Hope you're doing well. Today we're going to look at 4 ways to tell real honey apart from fake honey. Raw honey is honey in its purest form, packed with natural enzymes, antioxidants, and nutrients. However, the rise in popularity has led to an influx of fake honey—products filled with cheap fillers, artificial additives, and sugars that lack the health benefits of the real thing. Fake honey not only deceives consumers but can also pose health risks and support unethical practices. To ensure you're getting authentic raw honey, look for signs like a thicker consistency, crystallization, and natural flavor. Simple tests like the water or matchstick test can help you verify if your honey is the real deal, so you can enjoy all the natural goodness it has to offer.
What Does Raw Honey Mean?
If you’ve ever stood in the honey aisle at the supermarket, you might have wondered, “What exactly is raw honey?” Raw honey is honey in its purest form, straight from the honeycomb without any processing or pasteurization. Unlike regular honey that you often find in stores, raw honey retains all the:
Natural enzymes - which are proteins that help speed up metabolism, or the chemical reactions in our bodies.
Antioxidants - which is a substance that protects cells from the damage caused by free radicals (unstable molecules made by the process of oxidation during normal metabolism) and,
Nutrients - which are a chemical compounds in food that are used by the body to function properly and maintain health and the reason that makes honey a healthy choice.
It’s the real deal—natural, organic, and authentic, just the way nature intended.
But with the rising popularity of raw honey, there’s also been an increase in products that claim to be raw but aren’t. This brings us to a crucial question: how can you tell if the honey you’re buying is truly raw honey, or if it’s a cleverly disguised fake? If you want to know the 4 ways you can tell, feel free to scroll to the bottom, otherwise let's get into how you can avoid getting scammed.
Fake Honey: Avoid Getting Scammed
Fake honey is unfortunately a growing problem in the market. This honey-like product is often bulked up with cheap fillers, artificial flavors, and even dyes. It might look like raw honey on the outside, but it’s far from the real thing. Instead of being made by honey bees, fake honey is concocted in factories using glucose syrups, inverted sugar solutions, and various other sweeteners like corn, cane, and beet syrups.
The problem with fake honey goes beyond just deception. It lacks the authentic taste, texture, and aroma that make natural honey so special. Moreover, because it’s loaded with additives and lacks the natural benefits of real honey, it doesn’t provide the same health benefits.
Why Getting Fake Honey Has Negative Implications
When you purchase fake honey, you’re not just missing out on the nutritional benefits of real raw honey—you could also be putting your health at risk. Fake honey often contains high levels of sugars that can spike your blood sugar levels and contribute to other health issues. Plus, the artificial additives and high water content in fake honey mean it can spoil more easily, sometimes leading to an unpleasant sour taste or even spoilage.
On a broader scale, buying fake honey supports unethical practices in the industry, where producers cut corners to maximize profits. This not only harms consumers but also threatens the livelihoods of genuine beekeepers who produce authentic, high-quality raw honey.
Fake vs Real Raw Honey
Now that we know the dangers of fake honey, how can you tell the difference between fake and real raw honey? Here are some common signs to look out for:
Adulteration and Dilution
Fake honey is often diluted with water or cheaper syrups to increase its volume. This results in a product that’s thin and runny, lacking the rich, viscous texture of raw honey. Real raw honey is thicker and more opaque because it hasn’t been filtered or watered down.
Volume
One of the tricks used by producers of fake honey is to add cheaper syrups to bulk up the volume, making it appear like you’re getting more for your money. However, this means you’re paying for a diluted product with little to no nutritional value. Real honey, on the other hand, might come in smaller jars, but it’s packed with all the goodness that natural honey should have.
Artificial Additives
Fake honey often contains artificial colors and flavors to mimic the appearance and taste of natural honey. However, these additives can’t replicate the complex, rich flavors that come from real raw honey. Authentic honey has a unique flavor profile that varies depending on the flowers the bees have visited, something that can’t be faked in a factory.
Here’s What You Can Do to Check the Legitimacy!
If you’re ever in doubt about whether your honey is real or fake, there are a few simple tests you can try at home:
Water Test:
How to do it: Take a teaspoon of honey and drop it into a glass of water.
What to look for: If the honey is real, it will sink to the bottom of the glass and stay there in a thick blob. Fake or adulterated honey, on the other hand, will dissolve quickly in the water because it contains added sugars or syrups that mix easily.
Why it works: Authentic raw honey has a thicker consistency and doesn’t mix well with water. Its density allows it to settle at the bottom, while fake honey, often diluted with water or syrup, dissolves faster.
Finger Test:
How to do it: Put a small drop of honey on your finger and observe how it behaves.
What to look for: Real honey will stay in place and hold its form. It has a thicker consistency and won’t run off your finger. If the honey spreads quickly or feels overly runny, it's likely been mixed with other liquids, indicating it's not pure.
Why it works: Raw, authentic honey is naturally thicker due to its high sugar concentration and lack of added water. Fake honey tends to have a thinner, more liquid consistency because of added ingredients that dilute it.
Crystallization:
How to do it: Store your honey at room temperature or cooler and check its texture after a while.
What to look for: Real raw honey will naturally crystallize over time, forming solid crystals that make it look thicker or grainy. This is a completely natural process and doesn’t affect the quality of the honey. If your honey remains syrupy for an extended period, even in cooler temperatures, it might not be pure.
Why it works: Crystallization is a natural process for raw honey due to the natural sugars (mainly glucose) present. Fake honey, often containing added sugars and syrups, won't crystallize the same way.
Matchstick Test:
How to do it: Dip an unlit matchstick into the honey, then try to strike it on the matchbox.
What to look for: Real honey will allow the matchstick to ignite easily. Fake honey, which often has a higher water content, will make the matchstick too damp to light.
Why it works: Raw honey has low water content, so it won’t interfere with the ignition of the matchstick. Fake honey, with added moisture, will prevent the matchstick from lighting because the excess water dampens it.
These tests can help you ensure that the honey you’re consuming is authentic and packed with all the benefits of natural raw honey.
In a market flooded with fake products, it’s more important than ever to know how to spot authentic raw honey. By understanding the differences between fake and real honey, you can make informed choices that benefit your health and support ethical honey producers. Remember, real raw honey is more than just a sweetener—it’s a natural, organic treasure straight from the honey bees to your table. So next time you’re shopping for honey, use these tips to ensure you’re getting the real deal.
Citations:
National Cancer Institute (2011). https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/antioxidant. [online] www.cancer.gov. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/antioxidant.