SUMMARY—A technique is described for using certain of the special characteristics of a universal testing machine which permits small distances to be measured with precision. A number of foods were compressed to a standard force, and the deformations of the foods were then measured off the strip chart recorder which is an integral part of the machine. The high degree of precision is obtained by driving the chart at a speed which is an exact multiple of the speed of the compressing plate. Differences between the deformation characteristics of different foods are shown. The advantage of using a standard size and shape of test piece is discussed. A method is shown for overcoming the effect of small imperfections in shape of standard pieces. It is also shown that a small deforming force will usually give a better resolution between similar samples than does a large deforming forc
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