Honey is a sweet and highly nutritious product which is used in substitute of sugar. Hence, it is always in high demand. Honey is used in the production of various products, ranging from food to drugs. It is precisely because of the diverse use of honey and the nutritional benefits that we have so many fake products in the market. Many fraudsters disguise fake honey and label it as the original. The fake of this product is just as abundant as the original honey. Fake honey is usually diluted and mixed with sugar syrup. This defeats the purpose of buying original honey.
It can be very annoying to find yourself buying fake honey every time. This is why if you are an ardent user of honey or would love to include honey in your diet, you must learn how to differentiate original from fake honey. Honey is rich in vitamins and widely used to treat illnesses and promote a healthy diet or lifestyle. You can include honey in your breakfast meals such as tea. You can also store honey in bottles at home. There are many products in the market branded natural or pure honey. Many times one still has to buy them because one is left with no choice. However, this article provides you with various tests you can perform at home in order to test for the originality of honey. You can perform do these tests on the honey you have at home at any time of the day.
Colour of honey
Honey comes in different colours depending on what the bees were eating before the production of the honey. There are also different flowers and plants such as clover, lavender, dandelion, and other flowers which bees gather nectar from. Hence, there are different colours and tastes of honey.
Adulterated honey is a big issue, especially for people who are trying to cut out sugar from their diet. Below are ways you can know original honey.
Pay attention to details
When you buy a bottle of honey and have stored it for about a week, you can take note of the sound it makes when you open the bottle. If you hear a ‘pop’ sound, it means the product is starting to go through some form of the fermentation process and was created at the factory. This means, no matter what label is on the bottle or what the vendor says that the honey is not pure or original. Pure honey also does not need to be refrigerated in order to stay fresh and good.
Thumb method
With this method, you make use of your thumb
Take a bottle of honey
Use a spoon to take a small amount of it
Put the honey on your thumb.
If the honey spills, washes or spread, then it is not original honey. Original honey is meant to be intact on the thumb. If the honey does not stay put on your thumb, then this is a sign it is not original.
The Water Test
This is another way to test for the originality of honey. How to do the water test:
- Fill a glass with water
- Add one tablespoon of honey into the glass
Adulterated or artificial honey will dissolve in water and settle around the glass. Pure honey, on the other hand, will settle right at the bottom of your glass in a lump.
The Flame Test
Did you know that organic honey is flammable? Here’s a test to know original honey using the flame test.
- Take a dry matchstick
- Dip its tip right into the honey product
- Strike the stick on the matchbox as if to light it
If the honey is pure, the matchstick will light easily. The flame will also keep burning off the honey. Artificial or adulterated honey, on the other hand, will not allow the matchstick to light up. This is because fake honey contains impurities and moisture which dulls the fire.
While this test may have its flaws, it could be a good guide for you to differentiate between fake and original honey anytime.
The Honey-Fire-Test
For this test, you will need a clean piece of cloth or a candle and fire.
Rub a small amount of honey on the piece of cloth or on the candle wick (The honey should not be much, only a small amount)
Light a match stick and move it closer to the cloth or candlewick.
If the cloth/wick does not burn, then your honey is not original or pure since it might have been mixed. This means that it contains moisture and cannot catch fire. However, if the cloth/wick catches fire, the honey is original.
Using a blotting paper or paper towel/tissue paper
Another way to test for the originality of honey is when you rub it on an absorbent material such as a blotting paper. If honey has been diluted with water, it may be absorbed or leave a wet mark on a blotting paper. Pure honey should not be absorbed on a material. The unfortunate thing about this test is that most honey diluted in sugar syrups will also not absorb when rubbed on a material.
The Ant test
This is another way to test for honey which has raised lots of doubts and debates. Many people believe that ants are attracted to fake honey since it has been processed and diluted with sugar. They also believe ants are not attracted to pure honey due to a natural characteristic of honey of being pest repellent. However, much information does not exist to support this test. First, there is no scientific explanation for why ants will favour processed sugar over the other. There is also a possibility ants are not available at the place where the test is performed in order to prove it is real or fake honey. Liquid might be attractive to ants for many other reasons such as the density of the liquid, flavours of the liquid which depends on the floral types.