Liquid Gold: choose honey

Find high-quality honey in the stores and markets is not easy. It is difficult to collect, but it is very easy to fake: in the course are chemical additives, glucose syrup, sugar syrup and just even tougher components - clay, chalk and gypsum. How to distinguish the natural product from a fake?

Honey in jar

If honey is sold in sealed, assess its quality buyer is extremely difficult. However humbly hope for honesty manufacturers is not: there are some tricks that will help you not to be trapped

Natural honey is liquid and crystallized ("Grounded"). Crystallization time depends on the flowers from which nectar is collected, and the temperature at which the honey is stored. Most varieties of honey crystallizes in November-December. Buying candied honey (it consists of small crystals and looks like melted butter), you can be assured that it's real.

With liquid honey complicated. Look closely to him in natural bee honey clearly visible particles of wax and pollen. And never buy honey, if you see that the bank was formed two layers: the denser and more liquid at the bottom of the top - this is an obvious fake.

Only a few varieties of honey (heather, acacia, chestnut, in which more fructose than others) remain liquid until spring. Natural liquid honey middle of winter - a rarity, so you should be careful when buying: you can slip or artificial or sugar (obtained by feeding bees with sugar), and most of all - has undergone heat treatment. "Grounded" honey, warmed up to 40 degrees and above, again becomes fluid, but loses almost all useful properties. And the taste of his sickly caramel.

Honey packaged weighted

If you buy honey in the filling or packaged weighted, assess its quality is much easier.

You should not stop your choice on heavily compacted honeys - they look like monoliths frozen butter or sugar lumps sherbet, they are difficult to even cut with a knife. This product is absolutely not collected in this and maybe not even in the last year. What's wrong with this honey? The fact that it contains unknown components you need. The fact that honey during storage actively absorbs moisture and odors. Where is the guarantee that he kept in good conditions?

By the way, by weight of honey, you can determine how well it was kept and not diluted with water: kilogram shall be placed in a jar volume of 0.8 liters (and if you do not fit, then it is too much water).

However, the most important thing - to try honey.

Qualitative honey evenly, without residue is dissolved in the mouth, on the tongue should not be hard crystals or icing sugar. In addition, it is always a little bit tart and "pulls" the throat.

But the healing properties of honey (in soothing pustyrnikovogo or cough in raspberry and lime) at the counter check will fail. However, at home, swallow some honey, you will feel its effects: for example, from crimson you throw in the pot; If it does not, then, from raspberry honey the same name.

A few little tricks

Stir a tablespoon of honey in a glass of clean hot water. Honey without additional impurities completely dissolved; if you then add a bit of alcohol, the solution is not to stir up, will remain completely transparent (except in this case will only honeydew honey from coniferous trees).

There is another way - a drop of honey sprinkled with a pinch of starch. If the starch will remain on top of the yellow droplets white cap - a great honey; If it does not - before you fake.

Finally. Buy honey from a beekeeper manufacturer. Then you'll know exactly what to earth in a month of summer or spring is collected amber treasure that gives us health and pleasure