What is BRIX?

Professor A. F. W. Brix was the first to measure the density of plant juices by using a hydrometer.  The winemakers at the time wanted a measure to determine the quality of grapes purchased.  Professor Brix determined a direct relationship between the density of the grape juice and the quality of the grape.

It wasn’t until, over a hundred years later, that Dr. Carey Reams developed the BRIX= QUALITY charts breaking down the BRIX values into four general quality levels for most fruits and vegetables.

BRIX is a measure of the total soluble solids (TSS) in a given weight of plant juice.

BRIX is the summation of the pounds of sucrose, fructose, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, hormones and other solids in one hundred pounds of any particular plant juice.

BRIX varies directly with plant QUALITY.

WWW.crossroads.ws/brixbook/BBook.htm  is a book (36 pages), provided free of charge, that further explains the history of Brix, the use of a refractometer  and the BRIX=QUALITY charts for most fruits and vegetables.  If you are either a farmer or a backyard gardener, I will guarantee you will read this book a dozen times.

Nutrient Density

Food should be characterized by nutrition density, not by color, texture, flavor or shelf life.

Fact:  60% of chemicals sprayed on crops are used to beautify produce, not to improve its nutritional quality.

Fact:  Most of the food available to us is raised for quantity, not quality.

          Fact:  Genetically engineered feed will be ignored by animals if given the choice of a High-BRIX nutritionally dense alternative.

          Fact:  Produce in our grocery stores is increasingly more genetically altered, irradiated, manipulated, adulterated and tampered with.  What is being introduced into people’s diet is a massive human experiment.

          The soil is a marvelous and complex part of creation.  Soil has been meticulously studied since the private sector scientists became greatly alarmed at the precipitous decline in the nutritional density of our foods and the disconnect between soil science and food quality.  The result is a crafted soil fully capable of rebuilding human health by reinstating:

                   Soil energy

                   Foundational minerals

                   Humus and biology

                   Trace minerals

          All four have their place in a crafted mineralized soil.  Commercial farmers believe the soil is there solely to hold up the plant so chemicals can be sprayed on it. Even the organic farmer does not address all four criteria.  That is why, when testing for nutritional density, most commercial and organic farmers fail miserably.

          The Nutrient Dense Soil Initiative (NDSI) will be a well documented tutorial for the urban farmer and backyard garden hobbyist.  From nutrient dense soil comes nutritionally dense fruit and vegetables.   BRIX is the measure used to determine nutrient density.  The NDSI will lease 1000 square feet of land.  In a raised bed garden, the prepared mineralized soil will be used to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables.  The nutrient density (BRIX) of the produce from this garden will be compared to the nutrient density (BRIX) of the produce from 3 local grocery stores, 2 farm stores and 2 farmer’s markets.

          In our next post, we will explore what BRIX is.