At 07:54 PM 2/3/97 EST,  Gerry Visel wrote:
>Peter,
>
>   How is honey "darkness" measured (in units of mm???)
>
Colour of honey is measured on the Pfund Scale using a Pfund Grader
manufactured by Kohler in the USA.  It has been used for honey since the
1920s. A measurement of 0 mm = colourless (or nearly so) and 140mm is black.
 
Honey is placed in a glass wedge shaped trough and compared with a
calibrated honey coloured glass wedge against a backlight.  The reading is
taken where the two intersect with the same colour. The "mm" refers to
millimetres, the scale  is basically a metric ruler and the reading is the
number of millimetres the pointer moves along the scale. Sample preparation
is *Very* important in achieving consistent results.
 
Peter Bray,
Airborne Honey Ltd., PO Box 28, Leeston, New Zealand
Fax 64-3-324-3236,  Phone 64-3-324-3569  [log in to unmask]
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