How to check the quality of honey: 6 important signs of naturalness

Farmers' fairs - a place where you can replenish the supply of healing delicacies, so necessary in the autumn-winter period, when immunity weakens, and the cold literally “haunts”. But before buying large quantities, it is better to take a small jar for testing and check the honey for naturalness. It is not always easy to determine the quality of a product only “by eye”.

6 signs of natural honey

Assurances of sellers about the "purity" of the product - only a marketing ploy. Bees collect nectar from various plants growing in the field of their reach. Such a “mixture” cannot be called a “low-quality product,” but it costs much less. Farmers are trying to sell honey from herbs for a high price, passing it, for example, for buckwheat. Unscrupulous sellers try to increase the volume or sell "unripened" honey for the purpose of profit, cultivating it with sugar syrup and thereby improving taste. Also, starch, beet molasses, sucrose and even chalk are auxiliary products. Such ingredients turn healthy honey into a dangerous product that can harm the body.

When buying goodies, you can give an initial assessment of quality. The main signs of naturalness:

• Appearance. A quality product should be uniform, transparent. Turbidity, delamination and sediment indicate a possible mixing in the lower layer of semolina with molasses.
• Weight. A kilogram of natural goodies is placed in a container of 0.8 liters. Honey in a liter jar should show a value of almost 1.5 kg on the scales.
• Consistency. If you try the product with a stick, the natural should stretch with a thin thread and literally fold, gradually distributed in one layer.
• The aroma. In good honey, it is intense - flower or pollen, depending on the location of the apiary.
• Taste. If honey is sour, you should not buy it. Natural delicacy has a tart taste, a little "tearing the throat."
• Condition. The speed of solidification depends on the number of nutrients in the composition: the more they are, the faster the treat becomes solid. In summer, the honey pumped out in the current season should be syrupy (with the exception of rapeseed). But in winter, a natural product can only be candied.

If there was a need to melt last year's honey, this should be done at a temperature of 37 ° C. Otherwise, the healing and nutritional properties will be lost.

Is fake easy to spot?

Only the beekeeper can be confident in the quality of the product, as well as in its composition in percentage (purity). At the same time, the variety of honey determines the presence of more than 25% of the nectar of one plant. Now there are about 70 species. Despite the common features characterizing the quality of the product, they may vary depending on the variety.

Linden honey

The product is easily recognizable by its light yellow, almost transparent hue. At fairs, you can find honey and with a deep amber color. The composition of such linden honey, most likely, includes minor impurities of nectar from other plants.

Linden honey leaves a tart aftertaste with a hint of bitterness. This flavor combination virtually eliminates the possibility of confusing it with other varieties. The smell of summer is inherent in the healthy product - the aroma of linden with mint notes. Crystallization begins in the third month.

Buckwheat honey

A quality product obtained by the collection of nectar from pink or white buckwheat flowers by bees has several distinctive features. But first of all, you should ask the seller to provide a certificate for the product.

Distinctive characteristics of buckwheat honey

You can confirm the naturalness of honey by observing the crystallization process. 3 months after harvesting, a white scum should appear on the surface.

Ways to determine at home

Arriving home, you can check the naturalness of the product using improvised means. It is better to go for another jar or a larger batch after receiving a result that confirms the high quality of the product. Moreover, carrying out simple tests will protect against fakes in the future. After all, then it will be possible to constantly buy honey from a trusted seller.

Iodine test

Before starting the test, you should “arm yourself” with the required tools and materials. The set is simple:

• honey;
• clear glass;
• purified drinking water;
• vinegar essence;
• iodine.

Procedure for verification:

1. They heat the water, but not much - it should be warm, not hot.
2. Stir in it 2-3 tablespoons of honey. Mix until the lumps completely disappear.
3. After obtaining a homogeneous liquid, a few drops of an antiseptic are poured and wait.
4. Add 2-3 drops of vinegar essence.

Different scenarios are possible:

• The absence of any reactions indicates the naturalness of the treat. The product does not contain substances that could react with a chemical element.
• If after adding iodine the color changes to blue, starch or flour is present in the honey. They were added to make the product heavier.
• The presence of chalk will help determine vinegar. In this case, after adding it, a foam should form on the surface.

Water test: honeycomb or sediment

There is a common belief that honey has a “genetic” memory of honeycombs. This belief formed the basis of the folk method: they take a ceramic saucer and pour a small amount of honey into it. Then cover the product with water and shake the dish in a circular motion. According to the “experts”, if the delicacy is natural, indentations should form under the water layer, which resemble bee honeycombs in appearance. This is actually not an indicator. Thick sugar syrup and many other products of this consistency will behave in exactly the same way.

There is a simpler and more efficient way. Quality honey should not leave a residue. After complete dissolution in water, it literally disappears. Turbidity, dust at the bottom - evidence of impurity. Only hot water and a little product are needed to determine. To see what remains at the bottom, a glass is used transparent. Boiling water is poured into it, honey is added, it is thoroughly stirred, left for an hour. This time is enough to completely dissolve 15–20 g of natural honey.

Using paper

The quality of honey bought from unfamiliar sellers can be found out using paper. The method more allows you to determine whether the product is diluted with sugar syrup, and may also indicate its immaturity at the time of the jump.

On a sheet of paper, they just spread honey from a tablespoon. Look at the trail after removing the treats with a cotton swab. If the product is diluted, a wet spot remains. High-quality honey leaves no such traces.

Fire

Adding sugar to honey is one of the most common ways to increase the amount of product. Fire is used to determine sugar. They pick up the product in a spoon and bring a match or a lighter to the edge. Quality honey will gradually and very slowly begin to melt, without changing its color and exuding a characteristic caramel flavor. But if sugar is present in it, it will burn - it will turn brown, a burning smell will appear.

Candy Honey Reception

When the product is already in this state, there are few ways to determine its quality. The simplest and most affordable is visual. Moreover, it is applicable for delicacies, in which the crystallization process was activated. If honey is stratified into two layers - it is immature. Honey particles are heavier than water and therefore settle at the bottom.

At home, it is easy to find out if natural honey was on the table. Thanks to simple methods, this can be done in a few minutes. The main thing is not to buy large quantities before making sure of its quality. Having been in the hands of unscrupulous sellers, honey can turn into a very dangerous "cure" for colds in the cold season.