How to Test the Purity of Honey
Image Source: Consciouscooking
Honey, an allergy alleviating, memory boosting, antibacterial, antifungal golden liquid that can help you with a range of things. Most prominently, it is a natural sweetener that can sweeten your herbal teas and help you stay on that diet. Besides that, it can help suppress a pesky cold or cough, or even help you sleep at night. But to reap all of these benefits, the purer the honey that you consume, the better. Whether you have a fancy chemistry lab, or just a spoon and a tumbler, you can test your honey to make sure it is pure.
- The good old trick
This one is an oldie but a goodie. Take a glass of water and put a table spoon of honey in it. If it goes down to the bottom of the glass in a straight line without fraying, it is good quality. Try mixing it with the water now. Pure honey is not dissolvable in water, whereas the adulterated versions are.
- Burn it up
This one is not for kids, but is still simple and DIY. Dip a cotton wick in honey, and light it. If it burns, your honey is pure. Or else, the presence of water in your honey will hinder it from burning or make a crackling sound when it does burn.
- Back to High School
If you missed the chemistry lab back at school, this is the way to relive it. Take some honey in a small ceramic vessel. Add 5-7 drops of Aniline Chloride to it, and stir it properly. If the honey is not pure, the mixture will take on a crimson color. If you have access to the chemical, this might be a fun thing to do. But be safe!
- But Remember
The granulation of honey is a significant factor. When in cool weather the sugar present in pure honey precipitates. It ends up looking like sugar crystals due to this precipitation. Honey with more sugar precipitates faster, which is mistaken for adulteration. This is not necessarily true. Keep the honey in hot water, and if it goes back to its original liquid state, it is pure.
Whether in your muesli, salad dressings, or cookies, honey is a great option to replace refined sugar with. It is loaded with nutrients, and is all natural. Using these tests, you can make sure that the honey you consume is the pure and good kind, packing a punch of health and nutrition in your diet!
Click here for different varieties of organic honey that you can relish.