Abstract below
Matteo Ciccotti
Laboratoire SIMM – UMR 7615
ESPCI Paris PSL – CNRS – Sorbonne Université – PSL Research University
Morphogenesis of Cheese Flowers through Scraping
The “Tête de Moine” Swiss cheese is generally served by scraping the surface of a cylindrical loaf with a sharp tool. This produces thin sheets of cheese that are strongly wrinkled at the edge, resembling frilly
flowers and enhancing the tasting experience. In this Letter we unveil the physical mechanisms at play in this scraping-induced morphogenesis. We measure the deformation of the cheese during scraping and show that plastic deformation occurs everywhere, but find a larger plastic contraction in the inner part of the flower, causing its buckling into shape. We show that it surprisingly derives from the lower friction
coefficient evidenced on the cheese close to its crust. Our analysis provides the tools for a better control of flower chip morphogenesis through plasticity in the shaping of other delicacies, but also in metal cutting.
From
Morphogenesis of Cheese Flowers through Scraping
J. Zhang, A. Ibarra, B. Roman, and M. Ciccotti