Copyright 1999 by Thomas E. Billings, all rights reserved. Cross-
posting on any list or web site requires permission of the author.

The brix scale is a measure of dissolved solids in a food. Those who
obsessively worship the "goddess brix" are known to carry brix measuring
devices around with them, and test each food item for suitability before
consuming.  :-)

Anyway, the devotees of "goddess brix" will be dismayed to learn that
research is underway which may replace the ritual of testing for brix,
with....microwaves!

The latest issue of "Tropical Fruit News" (Dec 98 issue, vol. 32, #12, pp. 10,
16) reports on research in Georgia that uses microwaves to test the
maturity of fruit. The microwaves used are at a low level, and the
underlying theory involved is concerned with how the "dielectric properties"
of a fruit (which can be measured via microwaves) are correlated with
the total dissolved solids in the fruit. The article suggests that
microwave based insturments may soon be develped to measure fruit maturity -
thereby replacing the "holy relics" (brix meter) used by the devotees of the
"goddess brix".  :-)

The "Tropical Fruit News" article is very short and is based on an article
in the  August 1998 issue of USDA "Agricultural Research" . Readers who
want more info on this should try to get the USDA article.

P.S. "Tropical Fruit News" website: http://www.gate.net/~tfnews

Tom Billings
http://www.beyondveg.com