Reichertn.
/ˈrʌɪxət/, U.S. /ˈraɪxərt/ Chemistry.
attributive and in the genitive. Designating a number expressing the proportion of volatile, water-soluble fatty acids present in butter and other fats and oils; (also) (now chiefly historical) designating a procedure for determining this proportion.
ΚΠ
1882 A. W. Blyth Foods iv. 300 The same chemists, applying Reichert's method to various fats, obtained the following results.
1892 G. C. Caldwell in Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 134 216 This number, which we may call the Reichert number,..ranges for genuine butter from ten upwards for two and one-half grammes of butter fat, or twenty upwards for five grammes of fat.
1920 H. D. Richmond Dairy Chem. (ed. 3) xviii. 281 [Large] differences..between the refractive index found and that calculated on the assumption that this property follows the Reichert value.
1936 Analyst 61 404 The original Reichert process, using 2·5 g. of fat, and..the Reichert-Meissl process, using 5 g., have been obsolete since Wollny modified the Meissl process nearly 50 years ago.
1973 D. Pearson Lab. Techniques Food Anal. vi. 153 The Reichert value is the volume of 0·1 n alkali in millilitres required to neutralise the water-soluble volatile fatty acids distilled from 5 g of fat under specified conditions.
2002 M. Jee Oils & Fats Authentication i. 3 The Reichert value could be useful, in theory, even if milk fat was not present.
Compounds
With the names of other chemists, as Reichert–Meissl, Reichert–Polenske (cf. Polenske n.), Reichert–Wollny. Designating modifications of Reichert's procedure or values established using them.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical assay or analytical chemistry > [noun] > acetimetry > other analytical techniques
alkalimetry1817
refraction1831
Hofmann method1876
cryoscopy1885
Reichert–Meissl1887
oxidimetry1896
Hofmann exhaustive methylation1938
workup1942
radioactivation analysisa1947
neutron activation analysis1947
activation analysis1948
1887 Analyst 12 203 (heading) On Reichert-Meissl's method of butter analysis.
1888 Analyst 13 189 The volatile acids obtained by the Reichert-Wollny process contained a notable proportion of solid acids of sparing solubility in water.
1913 E. R. Bolton & C. Revis Fatty Foods iv. 120 110 c.c. [is] again distilled off in the standard Reichert-Polenske apparatus in twenty minutes.
1957 Encycl. Brit. IV. 469/2 The Reichert-Meissel [sic] (Reichert-Wollny) value..is a valuable characteristic in butterfat analysis.
1997 S. Yadav Food Chem. ii. 55 The Reichert Meissl Number is particularly valuable in detecting adulteration in butter.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1882