How to distinguish high-quality honey. How to check honey for naturalness at home using chemicals and improvised means

The beneficial properties of honey are widely known. It is used not only as a sweetener, but also as a remedy for colds. It has an antibacterial, antiviral, soothing and healing effect, it helps to strengthen the immune system and increase vitality.

The high cost of a natural product is a direct consequence of the complexity of its production. But even having paid a considerable price for this product, one cannot always be sure of its quality. Fake is not a new phenomenon.

The mention of unscrupulous traders is contained in the Encyclopedia of Beekeeping, published by the American entrepreneur and great enthusiast of this field of agriculture, Amos Root in 1876.

Unnatural honey

The current fakes can be divided into three groups:

Natural with addition foreign substances designed to increase the total volume and density of the mass;
Products, obtained from a mixture sugar and water, with the addition of dyes and flavors;
Sugar.

The method of falsification described by Ruth in the 19th century is still used today.

A mixture of sugar and water is boiled down to a thick syrup, after which flavors and dyes are added to it. To heighten the effect, the final product can be mixed with a small amount of real honey.

Since the days of Amos Root, honey adulteration techniques have improved. Now artificial mixtures are prepared from invert sugar and sucrose and thickeners are added to them, among which one can find corn and potato starch. High-quality fakes can be difficult to detect even with the help of professional expertise. Fortunately, they are rare.

Another method of obtaining honey is used by unscrupulous beekeepers. Instead of waiting for the bees to collect flower nectar, the insects are fed regular sugar syrup. Sugar honey obtained in this way has no useful properties.

How to distinguish a quality product from an artificial one

Good taste

jar of honey

The taste of natural honey is sweet with a tart note, which is especially noticeable in buckwheat and chestnut. This product leaves a pleasant aftertaste. Counterfeits will have an unremarkable sweet taste., in some cases a little cloying.

Natural color

Color can vary from white to dark brown. Each variety has its own characteristic color. Honey collected from white acacia flowers is almost transparent in liquid state.

Buckwheat honey has a rich brown color with a reddish tint. The white product may well not be from plant pollen, but from sugar syrup.

Before buying, you should find out what kind of honey is in front of you. This will make it easier to relate the description to the product you are offering.

Correct consistency

The structure of natural and artificial honey is strikingly different. Rubbing a drop of it with your fingers, you will notice that it has disappeared without a trace, quickly absorbed into the skin. After doing the same with a fake, you will feel that small lumps remain on the skin.

Honey tends to crystallize after several months of storage. If in the middle of winter they try to sell you a liquid product, then this is an alarming sign. Such a product was either made from sugar syrup or heated before being sold. Honey, heated above a temperature of 40 degrees, loses its beneficial qualities.

Viscosity test

Real honey should be viscous

An important indicator and condition in determining the authenticity of naturalness is its viscosity. Dip a clean spoon into the honey container, and then slowly remove it. The real product should follow the spoon continuous thread. When the substance drains from the spoon, it forms a visible mark on the surface, which slowly dissolves.

Aroma

The smell is the hardest to fake. The aroma of the natural product is thick and fragrant, you can distinguish notes of honey plants in it. A product made from sugar does not have a pronounced aroma. How to check? If you find it difficult to catch the smell, then you have a fake.

Define sugar

Whether there is sugar in the product can be determined using thin paper. To do this, drip honey on a paper napkin or a sheet of blotting paper.

The appearance of wet spots will indicate that the product is artificial.

The natural product can remain on the paper surface for several minutes without seeping through to the back of the sheet. The longer the trace does not appear on paper, the better it is.

How to test real honey at home?

If you still have natural honey or not, then you can dispel them with a few simple procedures. How can you distinguish honey and know its quality?

drop of iodine

Iodine

Dilute a small amount of honey with water, add a drop of iodine to the resulting mixture. If after that the solution turned blue, then this means that it contains starch or flour.

With the help of bread

Place a piece of bread in a bowl and leave for 5-10 minutes. If after this time the bread has retained its shape, then you have a natural product. If the bread is softened and spread, then this is a clear sign that the product was made on the basis of sugar syrup.

Pencil

On the back of your hand or a piece of paper, drip honey and spread it in a thin layer. Swipe with a regular chemical pencil on the surface. A thick line will indicate the presence of water in the product. The absence of a noticeable trace will mean that you have undiluted honey in front of you.

Vinegar

Dissolve a teaspoon of honey in water, add a few drops of vinegar to the resulting mixture. If this is followed by a hiss, then this is a sure sign that the product contains chalk.

Identify fake with water

Put the spoon into a clear glass of warm water and stir. The natural product will dissolve without residue, slightly coloring the water. If impurities are present in the product, they will either precipitate or float to the surface.

Buckwheat honey

The best way to protect yourself from fakes is to buy homemade honey from a beekeeper you know. In order to choose a trustworthy person, ask if he sells honeycombs.

If the answer is yes, you will definitely know that the seller has access to natural honey. Such people highly value their reputation and will not risk it by offering fakes.

Buy honey in season, because real beekeepers sell it as it is made. If you buy honey in a store, check and pay attention to the correct label. A fake product can harm your health.

The article will tell you about all the features of natural and artificial honey.

Honey is the most useful product of nature, which has a lot of healing and nutritional properties for humans. However, only natural honey can have such a feature, and not sugar syrup, which unscrupulous sellers and beekeepers often pass off as a natural product.

If you want to buy such a delicacy at the fair, then you should first learn how to determine whether natural honey is in front of you. This is usually indicated by several signs.

How to distinguish natural honey from fake: signs

There are several signs by which natural honey differs from a fake.

Appearance

The best honey will be very thick, so that when poured from the jar, a slide will form and it will not be distributed immediately. This is all because it should contain no more than 17-20% water, or you will get syrup, where there is only 1 water for 4 cups of sugar.

If honey is diluted with water, then it will be immediately noticeable by its weight. As a rule, a kilogram of honey can easily fit in a 0.8 liter jar, and if it is a liter jar, then 1.5 kg of honey will go there. Honest sellers usually allow you to look at the consistency and give a special stick or spoon. If the product is pulled out with a thin thread, then it is really natural and you can safely buy it. And dripping from a spoon and immediately dissolving in the mass is a fake.

Moreover, usually fake honey is cloudy and has a layer or sediment at the bottom. The latter is due to the fact that molasses and semolina are added to it, which settles at the bottom, and the honey itself is only at the top. A natural product will always be transparent and uniform.

Taste

Good honey will always “tear” the throat a little, because it is tart, and sourness will not be felt. If it is present, then it says that the product is either spoiled or not yet ripe. A drop of good honey can always be rubbed with your fingers, it is easily absorbed into the skin. If there are any additives inside, then it will roll. It is important to note that the aroma of a quality product is always well felt, and it is specific, often even floral or pollen. But the fake one smells weak, and all because syrup is mixed into it.

Hardness

The more useful substances in honey, the faster it hardens. However, in the summer it will be more like syrup if it is fresh, and pumped out in the spring, the rapeseed variety will be like bars by August. It is distinguished by a light yellow tint, and crystallized. If you went to the market in autumn or winter, then look only at candied honey. At this time, he no longer exists.

Checking houses

It is better to first buy a little honey for testing and only then take the right amount. You can test it with bread. Lower it for 10 minutes and if it softens, then you were offered syrup, and in natural honey the bread will become hard. This is the easiest way to find out if honey is natural, but there are many others.

Documentation

If desired, honey can be taken to the laboratory for analysis. Excess water and impurities will be detected there. In this case, it will not be superfluous to ask the seller for a certificate and an apiary passport. If the product has passed the test, then sucrose in it can be more than a maximum of 5%.

Be sure to see that all stamps are present on the documents, and a payment receipt with the date is attached, as in the expert conclusion.

How to check the quality of honey, for naturalness, sugar at home with iodine?

Artificial honey most often consists of:

Parts of natural honey
sugar syrup
Molasses
flavor additives
Flavorings
starch
thickeners
Saccharin

IMPORTANT: A characteristic feature of natural honey is that it crystallizes already for 2-3 months of storage. If this does not happen - honey is artificial. You can buy natural honey only during the collection period, and if it is sold to you in winter liquid and transparent, it is either fake or heated, processed honey.

The easiest way to check the naturalness of the product is with the help of medical iodine. It will help identify the presence of starch or flour in honey, which are often added to the recipe. as a thickener.

How to make a test:

A spoonful of honey should be dissolved in a glass of purified, not hot, boiled or distilled water.
Add a few drops of iodine to the liquid and watch the chemical reaction taking place in the glass.
If the liquid turns blue, this indicates the presence of starch or flour in the honey.
The richer and darker the color of the liquid, the greater the amount of additives in the product.

How to check the quality of honey, for naturalness, sugar at home with a chemical pencil?

INTERESTING: An indelible pencil is a pencil with a special graphite that writes like ink when wet.

Determining the naturalness of a product with a chemical pencil is very simple. It should be soaked in honey and then try to move it on the skin, leaving a mark. If there are additives in the product, the pencil mark will be blue. This method is perfect for determining the naturalness of honey right on the market before buying.

How to check the quality of honey, for naturalness, sugar at home with ammonia?

It is very simple to check honey for naturalness with alcohol:

Take 0.5 cups of pure water (distilled or purified boiled - any without impurities).
Stir in water 1 tbsp. honey until completely dissolved, shake the liquid.
Ammonia should be added to this liquid (just a few drops will be enough).
Follow the chemical reaction in the glass
The brown color of the liquid will indicate that the product contains the "lion's share" of sugar and starch syrup.

How to check the quality of honey, for naturalness, sugar at home by weighing?

There is another way to check the naturalness of the product. It is believed that natural honey has a heavier weight than sugar syrup, due to its denser consistency. A 1 liter jar of honey should weigh 1 kg. 400 gr, and in artificial - less than 1 kg. 400 gr.

How to check the quality of honey, for naturalness, sugar at home using vinegar?

Food vinegar will also help identify contaminants in the honey. To do this, dissolve a spoonful of the product in a glass of water and add vinegar (1 tbsp) there. If a chemical reaction such as hissing and foaming occurs, this is a sign of the presence of chalk in the product.

How to check the quality of honey, for naturalness, sugar at home milk?

Hot milk is a faithful assistant in determining the naturalness of honey. Some manufacturers add burnt sugar to the product, which adds a caramel flavor and a beautiful dark color to the product. Milk by folding will help determine the presence of sugar. Milk dissolves in natural honey, curdles in artificial honey.

What does natural honey look like? How to check for naturalness, recognize good natural liquid honey at home and when buying on the market?

The quality check of a given product should begin on the market the moment you purchase it. First of all, you should pay attention to its color, and it varies depending on the variety (linden, buckwheat, acacia) from light gold to dark amber brown.

A sign of quality honey is its transparency. If the consistency is cloudy, there is sediment and there is no uniformity, this indicates the presence of impurities in the product. Do not be afraid of natural "impurities" in the form of honeycombs, pollen and even wings - this is quite normal for a high-quality and tasty product.

IMPORTANT: If you notice bubbles in honey, this is a bad sign, because such bubbles indicate the fermentation of honey. Normally, this is not at all acceptable, because a natural product can be stored for a very long time. There is also evidence for this: pots of honey were found in the Egyptian pyramids and burials, which the graves put into the mummies. This honey has been preserved in its original form to this day. This fact led to the conclusion that natural honey is a product that can be stored forever.

How to check, distinguish honey by appearance, smell, viscosity when buying on the market? Signs of good, natural quality honey

Other features of natural honey:

Natural and high-quality product has a dark tart, but pleasant taste.
Natural honey can leave a slight tickle in the throat.
Good product spreads easily
There should be no sediment in the jar
There should not be a caramel flavor even in natural honey (as it indicates its remelting).
Natural honey is sweet but not cloying
The natural product has a very bright and pleasant natural aroma.
The consistency of the natural product is very delicate and viscous.
Taking a drop of honey on your fingers, you will notice how easily it is rubbed between your fingers and absorbed into the skin.

"Home laboratory" to determine the quality of the product

How to check for naturalness, recognize good natural candied honey at home and when buying on the market?

Candied honey is much more difficult to test than liquid honey. The fact is that only a real product is capable of crystallizing. However, there is one good way to reveal its naturalness. Put 1 tsp. on a paper napkin and look at the trace of honey, a good product will have a damp and wet spot. The sugar product does not "flow".

Fake honey and methods for its recognition

How to recognize fake honey:

Bright amber luster and crystal clarity
Product that may foam
Honey without aroma and taste
Unnatural white color of the product
Honey has two layers: liquid at the top and thick at the bottom.
Caramel, bitter or sour taste
The presence of grains (determined by rubbing between the fingers).

IMPORTANT: Take honey in a spoon or on a special honey stick, look at how it will drain. Artificial honey gives splashes, natural honey flows with a thin thread.

Video: "How to identify natural honey?"

To buy a really high-quality bee product, and not a fake, it is important to know how to check honey for naturalness. With equal success, this can be done both in the laboratory and at home. Cunning folk methods include checking with iodine, chemical pencil, water, vinegar, milk and other improvised means.

What is counterfeit Natural honey is usually mixed with sugar syrup, beet or starch syrup, saccharin, chalk, flour and other impurities.

How to check the quality of honey?

The first thing you should pay attention to when buying is its consistency. Many varieties crystallize already 2 months after harvest. This process can be slowed down only by storing the product in a hermetically sealed form. However, almost all honey does not remain in a liquid state until winter. Therefore, if you find such a bee product on the shelves, then most likely it is a fake.

Attention! Liquid honey sold in winter indicates: falsification of the product; about deliberate removal from a crystallized state by heating, which deprives it of all healing properties. You should also be wary of candied honey in the summer, as this means that it is last year's.

How to check honey for naturalness

The quality and naturalness of a 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 eye"

By taste Checking honey at home begins with a taste test of the product. The taste of a natural amber dessert is pleasant, tart, giving off a floral or herbal sound. It should melt on the tongue, covering with a tingling, slightly burning aftertaste. It leaves no residue, solid particles or crystals behind. A light shade of caramel gives out warm honey, and sugary sweetness is an admixture of sugar.

By color

Knowing the varieties of honey will help you easily identify a fake. As you know, each type of bee product has its own characteristic shade. For example, the linden variety is distinguished by an amber color, the flower variety is golden yellow, the mustard variety is creamy yellow, and the chestnut variety is dark brown. But all of them, regardless of color, are transparent and pure. Fake honey is a little cloudy and has a sediment.

By smell

The quality of honey is easy to determine by 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 pungent.

By density and viscosity

Dip a thin wooden stick into the honey and then slowly pull it out. Real honey will follow her with a long thread. When interrupted, the thread forms a turret on its surface, which is then slowly absorbed by the product. If honey becomes similar to glue and drips from the stick with small splashes, then you have a surrogate.

By consistency

When making demands on the quality of honey, pay attention to its consistency. The natural product of beekeeping is characterized by a thin, viscous, delicate structure. It rubs well between the fingers, melts and is absorbed into the skin, while the fake leaves lumps on the hands, characterized by a rough texture.

Attention! Foreign substances are mixed into honey for three reasons: to hide the signs of a damaged product; to give it a natural and appetizing look; to add weight.

However, it is quite easy to bring unscrupulous sellers to clean water. Honey can be checked with iodine, chemical pencil, vinegar, alcohol, paper, hydrochloric acid and other items.

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 turns brown and precipitates of the same color, then the product is mixed with starch syrup.
You can determine its presence in another way: dissolve honey in two parts of water and add 2-3 drops of hydrochloric acid and 20-30 g of wine alcohol to the mixture. 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 flour or starch impurities. Dilute the product with distilled water and drop a few drops of ordinary iodine into the solution. The blueness of the composition is a clear sign that flour or starch has been mixed into the amber dessert.
Attention! The darker the color, the more starch is contained in the bee product.

Checking for chalk

Dissolve honey in water and add a few drops of acetic acid (essence) to the mixture. If the solution boils, emitting a characteristic hiss and releasing carbon dioxide bubbles, your dessert is “stuffed” with chalk.

"Unmasking" Sugar

In connection with the increasing cases of falsification of the bee product, many people are interested in the question: how to check honey for sugar? You can do this in several ways:

The sugar product betrays with its head its suspiciously white color, taste reminiscent of sweet water, lack of astringency, and a slight smell. Add it to hot milk, and if it curdles, you have a fake mixed with burnt sugar.

In a cup of weak 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.

Dip the bread crumb into the dessert and leave it in it for 10 minutes. Then take it out and inspect. Softened bread indicates the presence of sugar syrup, hardened bread indicates a quality product.

On a piece of paper (newsprint or toilet paper), which absorbs moisture well, put a little amber dessert. If it “smeares” on paper, leaving wet marks, or seeps through it, you bought a surrogate with an admixture of sugar syrup or water.

How to test honey with a chemical pencil

A chemical pencil is an effective tool that you should definitely take with you to the beekeeping market or fair. Its peculiarity is that it changes color when it comes into contact with moisture. Before buying honey, immerse the instrument in it. If it changes color, it means that they are trying to sell you a product diluted with water under the brand name of natural. Checking honey with a chemical pencil is also carried out in order to identify impurities in sugar syrup.

The easiest way to check quality

1. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of honey in a glass of warm water and leave the composition for 1 hour. The sediment formed at the bottom of the glass or flakes that have floated to the surface indicate the unnaturalness of the bee product.

Fake, dissolved in water, will precipitate

2. Drop honey on paper and set it on fire. If the product is of high quality, only the paper will burn, and the honey will remain untouched - it will not char, burn or darken. The counterfeit will turn brown and melt slightly, leaving the characteristic smell of burnt sugar in the air.

On honey, sometimes there are vivid evidence of its naturalness - particles of pollen or wax, wings of bees. However, this fact cannot be a 100% guarantee.
When buying, pay attention to the main indicators of honey quality - color, smell, viscosity and consistency. Subject it to all the listed methods of verification and enjoy the great taste of a natural product.

Each of us knows about the taste and medicinal properties of honey. It contains more than fifty valuable substances necessary for normal human life. That's just in the markets we are not always offered a natural product. How to distinguish natural honey from a fake? You can use any of the methods listed below.

8 signs of natural honey

How to check if honey is real? Pay attention to several signs characteristic of an exclusively natural beekeeping product:

Appearance. Do you want to test honey at home? Rate his "appearance" on a five-point system. A quality product will not foam or bubble. This is how the fermentation process looks like, and good honey cannot ferment a priori.

Crystallization. After one and a half to two months, honey begins to thicken and become cloudy - this is an absolutely normal phenomenon, indicating its naturalness. Liquid honey can only be bought in the summer during pumping. The only exception is heather and acacia honey - the first turns into jelly, the second remains liquid until spring.

Smell. Real honey has a fragrant and incomparable aroma, while fake honey smells absolutely nothing.

Taste. You can test the quality of honey by tasting it on your tongue. A good product has a pleasant and slightly tart taste. It just melts in your mouth and leaves no sediment or solids behind. You may even feel a slight tingle in your throat and nose, another sure sign of high quality.

Color. The shade of this product depends on the variety:

Linden - amber;
Flower honey - light yellow;
Ash - transparent;
Buckwheat - brown;
Linden - amber.

Knowing this, you will not allow unscrupulous sellers to make a fraudulent transaction.

Viscosity. Dip a clean and thin wooden stick into the container with the product. Real honey will stretch in a long continuous thread, forming a slowly spreading tower. The fake product will simply drip down, leaving behind nothing but splashes.

Consistency. It is very easy to check the naturalness of honey in a home laboratory - its consistency is delicate and uniform. A quality product is quickly absorbed into the skin and easily rubbed between the fingers. But the counterfeit, when rubbed, forms rough and fairly hard lumps.

Volume and weight. The composition of honey includes a lot of small particles, and therefore it simply cannot be lighter than water. A liter of honey weighs about one and a half kilograms. The lower mass indicates a high water content, which makes it very light.

How to determine the quality of honey

Pure honey is transparent, there is not even a hint of any sediment, regardless of color and variety. Do you want to check if there are any additional impurities and additives in it? You can send the purchase to the laboratory and pay a certain amount for it, or you can check the authenticity of honey at home.

Method 1. Using paper and matches

Drop honey on a sheet of clean paper and set it on fire. If the honey is really real, the paper will burn, but the drop will remain intact. If the honey began to burn, melt or darken, then the bees were obviously fed with diluted sugar.

Method 2. Using a chemical pencil

This is another popular method that allows you to determine the quality of honey at home in just a couple of minutes. Apply a layer of the product to your finger, spoon or paper and draw over it with a pencil. You can dip the pencil into a container of sweet nectar. The naturalness of the product is indicated by the absence of all kinds of traces on the surface of the paper, spoon or hand.

Method 3: Using blotting paper

Do you want to know if your purchase contains sugar, starch and other additives? Put a drop of honey on a piece of blotting paper and wait a couple of minutes. Is there a water stain on the back? You have a bad fake in front of you.

Method 4. Using tea

The quality of the product can be checked right during tea drinking. Just add a spoonful of honey to a cup and let it dissolve completely. If you are not fooled, the liquid will become darker. Will it have sediment? With a good honey, it simply does not exist.

Method 5. Using bread

Honey is characterized by high hygroscopicity. From the environment, it draws not only odors, but also moisture. Dip a slice of fresh bread into the container and check the result in five minutes. If the honey is real, the bread will not only not get wet, but will also become harder.

Method 6. Vinegar

By using vinegar and distilled water, you can find out if your honey contains chalk. Dilute a tablespoon of the product with half a glass of water, add three drops of table vinegar and mix everything thoroughly. In the presence of chalk, the mixture will simply boil (this is how carbon dioxide is released). As an option, use any other acid that is found in the kitchen drawers.

Method 7. Using silver nitrate

Checking honey at home will help another simple experiment. Fill it with hot distilled water (1:2), add a solution of silver nitrate (three drops) and evaluate the state of the resulting mixture. In high-quality honey, there is no sediment or turbidity. But in the presence of sugar, the liquid becomes cloudy and covered with a whitish coating.

Method 8. Using iodine

Are you sure there are no starch particles in the honey you bought? Find out by mixing a spoonful of the product with half a glass of hot water and three drops of iodine. The fake will take on a bright blue hue.

Method 9. Using ammonia

The principle is the same, only in this case, iodine should be replaced with ammonia. Real honey will remain pure, low-quality honey will turn white with a brown precipitate.

Method 10. Using cow's milk

Mix honey with hot milk. The surrogate is simply obliged to curl up, good honey will reach the bottom of the cup and dissolve.

Method 11. Using a flame

Hold a spoonful of honey over an open fire. Nothing will happen to a good product, but the counterfeit will catch fire.

Do you know how to distinguish high quality from a fake at home? Fill up our "box" with your tips.

Try to find a seller you can trust 100%. You can track it by strong employment from May to October. This is the only way you can be sure of the quality and benefits of your purchase.

16.11.2016 0

Everyone knows that honey is a valuable product that has not only excellent taste, but also a number of useful properties. This is a great medicine, the basis for various masks, and just a delicious treat.

Benefits and signs

The following medicinal properties of honey are distinguished:

strengthening immunity;
fight against viruses, bacteria;
saturation with vitamins and microelements;
blood purification, elimination of toxins;
fight against various inflammations;
the establishment of metabolic processes in the body;
positive effect on the work of the cardiovascular system;
normalization of the intestines;
stimulation of reproductive functions;
awakening a healthy appetite;
strengthening hair and nails.

But for honey to benefit us, first of all, it must be natural and of high quality. We can buy it in almost any grocery store, and we are given different varieties of it to choose from. But can we be sure that we are buying a quality product and not doubt its authenticity? How to recognize it? Are all the requirements for the quality of honey met? To begin with, let's figure out how to check honey when buying, distinguish between a natural product and not buy a fake?

Appearance

Honey of any variety, as a rule, should be transparent and have a uniform consistency. These are indicators of the quality of honey. If the consistency is not such, it means that various impurities are present in the product.

In no case should there be foam and bubbles on the surface of the nectar. This indicates the fermentation of the product, and therefore the addition of water to it. In natural - only elements of a natural nature can be present - wax, pollen, particles of honeycombs. The color depends on its variety, but should also be uniform.

It is important to know!

Many sellers resort to such a method as heating candied honey. There can be no question of any benefit here, moreover, such a procedure can lead to the formation of harmful substances. In autumn or winter, do not buy a product of a liquid consistency, most likely it has been melted, since at this time of the year the late varieties are already crystallized.

You can ask the seller to dip a wooden stick into it and lift it up to show how the liquid flows down. A stream of natural honey will be continuous, and a poor-quality product will create splashes. You can also check the quality of the product by rubbing a drop between your fingers. If you feel no lumps and it absorbs easily into the skin, this product is fresh and natural.

Taste and smell

Natural honey is moderately sweet and has a slightly tart taste. After tasting it, you will feel a slight sore throat. If you feel a caramel flavor, then it has been melted.

High-quality honey has a bright, fragrant aroma, and fake honey has almost no smell. However, it should be noted that there are also varieties that themselves have a faint smell, so you need to take this point into account when buying.

Weight

As for the weight? For example, a liter jar of honey will weigh about one and a half kilograms. If the jar is very light, most likely water has been added to the honey product.

Brief description of honey varieties

Buckwheat - in most cases, the color is rich brown or amber. It has a bright taste with bitterness, intense specific aroma. It contains many useful trace elements. It is used to treat various heart diseases, normalize blood pressure. A very valuable variety.
May - it has a yellow color, it tastes pleasant and sweet. The product does not crystallize for a long time. Has healing power. Considered medical, it is used to treat many diseases.
Linden - light yellow color. Transparent. It is considered useful in the fight against colds. It is considered to be a valuable variety. Increases endurance, develops memory, has immunostimulating properties. This type of bee collects during the flowering period of the tree.
Donnikovy - it belongs to the white varieties, it is almost colorless. It has a vanilla scent. Helps with infectious diseases, normalizes blood pressure.
Mustard - this variety has a rich gold color and an almost imperceptible smell. Treats joints, used for diseases of internal organs. This type of honey is also beneficial for the skin.
Acacia - the color is almost transparent. When candied, it becomes white. It has a special bright aroma, delicate taste. Almost never causes allergies, has a powerful tonic effect. This is a nectar that has been tested for many years. It is also used in diseases of the nervous system. It is considered one of the most valuable varieties.
Raspberry - in this form there are light colors. It contains many vitamins and has great nutritional value.
Clover - its colors range from light amber to rich. It has a very persistent aroma. It is used as a preventive measure for colds, as well as a general tonic. Helps in the treatment of burns.
Chestnut - can be light and dark. Contains various nutrients. It has an expressive aroma and a slightly bitter taste. Very useful for blood circulation. Also where else can it be used? Used for diseases of the stomach and kidneys.
Sunflower - has a bright yellow color, sometimes greenish. It contains a large amount of glucose. Thick, sweet and slightly sour. Useful for the heart, to strengthen the walls of blood vessels. Used for neuralgia, and also used as a diuretic.
Fireweed - transparent, has a greenish tint. Rich in many vitamins. Used for nervous diseases, for colds.
Hawthorn is a dark variety. It has a bitter taste and a very specific aroma. Rare view. The use is indicated for intense mental and physical exertion, for diseases of the heart and blood vessels, to stabilize pressure.
Motherwort - this variety is golden in color, with a sharp aroma. It is used for neurosis, insomnia, as well as in violation of metabolic processes in the body.
Burdock - this species has an olive color, fragrant aroma and original taste. It has highly effective medicinal properties. It is used as a strong antiseptic, as a diuretic. It should be noted that this product is able to prevent the development of cancer. Effective in dermatological diseases.
Wild - unfortunately this is a rarity. Bees that produce this product can be found most often in nature reserves.

More carefully, you can determine the quality of honey at home. To begin with, it should be said about what this valuable product consists of.

Composition of honey:

water;
glucose;
fructose;
sucrose;
vegetable protein;
enzymes;
essential oils.

Home methods for determining the quality of honey

Water. Put a little composition in heated water. If the product immediately melted, and did not remain a lump at the bottom, then it is natural. You can also add a spoonful of honey to tea - the color of the natural product will become darker.
Milk. Everything is simple here: milk will curdle if low-quality honey is added to it.
Iodine and vinegar. Pour into a glass of warm water, then add a spoonful of nectar. Next, add two drops of iodine there. If after a few minutes the water is blue, then starch has been added to it. The richer the color, the more starch in the product. You can add vinegar to water instead of iodine and find out if honey contains chalk. When present, the water will tend to sizzle. It should be noted that the admixture of chalk masks not the best state of the sweet product, and also increases its weight.
Bread. Spread honey on a piece of bread. The product will lie in an even layer, and will not drain from the edges, and the bread under a layer of a quality product will become harder. You can also put some bread in the bowl. If a couple of minutes later the bread softens, your product is not of high quality, sugar syrup has been added to it.
Paper. Take a piece of toilet paper, napkin or newspaper and put some honey on it. After a few minutes, turn the paper over and take a look. If a wet trace is found, it is not natural.
Indelible pencil. Put a drop of honey on paper (not too thick) and spread it. Take an indelible pencil and swipe over the area where the honey has been applied. If bluish streaks appear, your honey contains starch or flour used to thicken it.
Hot wire. Dip the wire into the composition and remove it back. If the wire remains clean, then there are no foreign impurities in the honey. If sticky accumulations remain on it, this indicates the opposite.
Ammonia. It will be checked like this. One part of honey should be mixed with two parts of water. Then you need to add a couple of drops of ammonia there and shake the mixture well. If it turns brown, it means that starch syrup has been added, which significantly takes away its most valuable properties.
Heat test. Hold a tablespoon of honey over the fire. A product containing impurities will ignite or char. If the product melts evenly, then this will indicate its authenticity.

Video: how to check the quality of honey at home, ways to check honey at home.

I would like to touch on the topic of testing honey for sugar in more detail. Unscrupulous beekeepers often feed sugar to bees or resort to adding sugar syrup to honey. There are also several ways to check for sugar.

if sugar is added to honey, it will give it the smell of sweet water. The taste will be cloying, and the color unnatural;
honey with the addition of sugar syrup is not tart, without aroma, perfectly transparent. During storage, it is gelatinous;
if you add a "sugar" product to tea, then this tea will become cloudy. When adding high-quality honey, the tea will only darken slightly. Natural bee product does not precipitate;
in hot milk, honey without adding sugar should dissolve and sink to the bottom of the container.

Checking the naturalness of honey by its consistency also deserves special attention.

Dip the spoon into the container of honey and swirl it several times. High-quality honey will not drain from it, will not spread over the surface, but will easily wind up. It will drain gradually, forming an even slide.
Dip a teaspoon into the honey, and then take it out and watch how the honey flows from it. Natural should flow in large drops, and most of it will remain on the spoon. Natural mature is very viscous, and unripe is liquid.
If candied honey is divided into a crystallized part and a liquid one, this also indicates its immaturity.

Thus, there are several signs of low-quality honey.

crystal transparency;
bright shine;
bitter, sour or caramel taste;
foam and bubbles;
lack of aroma;
unnaturally white color;
bundle.

Now you know how to determine the quality of honey at home. If for some reason you do not want to resort to the methods described above, then just wait a few months - time will put everything in its place.