Honey Refractometer Calibration Set

01 · YOU DON'T CALIBRATE TO ZERO

The mistake that ruins a refractometer

It is the confusion we hear most. A honey refractometer has no zero on its scale: it starts at 12 % moisture. Driving it to zero with the screwdriver takes it out of range and loses the factory setting.

Clove oil has a refractive index that on a honey refractometer reads as 19.6 % water, in line with the German standard DIN 10752. That — and no other — is the number you set it to.

02 · WHAT'S IN THE SET

Five pieces and a reason

The calibration glass is the piece people do not understand: it goes between the lens and the plastic cover so the oil never touches the cover. Clove oil attacks certain plastics, and that cover is not replaceable.

03 · HOW IT'S DONE

And when

With the refractometer clean and dry: place the glass, drop a little oil onto it with the pipette, close the cover and wait for it to spread. Look at the scale and adjust with the screwdriver to 19.6 %.

The time to do it is at the start of the season, unhurried, not halfway through extraction with a customer waiting for the reading.

04 · CARE WITH THE CLOVE OIL

Read this before opening the bottle

Clove oil — eugenol and beta-caryophyllene — may be fatal if swallowed or if it enters the airways. It may also cause allergic skin reactions and serious eye irritation.

Keep it out of reach of children and avoid inhaling the vapour. On skin, wash with water; in the eyes, rinse for several minutes and seek advice if irritation persists. If swallowed, call the poison centre and do not induce vomiting.

05 · CLEAN IT BEFORE MEASURING HONEY

The step people forget

The refractometer is an instrument that will next touch food. Once calibration is done, clean the glass and the lens carefully until no trace of oil is left.

Measuring honey on a prism with clove residue does not only give the wrong number: it contaminates the sample with an aroma that is not its own.

06 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the calibration set: