And cosmetology. In order for its effect on the body to be positive, you should pay attention to its properties during the purchase.
How to check the quality of honey? The answer to this question is simple. The most accurate results will give a laboratory analysis. But checking its taste, color and other characteristics using special tools also gives good results.
Unscrupulous sellers sometimes try to hide the signs of a damaged product or make the product look more appetizing by mixing in various substances. To protect yourself from this, you need to know how to recognize natural honey and how you can check whether honey is natural or not.
Checking honey for quality and naturalness by eye
You can check honey not only at home, but also directly at the point of sale. When buying a product, you should be aware of the signs natural honey and don't fall for fakes.
Taste
The first diagnosis of honey is carried out by checking for naturalness by sampling and evaluating its taste. The taste should be pleasant burnlearning aftertaste in the throat. If the taste has a hint of caramel, then most likely the product succumbed to thermal heating. The sugary sweetness indicates the addition of sugar.
Color
The color of the creation of bees depends on the plants from which it was collected. Summer flower varieties are light yellow, amber, brown. Regardless of the color, a quality fresh product has transparent structure and does not contain precipitation.
Smell (aroma)
Natural has a pleasant smell and fragrant aroma, which is incomparable to anything. Fake smell has no. The aroma depends on the plant from which it is collected. Even an inexperienced consumer can distinguish between buckwheat and linden honey by its taste and aroma. When buying, you should pay attention to the fact that the aroma does not contain the smell of smoke, caramel and fermentation.
Density and viscosity
Viscosity is an important criterion in determining its maturity. A mature product contains 18% water, while an unripe product contains 21% or more. If honey contains 25% water, then its viscosity will be six times less than that of mature honey, so it is not difficult to determine this parameter visually. Observations should be carried out at a temperature not lower than 20 degrees.
To do this, a tablespoon of fresh bee dessert is turned over in quick circular motions. If it wraps up on a spoon, then it is mature, if it drains, it is not. Mature product forms long strands when draining from a spoon and lies on the surface in the form of a small hill.
However, the viscosity also depends on plants. from which it was collected. This must be taken into account. Clover nectar is also very liquid. Linden, buckwheat and fireweed are also considered liquid.
Consistency
The consistency of a quality bee product is uniform and tender. Its drop is easily rubbed between the fingers and absorbed into the skin. A counterfeit cannot boast of such an ability. It usually remains on the fingers in the form of lumps.
Important! Crystallization various honeys is natural process, and its speed depends on the type of product and the temperature of the content. The ratio of fructose and glucose in the product is one of the parameters of the intensity of crystallization. A high fructose content indicates slow crystallization.
Checking honey for naturalness using improvised means
Consider ways to test honey using improvised means.
Yoda
Checking honey with iodine is carried out for the presence of impurities of flour and starch. To do this, prepare its solution with water in a ratio of 1: 2 and add a few drops of iodine. If the solution changes color to blue, then impurities exist, if the color does not change, there are no impurities.
vinegar
By using vinegar essence the presence of chalk impurities can be determined. To do this, dissolve it in water (1: 2) and, if there is a precipitate, add a few drops of vinegar essence. If, as a result of a chemical reaction, the solution began to foam, then this indicates the release of carbon dioxide, therefore, an admixture of chalk exists. In the absence of vinegar essence, you can use plain vinegar, but its dose must be increased to 20-25 drops.
ammonia
With the help you can determine the impurity in the product of starch syrup. To do this, mix it with water in a ratio of 1: 2 and add a few drops of ammonia. After mixing, according to the results of the experiment, we can conclude that there are additives. The brown color of the solution with a precipitate indicates the presence of molasses.
Milk
With the help of fresh, you can determine the falsification with an admixture of sugar. If you dissolve a teaspoon of bee product in hot milk and it curdles, then this sign indicates the addition of sugar to the product.
Important! A more accurate test of honey for sugar is carried out using silver nitrate (lapis). You can find it in a pharmacy. At 10% water solution product of bees, add drops of lapis. If we observe turbidity around the drops and a white precipitate, the solution contains sugar.
Water
Testing honey with water is the simplest and most basic. It determines the presence of impurities in the product. To do this, pour water into a transparent glass beaker and add 1 tsp. honey. The solution is stirred until homogeneous. A quality product should dissolve completely. The solution should be cloudy, but without sediment. If sediment falls to the bottom, this indicates the presence of impurities.
a piece of bread
sheet of paper
To determine the maturity of the product, a sheet of paper or plain paper is often used. toilet paper. To do this, a large drop of honey is dripped onto it and after 20 minutes the result is evaluated. If a wet mark up to 1 mm thick forms around a drop on paper, then the honey is mature, if the mark is much thicker, then such a product is better. do not buy.
stainless steel
Hot stainless steel wire is used to determine impurities. If, after immersion in the product, its surface remains clean, then this indicates its good quality. In the case of sticking of different particles, the honey product has impurities.
Important! Honey should not be heated above 50 degrees, otherwise it will lose everything beneficial features.
chemical pencil
Before you test honey with an indelible pencil, you need to know that its action is based on a change in color when it comes into contact with moisture. It is necessary to dip the pencil into the bee dessert and draw conclusions from the result of the reaction. If the pencil has not changed color, there is no admixture of sugar syrup, and the honey is mature.
Other ways to check the quality of honey
There are many ways to determine which honey is natural and which is not, but there is no 100% certainty that the results are correct. Let's take a look at the ones that seem the most revealing.
heating
How to distinguish natural honey from fake using heating? We put a small jar with a tablespoon of bee products on water bath and at a temperature not higher than 45 degrees we warm up for 8-10 minutes. Open the lid and appreciate the smell and aroma.
Lack of smell is the first sign of a poor-quality product. If heating in a water bath is carried out for about an hour, then natural honey should exfoliate, and the fake will remain homogeneous.
weighing
An easy way to determine the density of honey and therefore its water content. It should be noted that the less water, the higher the density. glass jar 1 liter capacity is weighed on a balance. Pour 1 kg of water into it and mark the level of the lower meniscus on the glass.
Later, the water is poured out and the jar is dried. Next, pour the purchased product into the jar to the mark and weigh it. The mass of a substance is determined by the difference between a dry and filled jar, which is equal to its density. According to the table set it water content.
| Mass of honey, kg | Water content, % |
| 1,433 | 16 |
| 1,436 | 17 |
| 1,429 | 18 |
| 1,422 | 19 |
| 1,416 | 20 |
| 1,409 | 21 |
| 1,402 | 22 |
| 1,395 | 23 |
| 1,388 | 24 |
| 1,381 | 25 |
Honey is a thick, clear liquid with a golden hue. unique product natural origin. It is used to prepare delicious treats, such as cakes, chak-chak, praise, and also treat colds.
But in order to purchase a really high-quality dessert, you need to know how to check it for naturalness. This article will tell you how to determine the quality of sweets when buying and at home.
Definition of natural honey
The meaning of the word "fake"
In order to earn more money, beekeepers often deceive customers by diluting bee products. This fake is called counterfeit. In order to get a fake, the delicacy is mixed:
- With beetroot molasses.
- With starch syrup.
- With flour.
- With chalk.
- With sugar syrup and other impurities.
Dilute for the following goals:
- In order to hide the signs of a damaged product.
- In order to gain weight finished product and earn more money.
- In order to give an attractive and natural appearance.
How to check the quality when buying?
The first thing to look for when buying a sticky dessert is consistency. Most varieties of honey are candied 2 months after harvest. To slow down this process, the finished product is stored under a hermetically sealed lid.
Other varieties crystallize closer to winter. Therefore, if there is already a candied dessert on the shelves, then most likely it is fake or last year.
Crystallization depends on the ratio of glucose and fructose in the product. Each variety has a different ratio. Glucose crystallizes first, because it dissolves 5 times worse than fructose.
Therefore, the product of beekeeping, where there is more glucose, will be sugared faster. Varieties that contain more fructose, in rare cases, can remain in a liquid state for up to six months. Crystallization is natural process, so for all varieties it is inevitable.
If in winter time
honey has liquid consistency, then this is also a fake. To achieve this state, it is heated, as a result of which all medicinal properties disappear. The fact that the delicacy was previously warmed up gives out its caramel shade.
If the delicacy after six months is divided into a liquid and thick layer, then the product was immature. Such a beekeeping product does not threaten health, but its minus is that it quickly deteriorates.
At the time of purchase, you can also pay attention to such a phenomenon as bubbles. If you are watching bee product with bubbles, then this indicates the beginning of fermentation, and it is better to bypass such a delicacy.
Types and varieties of honey
Different varieties of honey have their own color and characteristics. Therefore, when buying a treat, you should know what varieties are and how they differ:
Checking honey "by eye"
How to determine the quality of honey at home
Checking treats with improvised means
How to check the quality of honey at home and find out if the seller is honest? To do this, you can check the product improvised means and even find out what honey was mixed with.
Checking the product for the presence of sugar
In order to find out if there admixture of sugar in the product, there are several ways:
Simple ways to identify a low-quality product
Sometimes people determine the quality of a treat by the presence of natural elements in it, such as bee wings, pollen, wax. But this method cannot fully prove naturalness product. Therefore, it is better to resort to additional ways determining the naturalness of honey and bring the seller to clean water.
About how useful homemade honey is known for a long time. It is used in the treatment and prevention of many diseases, mainly colds, there are contraindications. However, only natural homemade honey has the full range of useful properties, artificial honey does not. There is practically no control over the activities of sellers of the product; for them, this is a kind of internal competition. In order to get not only delicious, but also useful product it is necessary to check the raw material and make sure of its properties and characteristics. How to check honey for naturalness?
Video: How to check honey is natural or fake
State of honey
Homemade honey changes over time, most varieties change in consistency and color within a few months from the date of harvest. This process is called crystallization or sugaring. Despite the change in condition, homemade honey becomes thicker with pronounced crystals, all the beneficial properties of the product are preserved.
Candied time differs depending on the variety, some crystallize within a few days, some can remain in a liquid state for more than six months. The method of storage also affects the rate of crystallization: with a tightly closed lid raw version retains its liquid form longer. Artificial honey - no.
How to check the quality of honey? When buying, you need to pay attention to its condition and time of year. Why? If liquid homemade honey is purchased in winter, it may be that it is artificial or has been removed from the state of crystallization, this has a detrimental effect on beneficial properties. There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of competition.
If, in the summer, homemade honey is thick, then it may be that it is last year's, there are contraindications for use.
The crystallization process itself is difficult to fake, so beekeepers recommend purchasing the product when it has already thickened and there is no risk. Why? This will protect against the risk of stumbling upon artificial honey. There are several options for how to identify truly real honey. There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of internal competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
Video: How to check honey. The easy way
Varieties of honey
In some cases, sellers try to present the product in a positive way, giving out ordinary raw homemade honey, which also has useful properties, but to a lesser extent as a unique variety. There are also contraindications in the use of some varieties. AT this case artificial honey is not considered. There is practically no control over the activities of honey sellers, for them it is a kind of internal competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
The process of variety recognition itself is very complex. Why? Since the type of finished product is made up of many factors: terrain, environmental conditions and, first of all, pollinated plants. But since it is difficult to manage the bees, in most cases it receives a mixture of different nectars with a certain predominance of one. How to choose the right kind of honey?
Consider the most common varieties, which are considered to be the easiest to distinguish, which honey is better and which honey to choose, everyone decides for himself:
- Acacia. A feature of this is its color. When freshly harvested, it is transparent, and in the process of sugaring it acquires a white color. Thus, it is quite easy to distinguish it.
- Buckwheat. Unlike acacia, this variety is distinguished by dark shades of brown, reflections of red are possible. The color range in the process of crystallization changes from dark yellow to dark brown. In some circumstances, it may not. There are contraindications.
- Clover. Another distinct variety is clover, which has a bright amber color. In some circumstances, it may not.
- Forest. It's hard to tell by color. Why? In connection with large quantity plants whose nectar is included, the color palette can be from light yellow to light brown. In some circumstances, it may not.
- Crimson. Light shades of yellow, close to white, are characteristic of this variety. In some circumstances, it may not. There are contraindications.
There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of internal competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
unripe honey
A feature of the product as a whole is that it is completely made by bees, they not only fill the honeycombs, but also add some substances that contribute to long storage and increase healing properties. If a good product of Russia is made too early, which some beekeepers do in an effort to make a profit faster, then, firstly, it will have less medicinal properties and deteriorate faster, and, secondly, it will have a lot of moisture. There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of internal competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
Ready raw product slightly dry, so the main indicator of immaturity is excess moisture. Unripe raw homemade honey retains some of its beneficial properties, while artificial honey does not.
For storage, it is best to make ceramic and wooden utensils, it is believed that honey can react with other materials, which means it will lose some of its useful properties and will be less preserved. There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of internal competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
- Consistency. Mature high-quality honey is thick and viscous. In order to determine these parameters, the test action is to scoop up a spoon and turn it over. If the product is mature, it will drain very slowly, forming an elastic band, and when in contact with the surface, it will remain in the form of a slide for some time. Product with excessive moisture content will drain quickly and evenly fill the space on the surface.
- The weight. Due to the high content of heterogeneous particles, the best real honey is heavier than water. On average, cotton with a volume of one liter weighs about one and a half kilograms. If the weight is very close to the volume, most likely in the composition high content water. The test action is to weigh the product.
- Newspaper test. The mature product in contact with the paper does not leave wet marks and perfectly retains the shape of a drop without spreading over the surface. To do a test is to drop cotton on a newspaper. There are similar videos on the Internet.
- Bread test. Checking action: immerse a piece of bread in a container, and after that it gets wet, it means that the product has a high water content. Real mature cotton not only will not wet the bread, but will also take some of the moisture out of it.
- Fermentation. If the honey has fermented, then the moisture content in it has been exceeded. Checking action - determination of the presence of rising air bubbles inside the product. This will help to recognize the fermented product.
- Foliation. When purchasing candied, immaturity can be determined by uniformity. If the cotton has stratified, then it was immature and it is better to refrain from such a purchase. Testing to do - inspection of the product.
How to choose high quality honey? It is enough to pay attention to a number of its external characteristics. Determining the quality of honey may take some time, but this will give a guarantee of obtaining desired product. There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
Video: How to check honey - Checking honey with water
impurities
If the product has already been damaged, for whatever reason, sellers tend to add some substances to it that will positively affect the external characteristics of the product, that is, from the cotton side it will be good. But there are certain requirements for the quality of honey. To determine the authenticity of some recipes. Consider how to determine the quality of honey at home.
Sediment
Checking honey for impurities: immersing a small amount of the product in warm water. A good useful mature product will completely dissolve in water, giving it a slight turbidity. The test action shows: if after dissolution in water some sediment remains, then this is a clear sign of the presence of third-party substances.
Chalk additive
This impurity is determined by the next step after the detection of the precipitate. The test action involves: in the water where cotton honey was dissolved, you need to add a little vinegar essence. If there is chalk in the composition, then a reaction will take place between them and hissing and the effect of boiling water will be noticeable, this must be done carefully.
Starch and flour
In order to determine whether there is starch or flour in the composition, it is checked with iodine. A little iodine is dripped onto the cotton, if the reaction has passed, and the iodine has changed color to blue, which means that the product contains starch or flour. On a "clean" product, iodine will leave a natural color.
Sugar
How to test honey for sugar? No special tools are required, this product is too white, taste qualities like sweet water.
There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
natural and artificial
An important question is: how to distinguish real honey from a fake? Although the best way determining the naturalness of honey is a laboratory examination, even a child will be able to recognize natural honey and artificial honey using taste buds, determine authenticity.
Signs that this is a good natural Russian honey:
- It has a pleasant tart taste.
- Dissolves completely in the mouth without leaving any particles.
- There is a great burning sensation on the mucous membranes in the mouth and throat.
In order to determine the authenticity, there are certain recipes. If the taste of caramel appears during consumption, then, despite the fact that it is most likely natural, it no longer has any beneficial properties. Such cotton is heated, that is, it was heated after the crystallization process and all useful properties were evaporated. There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
Good natural Russian honey is not homogeneous; upon closer examination, small particles of wax and pollen are found in it, which are evenly distributed throughout the product. A good indicator is to see the remains of insect wings, despite the fact that this indicates poor filtration, this is an indicator of the naturalness of the product.
In order to determine the authenticity, there are some recipes. Artificial honey is completely homogeneous and does not crystallize. In most cases, artificial honey is harmless, but no healing properties he does not and cannot possess.
Of course, this is far from all the ways to detect poor quality, since in some situations verification is possible only in laboratory conditions. But this is a certain guideline on how to choose the right honey, which will help you not to stumble upon an obvious fake: unripe or artificial honey. There is practically no control over the activities of sellers, for them it is a kind of competition, the number of counterfeit products is increasing every day.
The healing properties of honey have been known since ancient times, and since then this bee product has been incredibly popular among the population.
Honey is widely used in the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections, colds, coughs. In addition, the product is very useful for overweight people. In this case, it is recommended to use it with the addition of cinnamon, which will allow you to get rid of extra pounds in a short time.
Traditional medicine has huge amount recipes based on this unique bee product, however, it must be said that only natural honey has healing properties.
Now, more and more often, unscrupulous businessmen, in pursuit of profit, have begun to engage in falsification of honey delicacy and pass off some incomprehensible substance as a real bee product. So how can you not fall for the bait of these unfortunate merchants and buy really real and high-quality honey?
How to check the quality of honey at home?
Many ordinary people are interested in the question: how to check honey for naturalness? Natural product or not can be determined according to several criteria. To get started, it is recommended to purchase not a large number of bee products and check yourself by all means available to you.
How to determine the quality of honey by external criteria?
An ordinary buyer can determine the quality and naturalness of a product by organoleptic indicators: color, smell, taste. When tasting honey, you should pay special attention to the following properties:
When determining the naturalness of a treat, you the following indicators should alert:
- Complete absence of smell;
- you do not have a feeling of acid and sore throat;
- honey has a color uncharacteristic for this variety;
- liquid honey mass in the autumn-winter period.
Quality bee product viscous, viscous and dense. The moisture content of natural honey is below 20%, that is, it corresponds to the norm. Take a ladle (or spoon), scoop up a treat, lift it up and look at the falling stream. It should descend in a continuous ribbon, forming a hill on the surface. When transfusing a large volume of honey mass, a characteristic creaking is heard. A treat with a low viscosity does not form a hill, but a small funnel.
If you rotate a spoon with a natural bee product from side to side, you will notice that honey with high humidity does not linger on the cutlery and flows down. While a viscous delicacy, on the contrary, wrapped around a spoon.
If the bees were fed with sugar syrup, then it is rather difficult to check whether the honey is real. A fake treat has all the features natural product and is characterized by low acidity, a high percentage of sucrose, as well as a lower content of macro- and microelements and pollen grains. So how do you tell if honey is natural or fake?
There are the following differences between this product and sugar:
- At long-term storage honey mass becomes gelatinous and thick, crystallization is often fat-like;
- such a delicacy has a weak aroma, does not cause a burning sensation, does not sour and has a bland sweet taste.
The organoleptic characteristics of a fake honey treat can be quite weak. Unscrupulous beekeepers practice the joint pumping of frames with natural honey and the so-called sugar frames. Wherein appearance and the taste of the surrogate improves, making it difficult to test honey at home. And yet, is it possible to accurately determine the quality of a sweet medicine at home? Of course, yes, you just need to know how to do it.
Some beekeepers add various powdered substances (starch, chalk, flour and even sand) to honey to increase the mass of the bee product and its viscosity. If you are interested in the question of how to determine the quality of honey at home in order to detect insoluble impurities, you can just dissolve the product.
To do this, you need to collect warm water in a transparent container and put 2 tbsp. l. bee product, mix thoroughly. After about an hour, all insoluble impurities (if any) will settle down.
Humidity of honey
Specific gravity of honey mixture determines its quality. How more water contained in the product, the less dry residue it contains, which means that the specific gravity is less. So how do you determine yourself?
In fact, everything is very simple. It is necessary to take a transparent container and weigh it. Then put some kind of mark on the surface of the jar and pour water to the specified level. Carry out the weighing again. The resulting difference is the amount of water. Now, in the same jar (wiped dry), pour the honey mass up to the mark and weigh the product. It is necessary to subtract the figure of the first weighing from the result obtained and in the remainder you will get the amount of honey, which should then be divided by the indicator of the amount of water - this is the specific gravity of the honey delicacy.
Humidity up to 20% is considered normal, which corresponds to specific gravity 1.4 kg. If, as a result of the experiment, you got a lower value, then the product contains a large amount of water, which can cause fermentation.
How to check honey for naturalness at home in non-traditional ways?
In addition to the above, there are also so-called non-traditional methods for checking the quality and naturalness of the bee product. In the beekeeping literature, nothing is said about such methods, so it is impossible to say with absolute certainty that they are reliable. However, you can try.
Of these here non-traditional methods for determining quality honey products include the following:
How to test honey with additional substances?
The naturalness and quality of honey products can be determined using various substances found in almost every home.
How to check honey - real or not - with iodine?
Some unscrupulous beekeepers add starch and flour to honey to create the appearance of a crystallized product. The quality of this honey can be checked reaction to iodine.
In a small amount of water, it is necessary to dissolve a little bee product and add iodine (5 drops) to it. If the composition turns blue, then the sample contains starch or flour.
Testing with ammonia
Sometimes, in order to increase the viscosity, beekeepers add to honey molasses. It can be detected by the residues of sulfuric acid used in the process of saccharification of starch. How, then, to determine the quality of honey products?
Here ammonia will come to the aid of the layman.
- Dissolve honey (1 part) in water (2 parts);
- take 2 ml of solution and add ammonia (8 drops) there.
If the mixture contains starch, it will turn brown, and a brown precipitate containing ammonium sulphate will appear at the bottom.
How to determine the presence of chalk in a product using vinegar?
Some so-called beekeepers add to the product powdered chalk. This is done in order to increase the weight and density of the honey delicacy. Such a mixture can cause serious harm to health.
The presence of chalk in the honey mass can be determined using vinegar essence. A few drops of acid are added to the test sample. If a sizzling reaction occurs with the release of moisture, then the delicacy contains chalk additives.
How to check the authenticity of honey using lapis?
There is also such a method of falsifying a bee product as adding sugar syrup. To detect a fake, you can use a solution of silver nitrate (lapis).
Dissolve honey (1 tablespoon) in ten tablespoons of water and add lapis. If the honey mixture contains sugar, a precipitate of silver chloride, white in color, will fall to the bottom. There will be no sediment in a quality product.
Checking with a chemical pencil
Check naturalness honey product can and with chemical pencil. To do this, put a small amount of honey on a piece of paper and draw a line. If a colored trace remains, then the product may contain various impurities or sugar syrup. In the same way, you can try to determine the moisture content of a honey treat.
However, this method of determining the quality of honey raises some doubts. In 1972, V. G. Chudakov made a simple experiment. He subjected to research 36 varieties of bee products, 13 of which were falsifications. Pencil testing showed identical results on all 36 samples. From this we can conclude that the chemical pencil does not contribute to the identification of a fake.
There are many more ways to check honey for quality. However, they are more difficult to use and cannot be done at home. If you have researched a sweet treat using the above methods and made sure that you have real high-quality honey, you can safely go to the same store and purchase right amount delicious medicine.
Attention, only TODAY!
Bee nectar has been used for a very long time as a medicine. They treat ailments of the respiratory, digestive and circulatory systems. In addition, this beekeeping product is used in cosmetology and nutrition. The effectiveness of the product depends on its naturalness. But how do you know if honey is real or fake? This can be done at home without the use of special reagents and apparatus.
How to determine the quality of honey at home?
First, evaluate the organoleptic properties of the product you are going to purchase. That is, try and smell the product. It should not smell like coffee or have extraneous aromas. The smell must match the type of product. After consumption, there should be a characteristic aftertaste. You should not feel any acidity or bitterness.
Assess the consistency. In spring and summer, almost all bee nectar is in a fluid state. Is real honey candied or not? In autumn and winter, all varieties become very thick, and crystals appear in them. Accordingly, if you are going to purchase nectar in winter, and it is liquid, most likely the product was drowned to give it a marketable appearance. In winter, honey should be thick with crystals.
If you don't know how to check whether honey is real or not, look at its color. The shades of the product vary depending on its variety. So, buckwheat nectar has a dark brown color. There are almost colorless varieties. Please note that immediately after pumping it should not have any sediment. If I notice white grains in the jar that are at the bottom, then I understand that chalk or starch was added to the nectar.
How to test honey with iodine?
Iodine reacts to the presence of starch in the product. To carry out the test, follow the instructions:
- dissolve a teaspoon of the product in 120 ml of warm water;
- it is necessary that the liquid becomes homogeneous;
- drop 3-4 drops of an alcohol solution of iodine into the solution;
- observe the color of the liquid;
- if it turned blue or bluish stains appeared, then you were sold a fake.
Flour or starch is added to nectar to increase weight and viscosity. This is necessary if the honey is diluted or even made from sugar.
Linden honey how to identify?
It can be considered their most useful, because it contains terpene compounds that soothe and have an antibacterial effect. How to determine the naturalness of honey at home? It is difficult to distinguish this variety of honey from others. Even I can't always tell it apart from other species. But immediately after collection, it is liquid and resembles greenish water. The aroma of the product resembles the smell of linden blossoms. If you want to know how to determine the naturalness of linden honey, you need to conduct a pH test. Simply put, this is the acidity of the product.
Instruction:
- weigh 1 g of nectar and add 10 ml of water to it;
- stir the solution and drop an indicator to it;
- indicator paper can be used;
- linden honey differs from other varieties in its acidic environment, its pH is 4-5 units.
note
I do not use this method, because I do not always have indicator paper on hand.
Linden nectar is often mixed with royal jelly. A mixture with high biological activity is obtained. Royal jelly is a substance that bees feed to larvae and drones. The uterus also feeds on this food. The composition of royal jelly differs from honey in the content of proteins. The nectar contains a lot of zinc, cobalt and iron. Due to this, the product is used to increase hemoglobin. Honey with royal jelly how to distinguish a fake? To do this, look at the color of the product. It should be almost white. This color is due to the use of shrunken, that is, candied nectar for the preparation of the product. Royal jelly itself is also white. The taste of the product is also different from the usual bee nectar. It is less sweet, maybe even sour.
How to know real honey or not? You can check the quality of nectar with royal jelly at home. Get a small jar and spend a few simple tests. Dissolve the product in water and look for sediment. It shouldn't be. If you find white flakes or sediment, this is a fake. If you know how to test honey with iodine, then test and make sure there are no impurities.
How to check honey is natural or not using vinegar?
I often come across the fact that chalk is added to bee nectar to improve the consistency. To determine the presence of impurities, dissolve the nectar in warm water and add a spoonful of vinegar. If bubbles appear on the surface and you hear a hiss, then your product has been stuffed with chalk.
A lot of controversy arises around the viscosity of nectar. The question often arises, should real honey be candied? Yes, bee nectar is a saturated solution. During storage, a small amount of moisture evaporates and the solution becomes supersaturated. Because of this, crystals appear. Suspicion should be caused by the absence of crystals in autumn and winter. So honey was diluted or heated. Do not confuse, the presence of sugar in nectar does not affect its ability to crystallize.
Often, sugar syrup is added to bee nectar. In order not to mess with the bees and not release them to collect nectar, insects can be fed with sugar. There is little benefit from such a product, and you can check the presence of sugar at home.
How to test honey for sugar:
- drop the product on White list paper and leave for 30 minutes;
- look at the paper, if a wet spot has formed around the drop, sugar syrup has been added to the nectar;
- take a little product in a spoon and see how the trickle flows;
- if the product is real, then it will not drip from a spoon, but will flow like a viscous inextricable thread;
- scoop some nectar into a spoon and set it on fire;
- a natural product does not burn, but if it contains sugar, then you will find soot and black marks on the edges of the spoon.
Several ways to check real honey or not
Put honey on your fingers and rub between them. If you feel any grains, you have a fake in front of you. The nectar should be absorbed into the skin. Of great importance is the absence of foam on the product. If you purchased a product immediately after collection and found foam, you have unripe honey in front of you. This means that there is a lot of moisture in it, soon it will just ferment.
Immature honey is usually pumped out by beginners, they are in a hurry to empty the combs and increase the yield. But the nectar in the comb must stand for some time. It "ripens" in the cells and is saturated with natural antibiotics. Due to this, all fermentation processes are suppressed.
Acacia nectar is stored for a very long time and does not thicken, this is due to the low glucose content. fireweed honey also stays liquid for a long time.
If the product does not thicken for a long time, then it was diluted with water. To test for the presence of water in the nectar, drop it on a white napkin. If the drop was absorbed and a wet spot remained, the nectar was diluted. You can test honey for moisture with a piece of bread. Cut off a slice and put it on a plate. Leave for 20 minutes. If the crumb is soaked, and porridge has learned, then there is water in the product. If the product is natural, then the honey will be absorbed into the pores of the bread and even give the slice a hardness. These ways to check the quality of honey at home will help you make sure the product is natural.
There are a lot of ways to check the quality of honey, and this can be done at home. After several simple tests, you will be able to make sure the quality of the nectar. It is best to purchase honey from familiar beekeepers.
