No lumps and no foam: how to determine the naturalness of honey

Ukraine has an extremely wide range of honey varieties. Many unscrupulous sellers dilute honey or even replace it with sugar syrup. That's why UaPortal has selected life hacks for you to determine the authenticity of honey.

Visually

Honey contains no more than 20% water, so it is very viscous and, when poured from jar to jar, forms a slide that slowly spreads. It stretches like a thread from a spoon, while counterfeit honey drips. In addition, fake honey is heterogeneous and opaque, with sediment at the bottom. There should be no foam either.

To the touch and to the taste

Quality honey tingles slightly in the throat, without sourness. It also has a strong, floral aroma. Fake honey has almost no smell.

Solid or liquid

Natural honey hardens quickly. But! In summer, honey should be liquid (this does not apply to rapeseed honey). If you decide to buy honey in winter or autumn, pay attention to the hardened honey, because at this time it cannot be any other.

Test with a piece of bread

Take a small jar of honey for a test and check it: take a piece of bread, and dip it in honey for 10 minutes. If the bread softens, you are looking at a fake product.

Test with a hot knife

If you take a knife, heat it up, and then dip it into natural honey, the blade will remain clean. A counterfeit product will start to smell like burnt sugar under the influence of a hot blade and leave its residue on the blade.

Read also: Effective methods for removing unpleasant odors from the washing machine.

Test with alcohol and iodine

If you dissolve honey in half a cup of hot water, it will completely dissolve, while after adulteration, the water will become cloudy, especially after adding alcohol. Iodine will turn the solution with falsified honey blue, and if you add vinegar, bubbles may appear - a sign of chalk.

Test with starch

If you sprinkle a drop of honey with starch, the counterfeit will react (depending on the impurities), while natural honey will remain unchanged.

To recap, we have already written how to check milk for freshness.

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