Bloom (test)

Short description: Test to measure strength of a gel

Bloom is a test used to measure the strength of a gel, most commonly gelatin. The test was originally developed and patented in 1925 by Oscar T. Bloom.[1] The test determines the weight in grams needed by a specified plunger (normally with a diameter of 0.5 inch) to depress the surface of the gel by 4 mm without breaking it at a specified temperature.[2] The number of grams is called the Bloom value, and most gelatins are between 30 and 300 g Bloom. The higher a Bloom value, the higher the melting and gelling points of a gel, and the shorter its gelling times.[2] This method is most often used on soft gelatin capsules ("softgels"). To perform the Bloom test on gelatin, a 6.67% gelatin solution is kept for 17–18 hours at 10 °C prior to being tested.

Various gelatins are categorized as "low Bloom", "medium Bloom", or "high Bloom", but there are not universally defined specific values for these subranges. Gelatin is a biopolymer material composed of polypeptide chains of varying length. The longer the chain, the higher the Bloom number:[3]

Gelatin classes  Category  | Bloom number (Bloom strength)  | Average molecular mass | Examples

|
|
|

Low Bloom  | 30–150[4] | 20,000–25,000  | Beef hide low Bloom gelatin (USP-NF)[5]
Medium Bloom  | 150–225  | 40,000–50,000  | Gelatin type B[6]
High Bloom  | 225–325  | 50,000–100,000  | Gelatin type A[6]

## See also

* Durometer

## References

1. ↑ "US1540979 Machine for testing jelly strength of glues, gelatins, and the like". https://www.google.com/patents/US1540979. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Schrieber, Reinhard; Gareis, Herbert (27 June 2007). Gelatine Handbook: Theory and Industrial Practice. Wiley. ISBN 978-3-527-61097-6.
3. ↑ "Gelatins—product information sheet". Sigma-Aldrich. https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/content/dam/sigma-aldrich/docs/Sigma/Product_Information_Sheet/2/g9382pis.pdf. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
4. ↑ "Gelatin - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/gelatin#:~:text=Gel strength, also known as,–300 a high bloom).. Link to original publication
5. ↑ "GELATIN - LOW BLOOM - BEEF-HIDE - NF by Vyse Gelatin Company - Food, Beverage & Nutrition". https://www.ulprospector.com/en/na/Food/Detail/3844/109618/GELATIN
LOW-BLOOM
BEEF-HIDE
NF#:~:text=Gelatin - Low Bloom - Beef-Hide -,a pH level of 5.60 + 0.60..
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Felix, Pascal G. (2003-11-18). Characterization and correlation analysis of pharmaceutical gelatin (Thesis). Digital Commons @ University of South Florida. Archived from the original on 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-15.

## External links

* Phillips, Glyn O.; Williams, Peter A. (2000). Handbook of Hydrocolloids. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780849308505.

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