Honey is a sweet substance made by honey bees from nectar or honeydew. Stored in the hive, the honey serves them food especially during bad weather. This delicious product has always been very important in ancient cultures, it has served both to sweeten food or to beautify the skin. It remains today one of the most indispensable and effective foods, but still it must be pure! Here's how to recognize a fake of pure honey.
A public study by Safety News proposed a rather worrying finding about honey: up to 76% of all honey types available in supermarkets were ultrafiltered. It is a process that removes impurities such as traces of wax, including pollen. Manufacturers say that this type of filtration is necessary to avoid crystallizing honey and at the same time increase the shelf life of the product. Few people are aware that pollen is very important and beneficial for our body.
What is pollen?
Pollen is an extremely minute and microscopic particle from the stamens of the flowers to fertilize the pistils. All plants with flowers produce pollen but are different from plant to plant. Although pollen is not a plant, it is still used in herbal medicine.
The benefits of pollen for the body
Pollen makes it possible to:
- Effectively fight against fatigue, whether physical or psychological
- Increase the performance of the body
- Improve memory especially in adults
- Stimulate the immune system
- Prevent infections
- Treat digestive disorders including constipation.
- This so effective substance is well present in pure honey, making it a food with excellent health benefits. It is therefore important to be able to recognize a pure honey of a fake.
Here's how to recognize a fake honey
The best reason to avoid honey which has undergone ultrafiltration process is the impossibility to determine the geographical origin of honey, because in case of pollen contamination, the origin must be analyzed and traced.
Below are some easy tips for recognizing fake honey:
Always read the label on honey and check for commercial glucose or high fructose corn syrup, which should be avoided.
Add a few drops of iodine to a glass of water and pour in honey. If your honey turns blue, it has been mixed with cornstarch.
Add a few drops of vinegar to a mixture of water and honey. If you see foam, your honey has been contaminated with plaster.
Burn the honey with phosphor or a match can show if it is a pure honey or not because if it ignites, it is pure!
Take a glass of water and place a spoon of honey in it. If honey does not dissolve, it is pure because fake honey dissolves in water.
In addition to its impressive qualities, honey can contain medicinal properties depending on the flower from which it comes. Oak honey is the richest in trace elements while orange honey is recommended against nervous problems, migraines and insomnia.
Here is a list of the most famous honeys
Rosemary Honey: Also called "Honey of Narbonne", it is considered by the Romans as the best in the world. This honey is white in color and is very rare.
Vosges fir honey: Very dark in color, it comes from the honeydew on the fir branches.
Honey thyme: Among the most virtuous honey medicinally. It is dark orange and has a strong and powerful aroma, it is very rich in copper. This honey is recognized for the prevention of infectious, respiratory and digestive diseases as well as for its healing power.
Manuka honey: The shrub Manuka grows wild in New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania. Manuka honey contains an antibacterial and antiseptic property 10 times higher than other honeys. A teaspoon in the morning in winter takes you away from almost all the diseases of winter.
Pitcairn honey: It comes from a British island in the Pacific Ocean, it is considered the rarest and purest in the world because there is no pollution in this island.