Tips for testing the authenticity of honey

We all know that there are many kinds of honey sold on the market. Some of them are indeed mixed with many ingredients and are not real honey. So when buying honey, we can also use some small methods to distinguish the authenticity of the honey. We can use cold water identification method, hot water identification method, and bubble identification method, etc., so that we can quickly know the authenticity of the honey.

1. Cold water identification method

Prepare a glass bottle or mineral water bottle, first take a spoonful of honey and add it into the bottle, then pour in 1/3 tap water or cold boiled water, cover the bottle cap and shake the bottle vigorously for a while, and let it stand and observe: if a large amount of foam appears on the top layer of the honey water in the bottle, and the foam does not subside for a long time, and gas rushes out when the bottle cap is opened, it can be identified as real honey. If the above phenomenon does not occur, it is fake honey. The liquid of fake honey will be very clear after being shaken vigorously, while real honey will become turbid. The amount of foam is related to the ratio of honey to water. The more honey you add, the more foam there will be.

2. Hot water identification method

Dilute it with 40-60 degree hot water, and real honey will have a sour taste, with a sweet taste mixed with a slight sourness. The taste of fake honey does not change at all, there is only a sweet taste, nothing but sweet.

3. Turbidity identification method

Because pure honey contains a large amount of biological enzymes, proteins, minerals, pollen, etc., the honey does not look very transparent and may be a little turbid. The three bottles of honey shown in the picture below are all real honey, which appear opaque and turbid in the sunlight. Fake honey, on the other hand, is mixed with a large amount of syrup and has a single ingredient, so it appears transparent and not turbid. Before buying honey, we can hold the bottle up to the light or sunlight.

4. Bubble identification method

This method is different from the above-mentioned method of identifying with clean water. You don't need to add clean water. Just shake the bottle vigorously a few times. If a large number of tiny bubbles can be produced, it is real honey, and if a large number of bubbles cannot be produced, it is fake honey. The principle is that real honey contains a protein called glucose oxidase, which decomposes unstable hydrogen peroxide, which easily decomposes oxygen and produces bubbles when shaken. Fake honey contains little or no this protein, and the bubble identification method is applicable to liquid honey.