While looking at my bear-shaped honey container...I wondered, googled and and found out - honey does not spoil! The honey found in the tomb of King Tut was still edible!
talaga ha? hmm..coz I just usually buy like Sue Bee clover honey off the shelves here (well actually, it was for my dad who visited, I normally don't really take a lot of sugar, brown or white when I drink my tea unless I put milk in)...
I've not come across honey I bought na may ingredient na sugar listed on its back...hmm...
come to think of it, when I was in Cebu, and we were walking on the sidewalks near Fuente Osmena...there was a man who looked to be selling honeycombs...ewan lang if it was a true one...
* Get a glass of water. This and a tablespoon of honey are all you need for the first test.
* Empty the honey into the water. If the honey is impure, it will dissolve in the water- the most common additive to honey is syrup of jaggery, which dissolves. If it is pure, the honey will stick together and sink as a solid lump to the bottom of the glass.
* This test can also be completed by mixing equal parts honey and methylated spirits (denatured alcohol). Pure honey will settle to the bottom. Impure honey is more likely to remain dissolved and make the solution milky.
o The flame test.
* Get a lighter and a candle with a cotton wick. This test is better if you don’t have as much honey to spare.
* Dip the cotton wick of the candle into a bit of the honey, and shake off the excess.
* Attempt to light the wick. If it burns, then it is completely pure honey. If it refuses to burn, then the presence of water is not allowing the wick to burn. (If there is only a very small amount of honey on the wick, though, it might still burn. It will produce a crackling sound, and it would be best to blow out the wick and try it again this time using more honey.)
o The absorption test.
* Pour a few drops of honey on blotting paper and observe whether or not it is absorbed. If it’s absorbed, the honey’s not pure.
* If you don’t have blotting paper, pour a little bit of honey on a white cloth, then wash the cloth. If there is any stain left by the honey, it is probably not pure.
o The spiral test when pouring
* When poured very slowly honey will flow as a spiral in a clockwise direction. This is because the honey molecule is non-symmetrical with a right-hand bias which causes the stream of honey to spin. Posted by mansoorhabib
Talagang wala yun dun, Cat. Kasi nga yun ang pang daya ng ibang honey-vendors (if only to make it sweet), i.e. hindi 100% pure honey. In the contemporary linggo, "pirated" na honey.
Hmmm, that's interesting to know...i had sereval i pitched, since they were months or a year old bottles (used & unused)...glad to know this information...couple of them i saw some part were kinda carmelized...does it means that it's not pure honey?...
either you can do the tests above..or...try to put it in a container and heat up the honey like over steaming water (I don't think dapat i-micro). it should come back to life..ehehe...
I wished i have saved them, but, as i said, they've been thrown away long time ago...i only got couple of them now...funny, that i just bought a bottle yesterday...then i found the other one today after this post, still 3/4 full...but, i'll remember, all the nice info about it...btw, i put a test on both bottles, re pouring slowly & t witnessed the spiral downpouring in a counter clockwise manner, so it's pure!..yeepee...thanks again...
That's a good thought! I still have a pot of honey that we got as a wedding gift 15 years ago!
ReplyDeleteah..Annette...serious ka ba?
ReplyDeletebaka pot lang ang nandyan..wala na yung honey! *grin*
really ?? !! maybe if PURE lang Cath .
ReplyDeleteeh? may half-baked honey? ah...fakes?
ReplyDeletethe ones being sold commercially yata Cath ... check on ingredients ... may SUGAR ! hehehe
ReplyDeletetalaga ha? hmm..coz I just usually buy like Sue Bee clover honey off the shelves here (well actually, it was for my dad who visited, I normally don't really take a lot of sugar, brown or white when I drink my tea unless I put milk in)...
ReplyDeleteI've not come across honey I bought na may ingredient na sugar listed on its back...hmm...
come to think of it, when I was in Cebu, and we were walking on the sidewalks near Fuente Osmena...there was a man who looked to be selling honeycombs...ewan lang if it was a true one...
ok, eto, I've read the very fine print on the bottom of the bear container :-)
ReplyDeleteit says US Grade A Fancy White Pure Honey..hehe
and for those who may be interested in verifying if its pure honey or not, I saw this link: http://dailyknowhow.wordpress.com/2007/06/04/how-to-verify-the-purity-of-honey/
ReplyDeletethe tests:
o The dissolving test.
* Get a glass of water. This and a tablespoon of honey are all you need for the first test.
* Empty the honey into the water. If the honey is impure, it will dissolve in the water- the most common additive to honey is syrup of jaggery, which dissolves. If it is pure, the honey will stick together and sink as a solid lump to the bottom of the glass.
* This test can also be completed by mixing equal parts honey and methylated spirits (denatured alcohol). Pure honey will settle to the bottom. Impure honey is more likely to remain dissolved and make the solution milky.
o The flame test.
* Get a lighter and a candle with a cotton wick. This test is better if you don’t have as much honey to spare.
* Dip the cotton wick of the candle into a bit of the honey, and shake off the excess.
* Attempt to light the wick. If it burns, then it is completely pure honey. If it refuses to burn, then the presence of water is not allowing the wick to burn. (If there is only a very small amount of honey on the wick, though, it might still burn. It will produce a crackling sound, and it would be best to blow out the wick and try it again this time using more honey.)
o The absorption test.
* Pour a few drops of honey on blotting paper and observe whether or not it is absorbed. If it’s absorbed, the honey’s not pure.
* If you don’t have blotting paper, pour a little bit of honey on a white cloth, then wash the cloth. If there is any stain left by the honey, it is probably not pure.
o The spiral test when pouring
* When poured very slowly honey will flow as a spiral in a clockwise direction. This is because the honey molecule is non-symmetrical with a right-hand bias which causes the stream of honey to spin.
Posted by mansoorhabib
Talagang wala yun dun, Cat. Kasi nga yun ang pang daya ng ibang honey-vendors (if only to make it sweet), i.e. hindi 100% pure honey. In the contemporary linggo, "pirated" na honey.
ReplyDeleteI hope the bees sting these pirates!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, that's interesting to know...i had sereval i pitched, since they were months or a year old bottles (used & unused)...glad to know this information...couple of them i saw some part were kinda carmelized...does it means that it's not pure honey?...
ReplyDeletehello Angie,
ReplyDeleteeither you can do the tests above..or...try to put it in a container and heat up the honey like over steaming water (I don't think dapat i-micro). it should come back to life..ehehe...
I wished i have saved them, but, as i said, they've been thrown away long time ago...i only got couple of them now...funny, that i just bought a bottle yesterday...then i found the other one today after this post, still 3/4 full...but, i'll remember, all the nice info about it...btw, i put a test on both bottles, re pouring slowly & t witnessed the spiral downpouring in a counter clockwise manner, so it's pure!..yeepee...thanks again...
ReplyDeleteteka..that reminds me..I have to compare pala molasses to honey...*googles*
ReplyDelete