The fire has always known the difference
There is a reason the Rigveda specifies what goes into the yajna kund and what does not. Ghee, not water. Grain at its peak, not the chaff. The animal, if offered, had to be without blemish. The ancient priests were not being ceremonially fussy. They were encoding a psychological law that most of us spend our lives evading: the offering is only an offering if it costs you something real.
