Prediction of Water Activity of San Simón Cheese

Abstract

In San Simón cheese water activity was highly related to moisture content and, consequently, to the aqueous concentration of many solid components. The following linear regression equations aw = .7662 + .0046 g moisture/100 g cheese, and aw = 1.0234 - .0070 g ash/100 g moisture, as well as a simple nomograph based on both chemical parameters, was used to predict water activity of San Simón cheese with an absolute error not greater than ± .01 often found in measurements of water activity by different methods.