Refractometer Guide
Introduction
1. Sugar concentration
Fruit juices, jam and honey contain many elements but the main ingredient is sugar. Sugar concentration can be indicated in Brix (%). Brix is a measurement scale based on sucrose in distilled water. For example, 10 grams of cane sugar in 90 grams of distilled water equates to a 10% Brix solution. Since the majority of dissolved solids in fruit juice are sugar, the Brix scale is ideal to measure these samples.
2. Concentration
Ramen Soup (Ramen), stews and sauces contain salts, acids, extracts as well as sugar. The total of all these dissolved ingredients in water is called “Soluble Solids”. The concentration is generally indicated in percentage.
3. Brix
A refractometer measures the concentration percentage and displays this as a value of Brix(%). When measuring samples such as fruit juice or jam, which consist almost entirely of sugar, the Brix(%) should almost equal the actual sugar concentration. With samples such as soup or sauce containing many other ingredients, the Brix(%) is indicating the total concentration percentage. Generally the measurements obtained are not indicated specifically as “SUGAR CONCENTRATION” or “CONCENTRATION”, but simply Brix(%)”.
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