Cereal Chem 66:56-58   |  VIEW ARTICLE

The Wheat Research Institute Chomper, an Instrument that Measures Crumb Flexibility.

D. W. Baruch and T. D. Atkins. Copyright 1989 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

A bread-shearing machine, the Wheat Research Institute Chomper, records a unique dynamic stress-strain curve, the chompergram. The initial slope of the chompergram enables the determination of crumb flexibility of bread, which is correlated to firmness. Peak height of the chompergram measures the failure of the crumb in tension. This paper covers the theory of the Chomper and the procedure for measuring the above two parameters. A novel method of determining Poisson's ratio is also advanced.