Guest guest Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 > Re: Re: Brix ramblings > > > >>XXXXXXXX This needs expanded upon and I am merely pointing out, at >>this time, this is an oversimplification of what the Brix reading >>measures relative to plant leaf, sap, and fruit analyses. Anyone >>with info feel free to enlighten me here. Dennis Kemnitz > >I'm not a farmer so I can't comment on sap readings, but >Brix is used for testing grapes, to see if they have good >sugar for making nice high-alcohol wine. And to see if fruit >is ripe ... i.e. high sugar. So your comment about Pepsi is >cute! Cute, but not relevant. There's no nutrition to be measured in Pepsi. You'd only be measuring the sugar content, which is already listed on the can. > >As for sap being high brix, that would mean there is >lots of " stuff " dissolved in the sap, vs. watery sap, >so it could make sense a healthier plant would have >different readings than one that wasn't healthy ... of course >a dehydrated plant would read differently too. I think >putting too much weight on *one* measurement is never >really good, that's what got us into this mess with low-nutrient >crops in the first place ... the breeders concentrated on ONE >trait and ignored the rest (the same problem happens in show >dogs ...). Brix measures *total* nutrient content, not just sugar. Farmers use it in conjunction with soil testing, observations on pest, weed and disease pressure, and so on, as my last post illustrated. The refractometer is a part of a successful growing program - for many - an essential part. Suze Fisher Lapdog Design, Inc. Web Design & Development http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine http://www.westonaprice.org ---------------------------- " The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times. " -- Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher. The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics <http://www.thincs.org> ---------------------------- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 16, 2004 Report Share Posted July 16, 2004 : >Cute, but not relevant. There's no nutrition to be measured in Pepsi. You'd >only be measuring the sugar content, which is already listed on the can. The point is, if you are measuring " substance A " the brix reading alone doesn't show it's " nutrition " ... just the dissolved solids, which can be an indicator and can be helpful, just like a PH reading is, but it doesn't prove it is good for you. >Brix measures *total* nutrient content, not just sugar. Farmers use it in >conjunction with soil testing, observations on pest, weed and disease >pressure, and so on, as my last post illustrated. The refractometer is a >part of a successful growing program - for many - an essential part. It measures dissolved chemicals ... which may or may not be " nutrients " (as per the Pepsi example). So yeah, it would be useful in conjunction with a lot of other stuff ... but in this discussion of " how to get high Brix produce " there seems to be a huge emphasis on Brix as a standalone measure of " nutrition " ... maybe there is an underlying assumption that " high brix " means " healthy, pest free, good for you " (like there is an underlying assumption that " nutritious " doesn't mean table sugar, even though technically it is a nutrient)? I don't think " high brix " produce is necessarily better for you, it could just be bred for a nice sweet taste, like the new hybrid corn varieties .. -- Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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