The beneficial properties of natural honey have been heard all without exception. And, of course, generations of our time who are well aware of various food fakes, GMOs and other mucks, buying this or that food product, they want to purchase natural bread, butter, milk, etc. Honey is no exception to this list. However, it is not a fact that the sweetness bought at the market from a grandfather-beekeeper means precisely the desired naturalness of the produced product. Alas, like everything in our world, honey is very easy to fake.
What are we paying attention to
How to check honey at home, if you bought it with your hands (or in a store - because the place of purchase still does not mean anything and is not a guarantee of quality!)? And what do you need to check? First of all, is it really made from nectar or does the lion's share of the raw material base come from ordinary water with concentrated sugar. After all, how easy it is to put a basin near the hive, pour sugar syrup and feed the bees. And those, in turn, from the "feed" and will begin to develop their honey products. Of course, there is no sense in them for medicinal purposes, but for a “smart” beekeeper - a fat in your pocket! Secondly, you should be interested in how to check honey at home for its freshness / prescription. The seller can prove to you that the delicacy of the new crop, but in fact for a year or two has not been realized. Thirdly, the composition of the product is important. Unscrupulous owners before putting the product on the market dilute the product with various additives, starting with the same sugar syrup. Or they can produce one variety, less popular, after another, more popular and expensive. And in this case, you should know how to check honey at home for its compliance with standards.
Himself a chemical technologist
And now specific tips and tricks. Of course, a home is not a chemical laboratory. But you can still insure yourself. So how to check honey? At home, such recommendations will help you. Pay attention to the structure (physical condition) of the product. For example, in winter it is better to buy a sugar, which has undergone a crystallization process. It’s very difficult to fake it, because for sure buy natural. The
aggregate state does not affect the positive properties; hardening of honey is a completely natural process. It just means that it was not hermetically sealed. But buying liquid in the winter is risky, most likely, it was warmed up before the sale, which means that it has lost some value, or simply not natural. In summer, on the contrary, take liquid - crystallized may turn out to be old. Another way to check honey for naturalness at home is to type it in a spoon and lower the tea in an average heating temperature. The present is sure to darken. Repeat the operation with very hot milk. If the product is with synthetic or other impurities, then the contents of the cup will not slow down to sour. As already mentioned, liquid natural honey, if kept in an open jar, will begin to thicken in a few weeks. But diluted - no.
How to test honey with fire? This method is considered very objective. To do this, sweetened in a spoon ... set on fire! Clean, real, slowly charred. With additives, diluted - burns with a bluish twinkle. Check the honey and with distilled water (dissolve the product in it) and iodine (drip a little). Was the solution blue? Well, you bought a treat with starch!
This is not a complete list of those tricks with which you can catch the seller-deceiver by the hand. Make test purchases and do not let yourself swindle!