GIFSQ Tools · Module 08 — Meat, Poultry, Fish & Seafood · Tool 147 of 500
Judge meat tenderness from a Warner-Bratzler shear-force reading: enter the peak force in newtons to get the force in kilogram-force and a tenderness class.
Try sample values — fills the form with the worked example below.
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Shear force (N)
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Shear force (kgf)
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Tenderness class
Equation: Force in kilogram-force = force in newtons ÷ 9.80665. Force in newtons = force in kilogram-force × 9.80665; 1 lbf = 4.44822 N. Tenderness class: 31.4 N or less is Tender, over 31.4 N up to 45.9 N is Intermediate, over 45.9 N is Tough.
Method: Warner-Bratzler shear force, the standard instrumental tenderness test for meat, AMSA Research Guidelines for Cookery, Sensory Evaluation, and Instrumental Tenderness Measurements of Meat (2015). A cooked core of stated diameter is sheared across the fibres and the peak force is recorded; the tenderness bands follow the classification used by Shackelford and co-workers for beef.
Assumptions: the core was cut across the muscle fibres at the standard diameter and cooked to the stated end-point temperature; the blade speed and the instrument calibration match the method.
Limitations: the bands are guide values for beef and do not transfer directly to other species or cuts; shear force is one measure of tenderness — a sensory panel may judge the same meat differently; sample thickness and cooking method shift the reading.
Rounding: shear force to 2 decimal places in newtons and in kilogram-force; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Method: Warner-Bratzler shear force, the standard instrumental tenderness test for meat, AMSA Research Guidelines for Cookery, Sensory Evaluation, and Instrumental Tenderness Measurements of Meat (2015). A cooked core of stated diameter is sheared across the fibres and the peak force is recorded; the tenderness bands follow the classification used by Shackelford and co-workers for beef.
Assumptions: the core was cut across the muscle fibres at the standard diameter and cooked to the stated end-point temperature; the blade speed and the instrument calibration match the method.
Limitations: the bands are guide values for beef and do not transfer directly to other species or cuts; shear force is one measure of tenderness — a sensory panel may judge the same meat differently; sample thickness and cooking method shift the reading.
Rounding: shear force to 2 decimal places in newtons and in kilogram-force; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Worked example: Peak shear force 35 N. Force in kilogram-force = 35 ÷ 9.80665 = 3.57 kgf. 35 N is over 31.4 N and under 45.9 N, so the meat is Intermediate in tenderness.
Enter values above to see results.
Tenderness bands: 31.4 N or less Tender, 31.4–45.9 N Intermediate, over 45.9 N Tough. Lower force means more tender meat. Tool 147 of 500 — GIFSQ
