This study is aimed at characterizing the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of hard cheeses using mild cheddar and gruyere as examples. The constitutive model consists of the Van der Waals hyperelastic function and the Prony series. The material constants were calibrated using data from monotonic compression and stress relaxation tests. Based on these constants, finite element simulations of three point bend and wire cutting tests were performed. The finite element predictions we're compared with experimental data and good agreement was observed. In addition, successful predictions of the steady-state cutting force in the wire cutting tests have been made through the use of a critical strain failure criterion. (C) 2003 The Society of Rheology.