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Brix Book - Other Signs of High Quality |
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Page 29 of 35
MISCELLANEOUS SIGNS OF HIGH QUALITY
- CITRUS: A thinner rind indicates HIGHER QUALITY
- CITRUS: Top quality citrus has five points at the calyx (stem end).
- PEARS: A boxy shape is better.
- STONE FRUITS: A split pit indicates poor quality and mineral insufficiency.
- GRAINS: Dry grain QUALITY is relative to unit weight, i.e., if you weighed bushels of 2 equally dry wheats, the heavier bushel is HIGHER QUALITY. For instance, top quality wheat from mineral-rich soil can be 70+ pounds per bushel. On the other hand, mineral poor wheat can be as little as 60 or less pounds per bushel. The grain elevators pay meaningful premiums when they can find higher quality wheat or other grains.
- JUICES: Have your restaurant juice served over ice. HIGH BRIX juice will not taste watery.
- VEGETABLES: A natural waxy coating is good. Packers, processors, and stores try to duplicate this effect by mechanically waxing poor quality vegetables.
- VEGETABLES: Any hollowness indicates a mineral deficiency (probably boron).
- POTATOES: Sunken eyes signify lower quality (probably short on manganese).
- MATURING GRAIN FIELDS: Dr. Skow says that a golden color is much to be desired.
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Are you serious about this
"won't rot in storage" talk?
Indeed I am! We've endured commercial "food" that quickly rots in storage for so long that we now think produce is supposed to rapidly decompose. Years ago, when I first heard of this "won't rot in storage" concept, I decided to conduct some kitchen tests. I really didn't need to test low brix food because I had already spent a lifetime learning that typical produce rotted quickly. Anyway, I started sitting items of high brix food on the windowsill to see what would happen.
Wow! What a revelation. As the days went by potatoes, peppers, oranges, even lettuces simply shriveled up as they dried. I had been warned that tomatoes were an exception and I found the warning valid.
Perhaps some curious scientist will delve into this anomaly and report back. Currently, I think the "water activity" notes published by CSIRO in Australia may best describe the rationale behind the seemingly bizarre "high brix food won't rot" concept. |
- ANY ITEM: Bright pure color, whether in cut flowers or cut watermelons suggests higher quality.
- ANY ITEM: Slime or mold can be washed off the surface, but it has grown throughout the item. Reject such food. Remember that high brix produce will not rot in storage, therefore rotting in storage is a sign of poor quality.
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