The heavy-duty dual single blade shear cell is used for determining tenderness, fibrousness, crispness and other similar characteristics where a single blade for a cutting or shearing action may be more desirable than a multi-bladed cell.

The CW-2 test cell is supplied with two aluminium blades and employs a common base sample holder with a shear-slot, 2 9/16 inches (65 mm) wide. The shear blades are approximately 1/8 inch (3.2 mm) thick and slide in guide ways at both ends of the cell base of the shear slot so that the sample may be completely cut.

The movable shear blade is attached to the force transducer. One blade has a flat end, while the USDA designed Warner-Bratzler meat shear blade, usually used to test meats and poultry for tenderness, has a triangular cut-out notch at the probe edge, 1 1/4 inches (32 mm) wide at the base, 1 1/8 inches (29 mm) high, and has a 61 degree shear angle.

Applications

• Tenderness of meat
• Cross-section evaluation of nougat bars to determine hardness
• Cutting force to measure hardness of bite in fudge
• Crumb hardness in fruited cakes
• Stalk softening in frozen broccoli florets
• Asparagus stalk toughness softness in bananas
• Cutting resistance of soft cheese
• Slicing hardness and properties in hard cheeses
• Bite force in prepared meats and hotdog sausages
• Bite force in prepared meats and hotdog sausages

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