HONEY, REAL OR FAKE?

With so much adulterated honey on the market, how do you know if you’re buying the real thing? Beekeeper Glen James shares some tips

The biggest problem is that there is a massive shortage of honey in SA, for all sorts of reasons. In the Cape the bees are starving because there is no food due to so little water. Other parts of the country have been too wet or too cold or any number of things that prevented the honey to flow.

So with any shortage people try and stretch a limited resource with all kinds of added stuff. Some not too serious: they mix their honey with commercial honey. Yet others add sugar water or other liquids to make the honey go further. Some beekeepers over-rob their hives so the honey hasn’t had time to settle and age.

Even the well-known commercial brands of honey are being forced to make their honey go further because they have to survive and some trusted brands can’t be trusted.

As a beekeeper and someone who has eaten honey directly from the hive for many years I’m really surprised at the general poor quality of many commercial honeys on supermarket shelves.

Try whenever you can to buy your honey from a health shop, weekend market, an independent honey merchant or directly from a beekeeper. If that sounds like too much trouble, it’s not actually. Become aware of honey and you’ll be very surprised how much real honey there is all over the place. Most of the honey is from specific plants or areas, each with its own taste and texture. Your eyes will be opened when finding and eating honey that came from the hive directly to your toast. Of course the next best thing is to get a swarm to move into the bottom of your garden. Honey on tap, paradise.