Priyanka Sambhav
Honey is known to have tonnes of right nutrients. It is rich in minerals and is laced with antibacterial properties. Honey plays an important role in boosting our immunity and has a permanent place in our household. A mild cold- cough or itchy sore throat- the easiest and effective go-to home remedy is honey with ginger or tulsi. Are you trying to cut down on calories and sugar intake? Honey comes to your rescue. In the present pandemic situation as well people are banking on honey as the immunity booster agent.
How ‘sweet’ is your honey?
Honey is one of the most wanted ingredients at present. Given the heightened demand, honey has also become the most adulterated product of its time. A Centre for Science and Environment(CSE) investigation highlighted almost all the big brands selling honey in the Indian market is adulterated with sugar. The trigger behind this investigation was when CSE team met a few beekeepers who complained about a dip in earnings. It came as a surprise. At one hand, honey has attained the stature of a superfood, but the people who are making it were just giving an opposite story. CSE investigated it further and conducted an NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy) test to check the sugar level of honey and all the significant brands failed this test, pointing toward a high presence of modified sugar.
Consuming adulterated honey over a long period can harm your health too. So next time when you buy honey you can run any of these 3 simple test at home to check the purity of honey.
Water Test
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recommends this simple test which requires only a glass of water. Take a glass of water and a spoon of honey in it. If the honey sits down in the glass that means the honey is pure but if it starts dissolving in water, then you should avoid this honey. The dissolved honey is an indication that honey is adulterated.
Vinegar Test
Vinegar can also help in spotting fake honey. To perform this test, you need to mix vinegar and honey, and you will get ou answer in about a minute or 2. Mix a few drops of honey in a glass with a mix of vinegar and water. If the mixture starts showing a layer of frothy formation, then this is not a good sign. No foaming means that honey is fine and good to consume.
Heat Test
When pure honey is exposed to heat or flame it will never burn itself. So dip a small twig or a stick in honey and then light it with a lighter. If the honey starts to burn then you should keep a good distance from this honey.
