One of the most challenging things for someone who is just starting to cook is telling the difference between pure and impure honey. It’s not as easy as you’d think! So, in this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps you need to take to tell if your pure honey is really original.
Let’s get started!
The purity of honey can be verified at home.
You can tell if your honey is pure or impure by dissolving a spoonful of it in water. If the honey dissolves, it’s original. If it doesn’t dissolve, it’s impure.
If the honey does dissolve but later recrystallizes into crystals, it was at one point authentic and has since been contaminated (most likely by pesticides).
If properly stored, pure honey should never change its consistency or color.
If properly stored, pure honey should never change its consistency or color. If it does, that suggests that it’s not pure after all.
Original honey should not crystallize or become lumpy or solidify. It should remain thick and have a less dense consistency than impure honey; if you can quickly spread it on bread, it’s probably impure. Pure honey is also sweeter than other sugar-water mixtures (like maple syrup), so if your taste buds detect a sourness in the flavor of your product, then the chances are good that you’ve got some impurities. In there somewhere!
Pure honey should not crystallize or become lumpy or solidify.
Crystallization is when the honey becomes solid or lumpy. This is not a sign of impurity and can happen with authentic and impure honey, but it’s more common in pure honey because of its higher sugar, water, and minerals concentration.
Original honey is thicker than impure honey and has a less dense consistency.
If you’re looking for pure honey, the thickness of your product is an easy way to tell. The texture and consistency of the two types of honey will likely be very different, even if they look identical. Pure honey has a thicker consistency than impure alternatives like syrup or molasses, which means that when spread on toast, it will remain in place instead of dripping off the edges. Honeycomb is also less dense than other impure honey because it contains more air bubbles; this makes it lighter and softer in texture compared with different types of impure honey.
Pure honey should not taste sour but instead have a sweetish taste.
Original honey should not taste sour but instead have a sweetish taste. Imported honey may have a more acidic or bitter taste. This is because it has been stored at high temperatures and not appropriately treated by the importers before being shipped to the United States. This can cause oxidation and other chemical reactions that result in an off-taste.
Conclusion
We hope this has been helpful. As we mentioned, even the most reputable brands can be prone to impurities (and even mislabeling), so it’s essential for you to as a consumer to know what you’re looking for when buying honey from the market.
