Re: Measuring Bloom?

[Alberto Novo <alt.list@albertonovo.it>]

> If I'm not mistaking, higher bloom gelatins are able to absorb more water
> compared lower bloom gelatins.
It is the opposite. See for example
http://www.holowiki.com/index.php/Gelatin 
> > Was wondering if there was a way to measure bloom of a certain type of
> > Gelatin?
A friend of mine once built a simple Bloom meter. It is not very accurate, 
but it works. You have to prepare a 1/2" stem, vertically held by two 
sliding supports, fitting in its upper a suitable vessel. Put a reference 
scale near the container so you can measure the 4 mm required.
Weight all the stem. When measuring Bloom degree, add lead shots to the 
vessel until the stem reaches the 4 mm depth and add their weight to that of 
the stem.
Just for curiosity, you can easily find in Internet the Bloom's patent 
(United States Patent No. 1,540,979, "Machine for Testing Jelly Strength of 
Glues, Gelatines, and the Like" June 9, 1925) or see a short description in 
http://www.sizes.com/units/bloom.htm 
Alberto