MEASUREMENT OF PEA TENDERNESS: V: The Ottawa Pea Tenderometer and its Performance in Relation to the Pea Tenderometer and the FTC Texture Test System*

Abstract

Abstract. An instrument is described to measure pea tenderness for establishing the price paid to the grower. Peas are forced through a wire grid by a plunger and the maximum force is recorded automatically in digital form by electronic apparatus. Provision is made for rapid electric calibration of the recording system which can be checked by weights. Readings from the new machine, the shear‐compression cell of the Texture Test System and the pea tenderometer were highly correlated, but there was a different relationship for each pea variety tested. This introduces complexity into establishing a new pricing scale if the pea tenderometer is replaced. The data indicate the importance of using test samples having a wide range of textural properties to compare instruments.

Measurement of Pea Tenderness

“…One difficulty in applying this method is that the relationship between the readings from the cell and the P.T. is affected by the variety of peas used to make the comparison (Voisey and Nonnecke, 1972b;1973b;.…”