Know How to Test For Pure Honey [Infographic]

Pure honey, as you know, comes directly from honeybees and not factories. We, at Zizira, know which is authentic honey as we work with beekeepers and source honey directly from them. You can read more about us and about our region.

Read our story – how our conscious business is making a difference to the community of farmers of our state, Meghalaya, in the Northeast corner of India.

What if you want to know if the honey you bought is pure?

By examining the physical qualities of original pure honey, it is easy to know whether it is pure or not.

To relish the taste and enjoy all the benefits derived from honey, one must consider consuming only the purest honey. Here are a few simple tests and experiments that you can perform at home to verify the purity of honey.

Before you carry out any test you must make sure to read the lables on the container. It is the first and the most basic step to check the purity of honey. It is mandatory for manufacturers to mention the additions of flavouring, colouring, artificial sweeteners etc. So you can scrutinize the lable for checking the purity of the honey.

If you are buying honey directly from beekeepers, then you are buying raw, unprocessed and original honey. We recommend you learn the difference between fake and pure or original honey.

Here Are a Few Tests You Can Do at Home to Check the Purity of Honey:

1. The Thumb Test: A simple test to check the purity of honey. Put a small drop of the honey on your thumbnail. Check if it spills or spreads. If it spreads, then the honey is impure since pure honey will stay intact on your thumb.
2. The Water Test: This is a test using water to spot impure honey. Simply fill a glass of water and add a teaspoon of honey into the glass. Adulterated or impure honey will easily dissolve in water and you will see it around the glass. On the other hand, original honey will settle right at the bottom of the glass.
3. The Flame Test: Pure honey is flammable and to check if the honey is 100 % pure, try this test! Start by taking a matchstick and dip the tip of the matchstick with honey. Strike the matchstick on the matchbox to see if it lights. If the honey is pure then the matchstick will easily light up and the honey will keep burning. But if the honey is impure it will not light up as it contains moisture.
4. The Blot test: A test to see if the honey is diluted with water using a blotting paper. Put a few drops of honey on a blotting paper. It may be absorbed or leave a wet mark on the paper. Both pure and impure honey will not be absorbed but impure honey will leave a wet mark.

Download the 6 Health Benefits of Honey Infographic.

Note: Know that these tests are not 100% accurate. Although these tests are based on true principles, the results may be inconclusive.

You can read The Ethics of Beekeeping Here.

Here is an infographic to further determine the purity of honey. These are simple ways by which an average day to day consumer can quickly tell if the honey he/she is buying is pure or impure.

Difference Between Pure or Original Honey and Impure Honey Infographic

Interesting, don’t you think? What method did you try to check the purity of honey?

Or do you know of any other test to check the the purity of honey?

You may like this story of a farmer who talks to bees.