Rex wrote:

>Sugar is a component of Brix.  Brix is much more than sugar.  As I've
>mentioned before, to demonstrate this, simply put a spoonful of sugar in a
>glass of fresh juice.  Yes, it will raise the apparent Brix, but it does
>diddly for the taste.  Artificially sweetened 12 Brix apple juice tastes
>like it has been watered down.  18 Brix apple juice has a taste that makes
>you want to write home to momma.  If your statement was true, the vintners
>could save a lot of money by buying cheap cane sugar.

>I hope I can help you understand a method that lets a consumer,
>worried about quality, test their own food.  It's of vital importance in
>this day when we need to search out truly good food for our children.

This Brix discussion has been enlightening and gets me to thinking about
purchasing one of them refractometers for my education. I'm usually bang on
when it comes to pickin' produce

>I can tell you, sadly, that some organic growers produce poor, tasteless,
>and low Brix fruits and vegetables.  I can also tell you that some
>"conventional" growers produce superb quality output of superb taste.  The
>later have learned biological secrets that may forever remain a mystery to
>"method" growers.

Rex, why not write a booklet (book) describing these biological secrets?

>A biological assay is the only true way to determine food quality.  If your
>animals, rat or human, thrive, then you have better food than the food that
>does not cause them to thrive.  Gee, I hope Tom's "toxic fruitarians" are
>paying attention.

Well, dang it, this made-in-Japan fruitarian sure is! OK, I eat a lot of
greens and vegetable fruits as well. And I no longer consider myself toxic.
Your choice of the word "thrive" has not gone unnoticed. While time is a
factor here, I agree wholeheartedly that a biological assay for the
long-term is the ultimate indicator of food quality.

>Now, I know my position will expose me to catcalls, jeers, and efforts to
>invalidate at any cost, but I have seen *nothing* to make me think lab
>testing of food meant anything, and I'm willing to take the heat.

Despite the dirth of quality produce up here in the Great White North
during the winters, I do great on mainly fruit and I look forward to the
days when I can spend 8 months of year in Hawaii and Southeast Asia
sampling all those luscious tropical fruit that haven't been lab-tested.

Thanx, Rex, for your extremely practical posts,
Jo