quickly helping you regain your ability to select good food by taste alone. This re-developed skill can serve you well at both restaurant and supermarket. However, you should remember that variety affects taste. That will not change the fact that a high brix item of any produce is better tasting than a low brix item of the same produce. For instance, some people prefer tart apples and some like sweet varieties. An excellent quality Winesap apple, while wonderful to some eaters, may be too tart for those who like, say, Red Delicious.  In like manner the 42 brix specialty wine grape often holds small attraction for the connoisseur of eating grapes, who may be ecstatic at finding a 24 brix Ribier. THE STAGES OF TESTING AS A CONSUMER All Departments of Agriculture use refractometers. All food companies that process either liquid or paste foods use refractometers. All agricultural buyers are familiar with refractometers. FIRST, CALIBRATE YOUR INSTRUMENT Place a drop of distilled water on the prism and flip the plate down (if you have a plate model). Flip the hinged prism shut if you have a double prism model. View through the instrument toward a light source (a clear sky is best). Adjust the focusing ring until you see a razor sharp image of the brix scale. The demarcation line where the light and dark fields meet should CROSS at ZERO. ATC models (Automatic Temperature compensated) are calibrated with the adjustment screw to read ZERO. This adjustment is rarely needed.