Refractometer with Brix scale. Checking the granulated sugar. Brix Brix degree

Hello. In today's review I will talk about the RSG-100ATC refractometer with a 0-32% Brix scale. A refractometer measures the refractive index of a liquid. In this case, the Brix scale is used - a measure of the mass ratio of sucrose dissolved in water to liquid. For example, a solution of 25 °Bx - 25% (w/w) means 25 grams of sucrose in 100 grams of liquid. Or, to put it differently, 100 grams of solution contains 25 grams of sucrose and 75 grams of water. The Brix scale is used in Food Industry for measuring the average amount of sugar in fruits, vegetables, juices, wine, soft drinks, in the sugar industry, etc. From the review you will learn why this is necessary, and at the end of the review you will find testing of granulated sugar from four manufacturers. As it turns out, not all sugar is created equal...

The refractometer reached me in two weeks by China Post. It comes in this convenient plastic storage box:

The kit includes instructions in English:

Cloth for wiping the prism, screwdriver for calibration and pipette for sampling:

And, before I go directly to the refractometer - its brief characteristics from the store page:

Test Range: Brix 0 - 32%
Min. Div.: Brix 0.2%
Accuracy: Brix ± 0.20%
Automatic Temperature Compensation System (ATC)
Traditional version: Using screw driver for calibration
Sturdy and light weighted Aluminum body
Item length: approx. 175 mm

The refractometer is equipped with an ATC system. This is automatic temperature compensation, allowing the use of solutions with temperatures from 10 to 30 degrees. But the most accurate measurement is provided at a solution temperature of 20 degrees:

In the photo you see a calibration screw covered with a rubber cap. To calibrate, you need to drop distilled water onto the lens and use the screw to set the scale to zero.

Prism covered with glass:

Retracting the glass:

And drop one or two drops of the solution onto the prism:

Then we cover the prism with glass. A lot of solution is not required, the most important thing is that the solution is evenly distributed over the prism and there are no air bubbles.

The principle of operation of a refractometer is based on the property of light, when moving from a denser optical medium to a less dense one, to be completely reflected from the boundary of the media.

Refraction is familiar to many. Probably everyone has seen the effect of refraction in water, for example, a spoon in a glass or:

In the case of a refractometer, a drop of liquid is applied to glass of known optical density and the refractive index is read from the angle of refraction. The density of the solution changes depending on the amount of sugar in it. To read the readings, simply bring the refractometer eyepiece to your eye and read the reading on the applied scale. In this case, by rotating the eyepiece you can adjust the sharpness to suit your vision. Accordingly, one refractometer can measure various quantities. There are special tables for converting various quantities. But it’s still easier and more convenient to use different refractometers for different values. This is more practical and faster; moreover, a larger scale may not fit in a particular refractometer.

For example, in the photo above is a refractometer with a Brix scale, below is a refractometer with a larger alcohol content scale:

Accordingly, the length of the alcohol refractometer is longer.

Before use, as I wrote above, you need to drop distilled water onto the prism and check and, if necessary, calibrate:

In this case, no calibration was required.

The refractometer is useful for home winemakers, brewers, and moonshiners. You can see if the yeast has produced all the sugar in the mash and if you need to add additional fertilizing. In the case of fruit mashes, a refractometer will allow you to find out whether you need to add sugar and its amount for normal yeast functioning.

Here is the result for sugar mash. Hydromodule: 1 kilogram of sugar per 4 liters of water.

Initially – 22 Brix:

Unfortunately, not all photographs have a clear boundary; everything is clearly visible to the eye.

At the end of fermentation – 6.5 Brix:

For Android there is a calculator “BrixCalc”, which allows you to determine the approximate alcohol content in the mash using these readings:

13.9 degrees is the normal alcohol content. For mash, the norm is 12-15 degrees, which can be obtained naturally, without strengthening, for example, with “tails”. At these degrees, the yeast finishes its work and dies.

And at the end of the review, as I promised at the very beginning, a test of granulated sugar from four manufacturers. Many people have probably noticed, for example, when you drink tea, that one granulated sugar sweeter than the other. And it didn’t seem like it to you. Unscrupulous manufacturers do not sleep.

In the hypermarket of the large retail chain “Lipkaya Zhelezyaka” I purchased four bags of granulated sugar from different manufacturers. This trading network is very widespread and many can easily purchase this granulated sugar. However, it is also available in other stores, but that doesn’t make it any better or worse.

Granulated sugar in an amount of 5 grams was diluted with water to 50 grams. All measurements were not made by eye, but everything was weighed:

As a result, ideally we should get 10 Brix.

So, sample number one:

Belarus, city of Slutsk:

This is high quality granulated sugar.

Sample number two:

Belarus, g.p. Gorodeya:

9.5 Brix:

The quality has let us down. And this sugar does not taste so sweet. And in the mash the degree turns out to be smaller. I do not recommend purchasing.

Sample number three:

Russia, Saint-Petersburg:

After making the solution, it became clear that everything is not so simple... White foam appeared on the surface of the water. Let's remember how sugar is made from sugar beets:

Beets that arrive at sugar factories are washed and filled with lime solution. This is done in order to disinfect beaten, cracked, rotten beets. Lime solution or milk of lime destroys germs and bacteria. If the manufacturer does not comply with the technology, lime residues end up in finished product. And when such sugar is added to tea, white foam appears on the surface of the liquid.

The next step in sugar production is grinding the beets, obtaining so-called shavings, from which sugar is extracted when water is added. Sugar is extracted from beets using special chemical compounds. They are called surfactants (surfactants). Essentially, it is a cleaning product. It turns out that surfactants are found in soap and washing powders. It was noticed that if you add superficially to a mixture of grated beets and water active substances, similar to the surfactants of washing powder, then the yield of sugar at the end of the process increases. Why is this happening? Roughly speaking, the beetroot shavings were washed off. Surfactants glue all the dirt in the sugar syrup and turn it into sediment. After this, the surfactants are filtered out. If this is done in violation of the technology, surfactants end up in the finished product. And this is definitely a marriage.

In addition, refined and unrefined granulated sugar can be partially replaced with others food products(flour, semolina) or non-food products (chalk, alabaster, gypsum, lime, sand). There are also cases where Gostorginspsktsii (now Rospotrebnadzor) inspectors discovered that crushed glass had been mixed with granulated sugar. To detect such methods of falsification, the solubility of the product and the transparency of the sugar solution are checked. All of these falsification agents are insoluble in water. After stirring and dissolving the sugar, they will precipitate.

Sample number four:

Russia, Kursk city:

Result – 10 Brix:

High-quality and sweet granulated sugar, it will not cause harm to health, unlike the previous sample.

Thank you for your attention. Good health to everyone.

The product was provided for writing a review by the store. The review was published in accordance with clause 18 of the Site Rules.