Tomatoville® Gardening Forums


Notices

Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old December 20, 2011   #1
leigh_1
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: C
Posts: 6
Default ph and flavor

Is there a way to accurately measure acidity and sweetness in tomato varieties? I know that there are other components of flavor, but I thought a precise number could give a general idea what a certain tomato tastes like.
leigh_1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 20, 2011   #2
nicky
Tomatovillian™
 
nicky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Ontario
Posts: 600
Default

You can measure the sugar content with a Brix Refractometer.

Although I don't think that any # could tell you what it actually tastes like - too many variables.
nicky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 20, 2011   #3
RayR
Tomatovillian™
 
RayR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Cheektowaga, NY
Posts: 2,466
Default

You would need a Brix Refractometer to measure sugar content and a good PH meter to measure acidity.
It does sound like an interesting experiment.
RayR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old December 20, 2011   #4
carolyn137
Moderator Emeritus
 
carolyn137's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a
Posts: 21,169
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by leigh_1 View Post
Is there a way to accurately measure acidity and sweetness in tomato varieties? I know that there are other components of flavor, but I thought a precise number could give a general idea what a certain tomato tastes like.
Ray and Nicky have both given you the information you asked for but those measurements have been made by many folks in the past and there is no real correlation with taste.

And that's not just b'c of all the variables involved not mentioned here, but the most important one is probably the human variable since taste is personal, perceptual, and also to some degree involves a human genetic component.

Well I remember one tomato friend who many years ago did pH and Brix levels on about 300 varieties in one season, had no more use for any of the seeds, so sent the leftover ones to me. What a nice surprise that was. Sure, there was some overlap in varieties I already had, but some I hadn't yet grown were also included.
__________________
Carolyn
carolyn137 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:39 PM.


★ Tomatoville® is a registered trademark of Commerce Holdings, LLC ★ All Content ©2022 Commerce Holdings, LLC ★