3 Tests to Check if Your Honey is Pure or Fake

We all know that honey has a lot of health benefits, which is mainly due to the large number of vitamins and minerals that it contains. However, this is only true in pure honey and a lot of what you find at the supermarket is not pure honey.

A lot of times, honey is mixed with glucose solutions or other honey with a high amount of water. This process is called being adulterated and it takes away from the health benefits that you receive from home. So, how can you tell if your honey is pure? Today we will discuss just that.

1. Solidification of the Honey

Take a look at the bottle and see what the honey inside of it looks like. Overtime, all honey will crystallize into something looking like granulated sugar. If it is crystallized in the store, this is pure honey. If it is liquid, you could wait to see if it solidifies. Putting it in the refrigerator will speed up that process. If your honey never turns into crystals, then it is likely that you do not have pure honey on your hands.

2. Read the Label

Before you purchase any products, you should always learn to read labels. Make sure that the ingredient list of the honey does not contain high-fructose corn syrup or glucose. These are two substances that are usually added to honey that keep it from solidifying. Companies also add this to the honey so that they get more honey out of their batch.

3. Test It

There are other ways to test to see if your honey is pure:

Mix some honey with water, then add four or five drops of vinegar. If the liquid turns foamy, that is not pure honey. It may have a substance called gypsum added to it.

Mix a tablespoon of honey with water. If the honey dissolves easily, it is not pure, as pure honey should remain intact when dipped into water.

Use a match to try and burn the honey, as pure honey will light up and burn due to the sugar content. Other low-quality honey usually contains water that will prevent it from lighting and burning.

Put some honey onto a spoon and hold it up. If the honey falls quickly, then this is not pure honey. Good quality, pure honey, will stay on the spoon or fall ever so slowly.

Use a small piece of old, stale bread and put it in honey. Leave it in for ten minutes and then pull it out of the honey. If the bread is still hard, then you have pure honey. If the honey has added water, the bread will be soggy.

You can also use iodine to identify impure honey. Just mix honey, water and a few drops of iodine. If the mixture turns blue, then the honey has some sort of added flour or starch in it.

Testing your honey will ensure that you have pure, unadulterated honey that will provide you with the health benefits of honey that you know of and care about. Do you buy honey often? Did you know that honey can be tampered with by manufacturer’s to better meet their bottom line, rather than your health? Sound off in our comment section to continue this discussion.
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Disclaimer: The materials and the information contained on Natural Cures channel are provided for general and educational purposes only and do not constitute any legal, medical or other professional advice on any subject matter. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new diet or treatment and with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, promptly contact your health care provider.

[satpalmodinagar]

In India all big companies are failed in pure honey test.

[NaturallyNellzy]

Well, there goes a bottle of “honey” in the trash.

[mehmetyucesoy]

There are several ways of playing trick. Adding sugar or syrup are not the only ones. Experienced bee keepres put sugar solutions near bee hives and let bee suck up sugar and prepare honey that contains zero pollens. That is also called pure honey, technically speaking. However, it does not contain any pollen at all and also do not have any health benefits. These tests are good for testing if there are additives after harvesting honey. Sugar feeding can not be determined by these methods. You need to check the pollen content.

[zaki]

This is the reason why i have to buy my honey only from the local farmers .

[jeffclark]

In reading some of the other comments after I submitted mine, One of the things you want to do is get your honey as local as you can, at least from your state, that way the bees are collecting local pollen and it has more benefits for you also rather than getting honey from out of the state or country…jc

[thomasmeadors]

WE have a local farm that sells pure unfiltered honey. Unfiltered is the best type as it still contains the pollens and has not been pasteurized killing or weakening the good parts of honey. Also you might look at your honey for an expiration date. Real, unfiltered, unadulterated, unpasteurized honey will last forever. Honey has been found in the Egyptian tombs of pharaohs that was over 3000 years old and still good in their sealed containers.

[Linnie]

This is so helpful. I've four bottles of so called pure forest honey, and it turns out with the burning test and falling test, I have 4 bottles of fake honey. How can they do this? What if you are allergic or something?

[irishelk]

Thanks. I’m from Ireland. I have tonnes of flowers in my garden and love watching the honey and bumblebees buzzing around all day. I bought a Portuguese honey, got the regular one first, liked it, then I got the bitter one by accident. It’s not a nice taste, so have left it lying around for ages and it’s almost completely solid now though.

[KalanYore]

At least I get a better understanding of what you post and also an understanding through the USDA Honey Grading system and from what Sue Bee Honey had responded to an inquiry of their manufacturing process and other details...


USDA Honey Grading

The USDA publishes a grading system for extracted honey that provides general standards for two types of honey;

1. Filtered Honey: all or most of the fine particles, pollen grains, air bubbles, or other materials normally found in suspension, have been removed.

2. Strained Honey: strained to the extent that most of the particles, including comb, propolis, or other defects normally found in honey, have been removed. Grains of pollen, small air bubbles, and very fine particles would not normally be removed.

Characteristics covered by the USDA grading system for Honey: Moisture content, absence of defects, flavor & aroma and clarity (for filtered honey). Color is defined but not part of the calculation of grade. For imported honey that bears USDA grading information, the country of origin must be declared.

Characteristics Not covered by the USDA honey grading system:
It is important to note that this is a voluntary system. No enforcement or checking is performed. For that reason and because of the grading system is lacking in several key areas, this grading system should never be the only deciding factor in selecting honey, there are many important honey characteristics not covered by the USDA grading system. Two honeys could be legally graded as Grade A honey and be identically labeled as, “100% Organic Clover Honey from Arizona – USDA Grade A” yet be entirely different honeys. They could be a blend of honeys from all over the world, some heated to 180 degrees to make it easy to filter, contain antibiotics, chemicals and corn syrup, not made from Clover at all nor actually be from plants in Arizona!

Also note that from the USDA Rules and Regulations, “…honey does not require official inspection in order to carry official USDA grade marks and since there are no existing programs that require the official inspection and certification of honey, …”

Not covered: Purity or added ingredients (sugar or syrups), heating, contaminants, authenticity of labeling (natural, organic, raw, unheated), biological source (floral, honeydew), botanical source (Arcacia, Clover etc.), or regional source. Many of these factors are defined and followed for honeys from other countries (Europe, Australia, New Zealand) and supported via honey standards and labeling, but are not part of a grading system per se. For honey from the United States, the best policy for determining the level of quality is to purchase honey directly from the honey farmer or a trusted distributor or supplier who can vouch for the honey source and processing methods. It is important to note that some states are now considering enforcing standards for honey produced in their state. Florida is the first state to actually create and enforce a honey identity standard. Other states with honey standards: California – scroll to Division 13. Bee Management and Honey Production. Wisconsin and North Carolina are close to adopting a standard.

USDA Honey Grading Standard
– U.S. Grade A is the quality of extracted honey that meets the applicable requirements of Table A and has a minimum total score of 90 points.

– U.S. Grade B is the quality of extracted honey that meets the applicable requirements of Table A and has a minimum total score of 80 points.

– U.S. Grade C is the quality of extracted honey that meets the applicable requirements of Table A and has a minimum total score of 70 points.

Table A: Rating Factors By Type of Honey** †
Rating Factor Filtered Filtered Points Strained Strained Points
Moisture Content Y Grade A – 18.6% max
Grade B – 18.6% max
Grade C – 20% max Y Grade A – 18.6% max
Grade B – 18.6% max
Grade C – 20% max
Absence of Defects Y A – 37 to 40 pts
B* – 34 to 36 pts
C* – 31 to 33 pts
Y A – 37 to 40 pts
B* – 34 to 36 pts
C* – 31 to 33 pts
Flavor & Aroma Y A – 45 to 50 pts
B* – 40 to 44 pts
C* – 35 to 39 pts
Y A – 45 to 50 pts
B* – 40 to 44 pts
C* – 35 to 39 pts
Clarity Y A – 8 to 10 pts
B – 6 to 7 pts
C* – 4 to 5 pts
N N/A
Color (see designations below) N N/A N N/A
Total Grade A – Min 90 pts
Grade B – Min 80 pts
Grade C – Min 70 pts
Divide total by .9 then apply below
Grade A – Min 90 pts
Grade B – Min 80 pts
Grade C – Min 70 pts
*Limiting rule – sample units with score points that fall in this range shall not be graded above the respective grade regardless of the total score.
**Substandard grades not shown
† How to Interpret Table A:

Moisture Content: Percentage of water. Percentage of soluble solids =100% – moisture content%
Grade A – Maximum Moisture Content: 18.6%; or Minimum Percent Soluble Solids: 81.4%
Grade B – Maximum Moisture Content: 18.6%; or Minimum Percent Soluble Solids: 81.4%
Grade C – Maximum Moisture Content: 20%; or Minimum Percent Soluble Solids: 80%
Absence of Defects: Means the degree of freedom from particles of comb, propolis, or other defects which may be in suspension or deposited as sediment in the honey.
Grade A – 37 to 40 points; Practically free – practically none that affect appearance or edibility
Grade B – 34 to 36 points; Reasonably free – do not materially affect the appearance or edibility
Grade C – 31 to 33 points; Fairly free – do not seriously affect the appearance or edibility
Flavor & Aroma: The degree of taste excellence and aroma for the predominant floral source
Grade A – 45 to 50 points; Good – free from caramelization, smoke, fermentation, chemicals, and other causes.
Grade B – 40 to 44 points; Reasonably good – practically free from caramelization; free from smoke, fermentation, chemicals, and other causes.
Grade C – 35 to 39 points; Fairly good – reasonably free from caramelization; free from smoke, fermentation, chemicals, and other causes.
Clarity: With respect to filtered style only, the apparent transparency or clearness of honey to the eye and to the degree of freedom from air bubbles, pollen grains, or other fine particles of any material suspended in the product
Grade A – 8 to 10 points: Clear – may contain air bubbles that do not materially affect the appearance; may contain a trace of pollen grains or other finely divided particles in suspension that do not affect appearance.
Grade B – 6 to 7 points: Reasonably clear – may contain air bubbles, pollen grains, or other finely divided particles in suspension that do not materially affect the appearance.
Grade C – 4 to 5 points: Fairly clear – may contain air bubbles, pollen grains, or other finely divided particles in suspension that do not seriously the affect the appearance.
Color designations (not used for grading): Typically the color indicates the strength of the flavor of the honey. Darker honey tends to be stronger than light. There are some exceptions. Linden or Basswood honey is light in color but has a strong flavor, while Tulip Tree honey is dark but has a milder flavor.
Water White: Honey that is Water White or lighter in color; Pfund Scale: 8 or less; Optical Density: 0.0945
Extra White: Honey that is darker than Water White; but not darker than Extra White in color.Pfund Scale: Over 8 to and including 17;Optical Density: 189
White: Honey that is darker than Extra White, but not darker than White in color; Pfund Scale: Over 17 to and including 34; Optical Density: .378
Extra Light Amber: Honey that is darker than White, but not darker than Extra light Amber in color; Pfund Scale: Over 34 to and including 50; Optical Density: 595
Light Amber: Honey that is darker than Extra Light Amber, but not darker than light Amber in color; Pfund Scale: Over 50 to and including 85; Optical Density: 1.389
Amber: Honey that is darker than light Amber, but not darker than Amber in color; Pfund Scale: Over 85 to and including 114; Optical Density: 3.008
Dark Amber: Honey that is darker than Amber in color; Pfund Scale: Over 114

[nataliehidalgo]

I just got some Sapimiel sunflower honey that is amazing. It looks like spun gold. Very thick and tastes so different than the clover honey I have been using. I love it when honey crystallizes, it makes it so much easier to spread on toast.

[myartinjon]

If you add sucrose (Table sugar) to honey or honey bees be fed with white sugar, honey produced in process could crystallize as well, you may consider other ways to detect for .honey purity.

[qunaaqsteenholdt]

I only buy if the label says raw honey, unpasteurized and unfiltered...

[SalemBashwar]

I am a healthy diabetic for last 28 years and consume honey one table spoon daily. If glucose level goes up then I stop that brand.

[stavrosironmaiden]

IM SO HAPPY I HAVE MY OWN BEES AND THE HONEY THEY MAKE IS THE BEST HONEY IVE EVER TASTED.
IT LOOKS DARK AND ITS THICK AND ALSO HAS A SMOKEY FLAVOUR

[colleenasteevesbos]

Ai look fr honey from those who are bee farmers. There I know they have pure Hun. I have asked in the PST to observe the process that they have to make sure it's ready for consumption. It's an amazing process and there's no water or my additives. Plus the high price indicates this as well these farmers have all kinds in information available. It's smells and tastes so different from nothing you buy the stores. Bee farmers are very proud of the products that the can get from there bees and can answer any question you have for them. You can see the pride in their faces as they speak.

[istp]

Always go to the local farmers market and buy the local stuff, it actually cures your hayfever too; because it's made from local pollins and nectars -- which is what's making you sneeze ... so always get the local.

[benjiyamamoto]

Thank you for the adivce. also, what about people with food allergies? additives can trigger allergies

[Bincyness]

Thank God. I was about to throw away a bottle of honey thinking it's fake. Just now went through this video to check if its real. It passed all the tests I did.

[robertcole]

Thanks.  I didn't realize some of this.  Just trusted the labels.  If you have any other ways of testing the purity of other products.. Please share it.  Again.. Thanks.

[terrygaedchens]

I add pollen granules to tea and cereal along with store bought "raw honey". This improves the taste, and boosts my vital energy and stamina.