Hi chiron,

Answers in between your questions in (-- --) !

Hi Moreless--

Several questions. Please bear with them, and my thanks in advance. I think others will be interested too…

by "this refractometer" I believe you mean the sugar/brix one. Correct? ( --Yes-- )

(and I'm guessing this is the one most everyone here is using,
although I think there are other kinds, to test other substances-- correct?)(--Yes--)


I understand the basics of what this one is testing, but if someone is using "this" refractometer to test milk and other dairy products, yes, they will get a "reading",
one assumes, but what is the refractometer actually testing?

What does the brix number specifically refer to in the case of milk? That was my question.

(--as in the case of milk, one may be testing the milk sugars and the Density of the Alkaline Minerals--)


-In some of the good reading available online that others here have posted, I see that brix is to ultimately be thought of as general "goodness", but it seems important to first know what constitutes the goodness being measured.


In this case, is it the milk sugar? (--Yes--) The minerals? (--Yes--) Both? (--Yes--)Something else? How can *this* refractometer in fact test milk, which is neither vegetable or fruit? That seems the first question that needs answering.
(--The refractometer test the Liquid of a product by Refraction of Light in relationship of the sugars and the Alkaline Minerals--)

I don’t have one yet, or I’d try to test various things and could probably solve a few mysteries myself, like: what if grapefruit dish soap got a high brix? Seems almost plausible… wouldn’t mean it’s good to eat though
(--you need to understand that any liquid of a product or food may be tested by Refractory Light to determine the sugar content or Lack of it or the Density of the substances, this is why I am refering to this Refractometer as for food testing, for other types of Refractometers test for purposes beside food value--)


Please refer back to your last reply to Invincible, in this thread. You said there one needs to know what they are testing. That's the train of thought I'm following.

What ARE they testing? (when testing milk, say)

Also, I find this in your last post to me, difficult to make sense of:

"And the Density may be determined by the Acids and the Alkaline Minerals present as well as the sugar content!"

Okay--first off, I'm thinking, in reading about brewing, they mention checking for a specific density, and that if you need to bring it up, you just add a little sugar.
so--

When you say “may”, do you mean “will be”? (Rather than “might be” which implies that there is always more to learn in order to know if anything is being done correctly, or, that it may measure one thing or another. I'm not clear from the way you phrase.)
(--when I say may, I mean that there may be other options or variables--for not all is as it may first appear to be--)

Knowing this would help a lot I think, in clarifying posts that sometimes confuse.
(--not everything is Black and White and this is just how Life is!--)

Also, does this sentence mean the reading refers to *all these taken together*, or can it refer to any of these? Say, for example, sugars?

I am getting a subtle sense that maybe sometimes the reading could be high due to a 'marketing knowledge' of how to blend fruits -say, in the case of these Innocent Smoothies, just perhaps (?) In that event, high brix could be a very lucrative disguise,
if you will.
(--as far as smoothies or other prepared foods, one may add a concentrated form of sugar and may raise the Brix reading, and not increasce the Quality of the food, but in fact may reduce the Quality of the food, "IF" enough Alkaline Minerals may not be present also!--)

That knowledge is something I believe is being used to *tweak* this goji juice I mentioned awhile back, with its "spectral signature". The brand uses added concentrates of pear and apple and another I’ve forgotten, maybe grape-- these are all high brix, I'm sure, whether that be 'naturally-present' or something that can be made to "test" well.


See what I mean?

--aside to others reading: has anyone tested fruit juice and then added sugar to it, and retested? Higher brix? I would really appreciate hearing.-

The refractometer measuring *mainly the sugars* would seem to solve the mystery of the Smoothie high Brix. (or, it may be I must come to accept that I am wrong to think and believe that processed food is second class when compared to live AND good. That would indeed be a leap. )

So, is it possible the brix readings that people are getting with the sugar/brix refractometer are actually measuring whatever is the *dominant*
quality...? you can see how with fruits and vegetables whatever it's measuring is fine--in this case "brix" = "goodness", unless the fruit has been injected with sugar or otherwise altered.

In the case of non-fruit/non-veg. testing with a fruit/veg. 'tester' though, it would seem that we're testing for "most dominant" constituent. In this scenario, we would get high brix for milk if it has either lots of calcium or a lot of milk sugar, or a lot of "density" -which it does, compared to say the juice of an orange.


I appreciate you taking the time to read and answer this

(--What my suggestions for the use of the refractometer are for is to learn about the Quality or Lack of it there of in the different Natural foods which you may choose to buy and then eat!--)

(--When you get into testing prepared foods and not the natural food it's self then you are into another whole different Ball Game!-- And do I not always say to "not" eat Refined and or processed foods?


(--Smile Tis your choice--)