Using a brix refractometer takes ALL of the guesswork out of testing your honey, maple syrup, ice cream, beer or vegetables for sweetness. Let me walk you through how to pick one out and how to use it.
Yes. It is SO a thing. A Brix refractometer is a gadget (who doesn't love a good gadget??) that have a HUGE range of uses for wine makers, beer makers, beekeepers, vegetable growers. I'm going to walk you through how I use my Brix Refractometer ... for testing the sweetness of the vegetables I grow.
If you shop at Whole Foods you may have noticed that beside the various fruits and vegetables they have a sign with that particular food’s Brix level. What is a Brix level you ask? Basically it's a reading of sugar levels. I say basically because it's much more complicated than that but for the regular food consumer it’s O.K. to think of Brix at its most basic level: a measurement of the quality of a fruit or vegetable based on sugar content.
When I discovered that a Brix refractometer was really inexpensive at only $30, I had to have one so I could test all my vegetables. If you have good soil the Brix level of your vegetables will actually be higher. And the higher the Brix level the more resistant the plants are to pests. Plants with a Brix level of 12 or more found in their leaves are virtually insect proof. Levels of different varieties of the same vegetable will also differ.
To use the refractometer all you have to do is place a couple of drops of the juice from the vegetable onto the lens of the instrument. Then you close the lid and hold it to the light, looking through the lens the same way you'd look through a kaleidoscope.
Right inside you’ll see a line that marks the Brix level of whatever you’re testing. Ignore my horrible shot of this, but it’s really difficult to take a photo through the lens of a Brix refractometer.
All vegetables have levels that they range between. A Brix level of 4 for a tomato is poor and a level of 12 is excellent. Remember, this is measuring not just the sugar, but the nutritional value of the fruit. A higher Brix level also usually means more complexity of taste.
Let me tell you about my beet experiment.
At the beginning of the planting season, I, like many of you, looked up new varieties of plants to grow. I decided I wanted to research what the sweetest beet variety is. You know, the one that will taste the least like dirt. After some research I honed in on the Kestrel beet and bought the seeds. I planted it along with my tried and true varieties like Bulls Blood, Chioggia (Candy Stripe) and Cylindra beets.
They were all grown in the same soil under the same conditions so the only thing to make their Brix levels any different would be the variety of beet.
This fall I compared the Brix levels of all the beets with my Brix refractometer. I decided to compare the Chioggia beets and the Kestrels.
Beets are expected to test somewhere between 6 and 12 on the Brix scale. 6 is a poor rating, 8 is average, 10 is good and 12 is excellent.
The Chioggia beet, which always taste good to me registered a Brix level of 10. So that’s a “good” rating for the beet.
The Kestrel registered a whopping 12 on the Brix scale, which is the highest a beet can be expected to get. It’s excellent.
I've tested my tomatoes, some strawberries, and am kicking myself for not testing my sweet potatoes before and after curing. Sweet potatoes aren't sweet when you dig them out of the ground, they have to be cured for a month and a half to develop their sweet taste.
Since buying my $30 Brix Refractometer I've discovered a bigger and better refractometer. The digital refractometer.
It costs 4 times as much as my version of the refractometer but this one is DIGITAL. And it's more accurate than the other one. Plus it has a much larger range than mine making it useful for both produce and honey.
So remember up near the top of this post where I said I didn't really want you to buy me anything for Christmas and I was just kidding about it?
It appears that yet again, I was lying.
There are a TON of different Brix Refractometers on Amazon, and they aren't all the same so I've chosen the appropriate ones for the appropriate uses for you so you don't get confused. Different Brix Refractometers measure different things and different ranges of Brix. So one that's made for honey for instance, will take measurements from 58-80% Brix. Very high levels of sugar. While a vegetable Brix Refractometer will read a lower range of Brix. From 0-40% for instance. Wine refractometers will measure brix and alcohol content. Beer making ones will measure brix and some other weird beer making measurement that I have no idea about.
Here's your Brix Refractometer guide and links.
Put it on your list for
- Anyone who is really into vegetable gardening or produce (just get a regular Brix Refractometer).
- Anyone who makes homemade wine (but be sure to get a Wine Refractometer)
- A Beekeeper (but be sure to get a Honey Refractometer)
- Anyone who home brews beer (but be sure to get a Beer Refractometer)
- Anyone who makes their own maple syrup would like the Honey Refractometer which also works for testing the thickness of maple syrup.
- Or most interestingly a diabetic. Refractometers just like the one I've linked to can be used to test sugar levels in urine which some think is a better reading than blood sugars for hypoglycemia.
- The fancy digital Brix Refractometer can be used for vegetables, honey, diabetes and syrup.
Again with the lies...will it ever end?..sigh...Anyhow that is really a cool gadget Karen..but I'd hate to spend $30.00 for something I have to pee on to get the results..Your beets look gorgeous and yummy..
So, if you are a diabetic or watching your calories you'd want a beet that wasn't so insect proof?
Good morning! I actually work in Food Science and use a Brix Refractometer all the time (OK, not as much as I used to at this job but every day at my last one). They're great! Interestingly enough I've never had any luck with the hand held ones like yours. I do much better with the digital ones or the larger, bench top models. Anyway, I'm so glad that your beets are top notch and that you can finally prove it with science! I never knew that about the leaves of plants. I'll have to bring some in to work next year and see what the results are. Thanks for sharing!
What a fantastic gadget! I wonder if my maple-syrup making friend, wine maker, and brewer already have one and I am the only one out of the loop. I may be no farther ahead on what to get them but now I want one. Actually they will all be getting books that you recommended earlier :)
When taking measurements in a vineyard be sure to take berries from several vines throughout the vineyard (like 10 to 15 different vines at least) Place them in a plastic baggie, squish them all together and use the dropper that comes with the unit to suck up a juice sample to measure. Hold the unit up to the sun for easier readings.
A little off topic, but since u love to figure out how things work, you might want to add The Martian to your reading list. I really enjoyed it and although I didn't understand all the science it was a real page turner!
I think I did actually add it to my list Leisa! Although I find good books more easily than I do good movies so I was actually considering watching the movie instead. ~ karen!
The movie is really good and worth watching on the theatre big screen, as opposed to waiting for it to come out on dvd. At some of the Silver City's in the Hamilton area, you can reserve your seats on-line when you buy the tickets. They do cost more but it is so worth it . . . no waiting in line, no wondering if you'll be able to even sit together, just breeze in like you own the place!
To add to the list:
A Salinity Refractometer for anyone who owns a saltwater aquarium :)
It's great tool. We used a refractometer in a class to test garlic grown in a variety of different gardens and from the grocery store. It was really interesting to see the different readings - the highest came from a garden at a local school. The hardest part is making the "juice" that you read. We use vice grips, which seems cumbersome. Any tips?
Most people spot weld 2 flat pieces of metal onto their vice grips or you can use a garlic press.
Hi Erin. Try a good garlic press. ~ karen!
You had me at "insect proof".... Next to groundhogs, insects are next on my garden hit list, and I refuse to use chemicals. So I ask.... Have you discovered a way to amend soil to raise the levels to insect proof?
I will grovel at your feet and sacrifice the next groundhog to you if you know.
Hi Danni-
This is a great resource http://wholehealthgardening.com
Cheers
No, lol. I haven't. Sorry. I'm as full of bugs as anyone else. :) ~ karen!
What! You didn't recommend the Lee Valley one?
I didn't Linda to keep things easy. Lee Valley only carries one type of Brix Refractometer. The kind that will do vegetable with a brix reading that goes up to 30 or 40. Amazon carries every single Brix Refractometer known to mankind, lol! However, the one from Lee Valley is very good if your only intention is to measure things with low brix levels. ~ karen!
Thanks Karen...another gadget to further up the 'perfectionism' of my husbands hobby maple syrup production. He will LOVE it!
Thanks for the info. Didn't know there was such a thing. Do you know of something to test the vitamin content of butter? I love beets-eat them raw in my salad along with the beet tops.
Well,... I could give you my address and you could gift me your old brix. Just kidding (no I'm not). That is a handy tool I could use since I only eat natural sugar found in food. thanks Karen
This sounded like something from "Back to the Future"! Way cool. I want one now so I can play with my food. I love that I can learn so much here in such a fun way!
Yeah, Karen's like that cool teacher you had in high school-the one that made learning fun and exciting, and treated you like humans, not peons, and made you actually WANT to learn!
Be sure to get pipettes for the urine specimens!
I can't stand beets, I don't care how excellent they are.
Wow, the things you never knew you didn't know! Very informative! But now one more thing I need to know - which beet in the photo is the Kestrel?
Heh. The one furthers to the right in the top two photos. :) ~ karen!
I learned something new today! Never knew a Brix Refractometer even existed let alone what one would be used for... thank you!
Have an awesome day, Karen.
It sounded like a completely made up thing and I wouldn't put it past you, the lying liar you are! ; ) It sounds like an awesome tool/playtoy for a lot of scenarios, none of which I can think of for me! Darn.
Next recommendation...I'm buying for myself, now, as I know best what I'd like.
I'll be asking for one of these! We have a huge grape arbor and I am never sure when my grapes are ready for harvest---I usually take a cue from the birds that land en masse eating every little grape they can get their grubby little talons on! I will be sufficiently armed come next fall......
Wonderful tool! I bought one earlier this year when I made maple syrup.