A discussion on Brix Readings: Reliable or not Reliable?

I recently purchased a Brix meter and have been doing various readings, but I would like to ask a few questions and offer some of my own observations. Now what exactly does a brix reading signify?: Nutritional content/quality? Sugar concentration? Acidity/Alkalanity? All of the above?

I've read quite a few sources on Brix meters, and the facts are quite fuzzy on this. Many say it is a combination of things, but most sources state that it predominantly based on sugar content.

""Brix value," a term seldom heard in casual conversation, is a measure of the total amount of all the substances dissolved in a solution, whether it is sugar, a mineral, a vitamin, or an amino acid."

"Sugar content is a major, though not the only, contributor to its Brix "


I have found through my own experimentation and testing that this is true, that the the Brix meter indeed shows a heavy bias towards sugar in it's readings. For most of my vegetables I generally get a relatively lower Brix reading than I do with fruits, which would make sense. I just don't understand why others have been so surprised that all these pasteurized bottled store-bought juices are getting higher readings than most of their raw natural counterparts... like when Invincible was getting higher readings on his strawberry smoothies and pasteurized carrot juice (even over raw organic carrots!) than most other things. To me the brix meter's sugar bias and these apparent discrepancies in readings just tell me that the brix readings aren't necessarily accurate indicators of nutritional content and quality. I know to be fair, things need to be compared on an apples to apples basis (and it is beyond me why people were comparing strawberry smoothies to things like wheatgrass brix ratings to begin with), but consider this: with all the hybridization and genetic engineering of fruits and vegetables, our modern produce has a much higher sugar to mineral ratio than they typically have had in the past. A century ago a carrot or banana wasn't nearly as sweet as they are today. If you take the Brix reading of both and compare them to each other, I'll bet you the carrots & bannas of old will have a lower bix rating. Does this mean our fruits and vegetables of today are better and more nutrious? No, I think quite the opposite, they simply have much higher sugar to mineral ratios as far as their content. I would also disagree that quality is directly linked to taste. I hear if you have a wild banana, it is far more bland than your standard factory farmed banana, yet far more nutrious.

So what does this all say? I would say it would mean that we cannot necessarily rely on Brix readings as a reliable test of quality and nutrional content. Even though it measures many various things, due to its high sugar bias it is tough to fully know exactly what we're getting just based on the reading. One carrot might be getting a high reading b/c of a high sugar content, and another may get get a lower reading, yet have a higher mineral content. Personally, I think we are better off using our eyes and other senses to determine the quality of the produce we buy. My mother has an extremely good eye for picking fruit, and has seemed to mastered this art... I certainly hope to develop the same skills ;)! I'm getting better and better though... I can pick a darn good melon nowadays :D

So what are your thoughts? Anyone feel free to chime in!!


Cheers,

Mike Tweet