  We demonstrate a method to determine the spectral purity of single photons.
The technique is based on the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interference between a
single photon state and a suitably prepared coherent field. We show that the
temporal width of the HOM dip is not only related to reciprocal of the spectral
width but also to the underlying quantum coherence. Therefore, by measuring the
width of both the HOM dip and the spectrum one can directly quantify the degree
of spectral purity. The distinct advantage of our proposal is that it obviates
the need for perfect mode matching, since it does not rely on the visibility of
the interference. Our method is particularly useful for characterizing the
purity of heralded single photon states.
