Appearance/Taste/Tenderness

Candy that is correct but at the top if your appearance score isn't there you can't win also.
Jim

I agree with you Jim. Since it is the first score to hit the sheets, it needs just as much attention as T&T.

John

....and since you have the time to prepare it,many good cooks consider it your "given" points.

Also,we "know" it can't affect the T&T scores and we "know" there is no comparison judging-but, somehow the judge's first impression of"wow, these guys put together such a great box,they must have done a bunch before" just could linger in their mind.

Just my $0.02

Tom -Fl

Anytime we eat something we look at it first. That look will effect how we think it tastes. Indeed the old adage that we eat with our eyes is true. Even if appearance points were done away with, appearance would still effect the score.
That said, I think Candy is right that some have become obsessed about appearance scores. Way more complaining about a 7 in appearance than the much more damaging 8 in taste. I wish that someone who knows the multipliers would layout the makeup of 180. I think reality is that if you don't have 9s in taste and tenderness, appearance won't be what keeps you from Granding.

I assume we're talking about KCBS.

I don't believe MIM gives out their weighting factors.

Multipliers: 9 is maximum score

Appearance 0.5714

Taste 2.2858

Tenderness 1.1428

Thus, taste is twice tenderness,which is twice appearance.

I believe Texans say Taste,Taste,Taste,Tenderness,Appearance

Tom-Fl

With great fear of doing public math, that is 36 pts per judge. Is 180 the a perfect score?

For KCBS it is. For FBA, it is 200.

John

Yep,for KCBS.

Remember, they drop the lowball judge,which could conceivably be 36.

Tom-Fl

For KCBS, I got it .. you throw out the lowest. The Max pts you could lose is 20 in all four categories for appearance. This assumes an average score of 2. An average score of 8 in taste cost 11.4 pts. Another way to look at it is a taste point is worth 4 times what an appearance point is. We could keep doing math all night, but the numbers say that you have to be solid in T&T before Appearance costs you.

Except,that intangible you mentioned,"eating with the eyes,might well influence the taste score"

Tom-Fl

Unless we start blindfold judging, appearance will always be a factor. Thanks for the multipliers Tom. I still think many of us look at the raw scores and fail to realize that 6 in appearance is less damage than an 8 in taste.