Work out cheese moisture adjustment instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Because solids are conserved, the mass at a target moisture is solids divided by the dry matter fraction at that target. Two derived indices govern cheese identity: fat in dry matter, which defines the fat class, and moisture in the non-fat substance, which defines whether a cheese is hard, semi-hard or soft.
Moisture adjustment
Solids = mass x (100 - moisture) / 100; mass at target = solids x 100 / (100 - target moisture)
Cheese indices
FDM % = fat x 100 / (100 - moisture); MNFS % = moisture x 100 / (100 - fat)
Cheese compositional standards including fat in dry matter and moisture limits are legally defined for named varieties. Verify against the applicable food standard.
It measures the water available in the protein matrix, which controls texture, ripening rate and microbial activity independently of how much fat is present. Cheese standards are written on it for that reason.
By finer curd cutting, higher cooking temperature, longer stirring, more pressing and lower pH at draining. Each lever also affects texture and flavour, so they are not interchangeable.