Honey Scams

[MEXICOWANDERER]

To avoid bottles of diluted honey, simply flip them upside down. The bubble inside will slowly slowly rise.

As I am now honey producer (Haden Mango) my beekeeper taught me this trick to show customers that my 200 lbs a year honey is undiluted.

Next time you are surrounded by an assortment of honey in a supermarket see if you can spot the "ringers". Pure honey never varies.

Wholesale white sugar is cheap in Mexico and a fifty Kg sack dumped into 20 liters of boiling water makes a sweet syrup. Except for the telltale bubble rise. Not even La Madrilena syrup can fool the bubble.

Rodside stands may have bottles with honeycomb included. But again the bubble is the polygraph.

And I have found far too many bottles of doctored honey in the USA for it to be an accident.

And sad but true Mango honey is nothing special. It, clover and orange blossom honey are fine honey's. But ordinary (excellent).

Wild honey collected in the (true) desert is dark and has a richer flavor). Russian Thistle honey is fabulous and bee honey gatherers are well aware of it.

Make lemonade with Madrilena surgar cane syrup and gaseous mineral water. Heaven!

My orchard now has 8 cajas de colmenas de abejas (bee hive boxes).

And an expert services the hives. He is on the lookout for an Africanized Queen. So far so good. When bees get ready to swarm he has a nice hotel already set up for them fifty feet away with lots of drinking water. I have placed my hand three feet away from a swarm and the bees took no interest.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

To me a very acceptable sweetener (endulzante) is a mix of Stevia and honey* or, dark brown sugar and Stevia or Molasses and Stevia. If you purchase Stevia make sure it is 100% Stevia and not the stuff I found in Costco -- 97% sugar and 03% Stevia (huge letters STEVIA on the box).

Melaza molasses, is not commonly found in stores so I bring jugs from the states. Same for Stevia. The little packets of Stevia help prevent it from lumping.

*Molasses and Stevia need liquid so to the horror of my kids I make t-h-i-c-k oatmeal (sacrilege to Mexicans who gulp thin oatmeal out of a glass). I use extra milk then stir in the sweeteners (endulzantes) and molasses.

Look for stores titled Semillas Y Granos downtown in larger towns and cities.

Many of these stores have unpackaged, loose (suelto) dried fruits, nuts, cereals and grains at scarcely believable prices. Don't be surprised to see oatmeal priced at less than seventy US cents per pound. Almonds, dates, and granola. Rice, and jellied fruits. Zip Lock stuff headed for the beach.

DIABETICS: Take lots of test strips, lances and an extra set of batteries. Mexico has lots of test supplies in cities these days although the price may make your hair stand on end. METFORMIN (glucophage) comes in 850 milligram size and GLIBENCLAMIDA the generic name for USA GLYBURIDE (verified and then quadruple checked via chemical formula) is only available in 5 mg dosage, the pills are nearly impossible to split even using a pill cutter. One side or the other will ricochet many feet away. Patented (flagship) diabetic medications are available in Bodega Aurrera, Wal-Mart, and Comercical Mexicana. Verify with your home pharmacist about high temperature and your Type I or Type II diabetic medications. By the way fresh squeezed orange juice seems to work much faster to treat excessive dosage of blood sugar lowering medicines.

[iguana07]

Here is a scientific breakdown on honey vs sugar

Honey and sugar are both carbohydrates, consisting of the two types of sugar: glucose and fructose.

Refined fructose, which is found in sweeteners, is metabolized by the liver and has been associated with:

obesity
fatty liver disease
diabetes

Both fructose and glucose are broken down quickly by the body and can cause spikes in blood sugar levels.

The proportions of glucose and fructose in honey and sugar are different:

sugar is 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose
honey contains 40 percent fructose and 30 percent glucose

The remainder of honey consists of:

water
pollen
minerals, including magnesium and potassium

These additional components may be responsible for some of the health benefits of honey.

Sugar is higher on the glycemic index (GI) than honey, meaning it raises blood sugar levels more quickly. This is due to its higher fructose content, and the absence of trace minerals.

But honey has slightly more calories than sugar, although it is sweeter, so less may be required. Both sweeteners can lead to weight gain if overused.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Yes. Honey has enough differences that official medical advice says it cannot be consumed by young children. I am talking about the AMA. To me,agave syrup is little more than gentrified Karo syrup or Madrilena.

I am fresh from Costco and their honey is authentic. Slow bubble. Their agave syrup is fast bubble which is fine. Personally I use honey but frugally.

For diabetics the least offensive form of sugar is FRUCTOSE, the lesser of evils but it is still dangerous unless a tiny amount is involved. Honey is primarily fructose.

[bighatnohorse]

Is honey better than Agave syrup in terms of health benefits?

[dons2346]

" I have tasted aged mescal that in my opinion kicks the butt of Don Julio tequila."



Mex, even the Mexicans won't drink that Don Julio swill

[MEXICOWANDERER]

A huge majority of fake honey in Mexico and the USA is found in the likes of Safeway, Soriana, Ralphs, and Commercial Mexicana. The fraud was embarrassing evident.

Costco honey everywhere is pure. A lab test performed by consumer reports found 90% of Olive oil in the USA had less than 50% olive oil. Kirkland Signature had a perfect record and rated five stars. I would assume they are as careful about their honey. Same for Balsamic vinegar in the USA.

Bee careful with genuine desert honey. There will be embalmed bees in there. But as Moisheh attests there is absolutely nothing I have ever tasted that can come close to the flavor of wild desert honey.

Just to clear the air 🙂 I rate both Manila and Ataulfo mangoes superior in flavor to my Hadens. But they danged well have been hand selected and babied. No bruises, no greenies. The finest mangos are found on the ground the morning they fell before the iguanas have at them. Meaning tree ripened. I forgot about the KENT. The perfume aroma. Makes the best Mango Daquiri's, by the way trash the number one RUM and search out CASTILLO brand. It's modest in price and makes Bacardi taste like radiator flush IMHO.

RINSE whole mangos. Hot to the touch water. The fungicide we use is awful. 160F rinse will flush it all off. It used to set off atrial fibrillation in me until one of the oldsters in the ejido clued me in. All northbound fruit is hot water washed at a highway facility near Queretaro. It cannot proceed north without a certificate of hot water rinse. This is something that should be done with all produce. Now you know why is is important with mangos 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this little aside.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

When someone gives me a tip about avoiding frauds I am thankful and do not toss out a useless "It happens all over the world" Any 10-year old can affirm that 😞 Like "Nike" clothing that lasts 2-months.

Along the highways in the state of Oaxaca roadside Mescal vendors have set up tasting stands. There a prudent driver can take a micro taste of GOOD mescal, swirl it around the mouth then spit it out. Give it a full minute to settle down the after taste. Good mescal like good tequila is aged for a few years. Big city and tourist mecca frauds contain food coloring. But nothing but sugar (can you believe it?) can hope to tame the drain cleaner flavor of cheapo bitter mescal or tequila. I have tasted aged mescal that in my opinion kicks the butt of Don Julio tequila.

If you screw up and swallow any liquor after a couple of jolts anything tastes good. And spitting it out will keep you and yours alive and accident free to enjoy a full tasting in a campground.

And I have tasted good and inferior Mennonite chihuahua cheese. The low rent grade has a distinctly bitter flavor. Mennonites traded their personal cheese for a large gunnysack from an apple orchard located in Penrose California. Johnagold. Sweeter than any Gala or Fuji. I got a 5 pound slice of "the good stuff" sweet and creamy with the tang of aged cheese. This happened at a remote hot springs mini resort north of the bridge at Camargo Chihuahua. Nice folks. They were saving seeds in napkins. Now I am spoiled. Nothing since has lived up to that cheese. They were from farm 23 Ciudad Cuauhtemoc.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

I purchased hot cake syrup from GTM store in San Diego. Clear as water they stated on the label the syrup was 90% sugar syrup and 10% Canadian maple syrup. It tasted great. Super in fact. I could not tell it from 100% maple syrup. Next trip I buy ten and give it out as gifts.

And no it does not taste anything like Aunt Jemima or log cabin garbage. The stuff they blend with it is fructose. Three bucks a quart.

[Big_Katuna]

Mesquite honey is coveted and pricey. We get orange blossom honey in FL in season. Lots of fakes. You need to know your supplier.

[moisheh]

Costco in Mexico carries USA honey. It is OK Costco in Arizona carries Desert Honey. It is a darker color and tastes better than any honey I have encountered, For some reason Honey in Mexico is more than double the price as in USA. I guess good bees are hard to find. Many US producers import Chinese honey and mix it with their own. Canadians can buy honey from one of the many Co-operatives and it is 100% pure Canadian honey. Honey keeps for centuries. Have you tried the Agave syrup sold in Costco?

Moisheh

[Merrykalia]

We have friends that have hives and we purchase 2 quarts a year from them. By the time they are bottling more, we are ready to purchase it again. It is $20/quart jar, $12/pint jar.

[Big_Katuna]

Thought of retailing? High end honey is a thing. Manuka honey is $50/jar.

You could add chilies, vanilla, the possibilities are endless.

Some people buy the most expensive items they see.

[Talleyho69]

Something about, "You get what you pay for," at least with honey!

[qtla9111]

Fake honey is produced everywhere, just like gas stations that rip you off, counterfeit money, and the list goes on. If humans are involved, it is possible in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. No one is exempt.

There are numerous videos on Youtube which show you how to tell if honey is real.

Purchasing from a supermarket or reputable honey farm will help to ensure a good product. Most people prefer cheap and that's when the "fakes" come out of the woodwork.