To buy a really high-quality bee product, not falsification, it is important to know how to test honey for naturalness. With the same success it can be done both in the laboratory and at home. The tricky folk methods include checking with iodine, a chemical pencil, water, vinegar, milk and other improvised means.
What is falsified
Natural honey is usually mixed with sugar syrup, beet or starch syrup, saccharin, chalk, flour and other impurities.
How can I check the quality of honey? The first thing you should pay attention to when buying is its consistency. Many varieties crystallize after 2 months after collection. Slow down this process is possible only by storing the product in a hermetically sealed form. However, almost all of the honey does not remain in liquid form until winter. Therefore, if you find such a bee product on the shelves, then, most likely, it is a fake. About the factors that affect the process of crystallization, you can learn in detail from the article about why honey is candied.
Warning! Liquid honey sold in the winter time, shows:
- on the falsification of the product;
- about deliberate removal from the crystallized state by heating, which deprives it of all medicinal properties.
It's worth worrying about candied honey in summer, as it means that it was last year's.
How to check honey for naturalness
The quality and naturalness of the bee product can be determined in two ways: "by eye" and with the help of special tools. Let's consider the first method in more detail.
Checking honey "by sight"
To the taste of
Testing honey at home begins with a sample of the product to taste. The taste of a natural amber dessert is pleasant, tart, giving off a floral or herbal sound. It must melt in the tongue, covering with tingling, slightly burning aftertaste. It does not leave behind sediment, solid particles and crystals. A light shade of caramel gives off warm honey, and sugary sweetness is an admixture of sugar.
On the color of
Knowledge of varieties of honey will help you easily identify a fake. As you know, every kind of bee product has its own characteristic shade. For example, the lime variety is of amber color, floral - golden yellow, mustard - cream-yellow, chestnut - dark brown. But all of them, regardless of color, are transparent and pure. Honey-counterfeit is a little unclear and has a sediment.
By the smell of
The quality of honey is easy to determine by its aroma. A natural product smells of floral or herbal notes, while a dessert with an admixture of sugar, starch or flour has no smell - neither pleasant nor harsh.
On density and viscosity
Put a thin wooden stick into honey, and then slowly pull it out. The real honey will follow her with a long thread. Interrupting, the thread forms on its surface a turret, which is then slowly absorbed by the product. If honey becomes similar with glue and drips from the stick with small sprays, then you will have a surrogate.According to the consistency of
When making demands on the quality of honey, pay attention to its consistency. The natural product of beekeeping is distinguished by its thin, viscous, delicate structure. It is well rubbed between the fingers, melts and absorbed into the skin, while the fake leaves on the hands of the lumps, characterized by a rough texture.
We are attracting the help of
Attention! In honey mixed foreign substances for three reasons:
- to hide the signs of a spoiled commodity;
- for giving it a natural and appetizing appearance;
- for adding weight.
However, it is quite easy to bring unscrupulous sellers to clean water. The honey can be checked by iodine, chemical pencil, vinegar, alcohol, paper, hydrochloric acid and other items.
We determine the admixture of molasses
Mix one part of honey with 2 parts of distilled water and add a few drops of ammonia. Shake the mixture. If the solution becomes brown and precipitates in the same color, it means that the product is mixed with starch syrup.
To determine its presence can be another way: dissolve honey in two parts of water and add to the mixture 2-3 drops of hydrochloric acid and 20-30 g of wine alcohol. The turbidity of the solution indicates the presence of molasses.
Detect the presence of flour or starch
Consider how to test honey with iodine for the presence of an admixture of flour or starch. Dissolve the product with distilled water and add a few drops of iodine to the solution. Blueing of the composition is a clear sign that flour or starch is mixed in an amber dessert.
Warning! The darker the color, the more starch is contained in the bee product.
Check for chalk
Dissolve honey in water and add to the mixture a few drops of acetic acid( essence).If the solution boils, having issued a characteristic hiss and having allocated bubbles of carbon dioxide - your dessert is "stuffed" with chalk.
"Expose" sugar
In connection with the frequent cases of falsification of the bee product of many people, the question is: how to check honey for sugar? There are several ways to do this:
- The sugar product gives off its head a suspiciously white color, a taste reminiscent of sweet water, a lack of astringency, a faint smell.
- Add it to the hot milk, and if it curdles up - there is a fake with an admixture of burnt sugar.
- In a cup of loose tea, dissolve 1 teaspoon of honey, and then inspect the liquid. Sediment at the bottom of the cup is a sign that the quality of honey leaves much to be desired.
- Pour the bread crumb into a dessert and leave it for 10 minutes. Then remove and inspect. Softened bread indicates the presence of sugar syrup, solidified - a quality product.
- Put a bit of amber dessert on a piece of paper( newspaper or toilet) that absorbs moisture well. If it "smears" on paper, leaving damp traces, or it will seep through it - you bought a surrogate with an admixture of sugar syrup or water.
How to check honey with a chemical pencil
A chemical pencil is an effective tool that should be taken with you to the market or fair of beekeeping. Its peculiarity is that it changes color when it comes in contact with moisture. Before buying honey, immerse the instrument in it. If it changes color, it means that you are trying to sell a product diluted in water under the brand of natural. Checking honey with a chemical pencil is made and in order to detect the impurity of sugar syrup.
The easiest way to check the quality of
- Dissolve 1 teaspoon of honey in a glass of warm water and leave the mixture for 1 hour. The precipitate formed on the bottom of the glass or flakes that have surfaced on the surface indicate that the bee product is not natural.
Counterfeit dissolved in water, will precipitate - Drop honey onto paper and set it on fire. If the product is quality, only paper will burn, and the honey will remain untouched - it will not char, it will not burn and it will not darken. Falsified, however, will turn brown and melt slightly, leaving a characteristic smell of burnt sugar in the air.
On honey sometimes there are vivid proofs of its naturalness-particles of pollen or wax, wings of bees. However, this fact can not be an absolute guarantee. When buying, pay attention to the main indicators of the quality of honey-color, odor, viscosity and consistency. Expose it to all of the listed methods of testing and enjoy the great taste of a natural product.