 

 pressure, somewhat like that shown by a piece of fat 

 pork or cold butter. The term meaty is also used. 



(3) Smooth-bodied cheese, when pressed between 

 the thumb and fingers, feels smooth and velvet-like, 

 as distinct from harsh, gritty or mealy. 



(4) Silky-bodied cheese is smooth in feeling but 

 not oversolid in consistency. 



(5) Waxy-bodied cheese is much the same as 

 silky, but possessing more firmness or solidity. 



(6) Pasty or salvy cheese is very soft, usually 

 from an excess of moisture. When pressed, it sticks 

 to the fingers. 



(7) Stiff, corky or curdy cheese is hard, tough, 

 overfirm ; it does not crush down readily when pressed 

 in the hand. 



(8) Weak-bodied cheese is very soft, lacking in 

 firmness, but not necessarily sticky like pasty 

 cheese. 



