How to Know if Your Wild Honey Bee is Pure?

Honey is considered to be the “elixir of life” by some. It is such a miracle product that is antioxidant-rich, has numerous immunity-boosting benefits, and all the while never spoiling. However, this superfood’s quality must be a pure wild honey bee to get the best out of it. Once adulterated, it will lose the benefits that come along with it. Consumers may not notice right away but adding sugar, corn starch, glucose solution, or food coloring is commonly done to tamper honey’s quality. Hence, we need to verify if it is indeed a pure wild honey bee, and it might not be as easy as it seems at just a glance.

Benefits of Pure Wild Honey Bee

One of the reasons why honey must be pure is because it contains an array of plant chemicals that act as antioxidants. Research shows that antioxidant compounds in honey may play a role in preventing heart disease. Another study found out that raw honey can kill unwanted bacteria and fungus as it naturally contains hydrogen peroxide, an antiseptic. 

It is also a very popular remedy for colds and sore throats, as well as it also works as a cough suppressant. Research has suggested that honey is as effective as dextromethorphan, a common ingredient in over-the-counter cough medication. Among others, it is also a common agent for weight-loss missions.

All of these we can get from one product! Of course, we wouldn’t want to miss any of its benefits that’s why we must only consume a legit pure wild honey bee. As the risk of adulteration runs high, here are five simple and effective ways to check if your wild honey bee is pure, right at the comfort of your home.

Different ways to check the purity of your Wild Honey Bee

A good way to know is that a pure wild honey bee is inflammable. Before performing this test, exercise caution and do it at your own risk. To do this test, dip a dry matchstick or cotton bud in honey. Strike the matchstick against the matchbox or light it with flame. If it burns, that means the quality of your honey is pure. On the other hand, adulterated honey might not show consistent results or burn properly, since moisture or fermentation might have affected its quality.

One of the properties of a pure wild honey bee is that it does not completely dissolve in water. Since it has a more dense texture, it will just settle right at the bottom of the glass as lumps when put in water. You may try this by putting a teaspoon of honey in a glass full of water. You can observe that tampered or adulterated honey will dissolve easily. The same is the case with blotting paper or a white cloth. If you pour pure honey on the two, it will not get absorbed or leave stains.

As mentioned, a pure wild honey bee is dense, sticks to the surface it is applied to, and doesn't drip away. You may try this by placing a small amount of honey on your thumb and check if spills or spreads around like any other liquid. If it is runny, then it may not be pure.

A pure wild honey bee will also caramelize quickly and not become foamy when heated. Hence, a good way to differentiate impure honey is that it may not caramelize and otherwise become bubbly if exposed to heat. 

Vinegar and honey are known to mix well together. To do this test, mix a tablespoon of honey, some water, and 2-3 drops of vinegar. If the mixture starts to foam, it might be a sign that the quality of your honey is tampered with.

A lot of the differences between pure and adulterated honey can also be identified by examining its other physical properties. One distinction is that the taste of impure honey may linger due to the presence of added sugar. On the other hand, raw honey often leaves a slight tingling feeling or a mild burning sensation in your throat when consumed. It also has a soft texture, will never separate into layers, and offers a distinctly sweet aroma. 

It is easy nowadays to cheat consumers with the quality of commercial products such as honey. Those honey products labeled as ‘organic or ‘natural’ might not be as safe as we thought they’d be. A lot of benefits can go away during the production stage if it goes through adulteration and tampering. Thus, these are easy and convenient hacks to spot fake honey from pure honey the next time you buy one from the market.