Why honey is not candied and should it?
For hundreds of years, honey has been one of the most valuable gifts that nature gives to man. Such a product is valued not only for its taste, it is also used in cosmetology and traditional medicine. And many people want to know more about the properties of this healthy and tasty product, in particular, such a property of honey as sugaring raises questions. Let's talk more about this phenomenon and about honey in general.
Peculiarities
Honey is often used as an adjunct to cold and flu medications. It contributes to a rapid increase in the body's resistance, adds energy. Also, this product is widely used as a component for nourishing face and hair masks. It is used for massage and many other procedures. A drink made from milk and honey helps to get rid of a sore throat, has a calming effect on the body, and helps to fall asleep faster. But all the beneficial qualities of honey appear only if you have purchased a quality product and stored it correctly.
Kinds
There are a huge number of varieties of honey. It differs in the type of plant from whose pollen bees produce it. And also by consistency (liquid, in honeycombs, bee bread). We list the most common types of honey.
Lugovoi
It is also called flower. The main distinguishing feature of such a product is a rich and very pleasant aroma. The color of meadow honey is light, golden, and the taste is amazing.In addition, this product is incredibly beneficial for human health. It can be used as an effective prophylactic in winter, during colds.
Meadow honey also helps to strengthen the immune system, get rid of thyroid diseases, restores the functioning of the nervous system and quickly copes with insomnia. It is added to the menu even for small children to protect them from infectious diseases, unless, of course, allergic reactions occur.
Donnikovy
Natural sweet clover honey has a delicate taste and smell of vanilla. To make this honey, bees collect nectar from a well-known medicinal plant - yellow and white sweet clover. Therefore, the product itself acquires healing properties. In particular, such a product helps to deal with abnormalities in the work of the respiratory tract, with coughs and bronchitis. Also, the product is used as a component of the complex treatment of atherosclerosis, hypertension, arthritis, migraine, constipation, etc.
Lime
This is another popular type of delicious, fragrant and healthy honey. Bees collect nectar for it from linden flowers. It contains a large number of miraculous components, thanks to which honey becomes a real healing product. The use of linden honey improves the skin, and thus the appearance of a person, rejuvenates the body as a whole.
Linden honey should be included in your diet for those people who suffer from excessive nervous tension, problems with the heart and blood vessels, asthma, tonsillitis, bronchitis.
in honeycombs
Such honey is considered even more useful than liquid honey, since all valuable nutrients remain in it. The honeycomb contains not only honey, but also beeswax, oils, pollen and propolis.Therefore, honey in combs is highly recommended for people who suffer from diseases of the teeth and gums. Also, such a product helps to remove harmful substances from the internal organs, to improve the functioning of digestion.
Why does it crystallize?
If you have ever had to store honey for a long time, then you have probably noticed that liquid honey can become sugary. This is a natural property of any real natural honey. The only difference is that each species takes a different time to thicken. For example, the sweetness of acacia can crystallize only within a year or even two. While sunflower, buckwheat, dandelion and mustard honey hardens faster than others.
The process of crystallization is due to the fact that over time, glucose and sucrose, which are contained in honey, settle. In this way, the crystallization rate is determined by the amount of glucose: the less it is, the longer the product remains liquid.
If you prefer liquid honey, and last year's stocks have already solidified, then you can easily melt the product. However, it should be understood that in this case the quality of honey will become worse, and some useful trace elements will disappear. But if you just want to enjoy the taste of this product, and not its healing qualities, then this moment should not bother you.
When is it liquid?
Whatever unscrupulous sellers say, you need to know that only honey that is not natural does not thicken. The only exceptions are honeycombs, since they themselves are a solid natural repository for healing sweetness.
We list a few specific reasons why the product is not candied.
- Contains sugar syrup. Quite often, unscrupulous sellers dilute natural nectar with cheap syrup. This significantly reduces the cost of the product, but also significantly reduces its useful properties. It is almost impossible to determine “by eye” the presence of sugar syrup in the composition; it is really possible to establish this only after a special analysis of the product in the laboratory.
- The honey was harvested ahead of schedule. If the beekeeper hurried and prepared the product before it was fully ripe, the honey is obtained with a high level of moisture. Therefore, natural sucrose may not settle. Moreover, sometimes honey simply deteriorates during long-term storage.
- The product was remelted. Sometimes sellers re-melt thickened honey after a long period of storage in order to pass it off as fresh. After that, the product not only stops thickening, but also loses most of its useful properties.
Storage rules
Consider the main criteria that a place to store healthy sweets should meet.
- Lack of light. To keep the product as long as possible, it is strictly not recommended to store it under the influence of sunlight. Otherwise, he will simply lose all his healing characteristics. Even if you put honey in the sun for only a couple of days, it will turn into an ordinary high-calorie sweet.
- Dryness. If the room where the product is located is too humid, then it will simply deteriorate, become excessively liquid and sour. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the humidity in the room does not exceed 80 percent.
- Cold. High temperature adversely affects the properties of healing sweetness and significantly reduces its shelf life.
- Purity. Naturally, food products should only be stored in clean rooms.Also, extraneous pungent odors should not be present there, since honey will immediately absorb them.
If you live in a private house, then there is simply no better place to store healing sweets than a basement or pantry. However, there are also better options for apartment dwellers. You can put the jars in a cabinet on the balcony or in a nightstand in the kitchen. Just make sure that it is located away from the stove and heating appliances.
Also, the refrigerator is just an ideal place to store the product. He definitely is in any apartment without exception. In addition, inside the refrigerator is a constant temperature and humidity. Therefore, if you still have doubts about whether honey can be stored in the refrigerator, the answer is definitely yes.
The optimal temperature for storing sweets is considered to be from +5 to +20 degrees C. It is permissible to store the product in warmer places, but the thermometer should not fall below +5 degrees C.
What should be the dishes?
In order for honey to be stored longer, it is important to pay attention to the choice of the material of the dishes in which it will be stored.
- Clay. This material prevents the penetration of sunlight into the container, which means it is great for storing honey. However, pottery is not often found in modern stores.
- Glass. This container is the most common. Glass does not emit harmful substances, is not toxic. However, transparent walls let light through, and this will adversely affect the quality of honey. The way out of this situation is quite simple - buy dark glassware and put the jars in a room where sunlight does not penetrate.
- Plastic. It is a cheap, lightweight and affordable material that is great for short-term food storage. It is best not to leave honey in plastic containers for long periods, as the material can release toxic substances over time.
- Wooden. Linden, birch and beech containers are great for storing sweets. If you want to purchase containers from other tree species, then be sure that the material will not emit essential oils, which will then be mixed with honey.
- Metal. One of the natural properties of metal is oxidation. Therefore, for food storage, you should choose stainless containers that do not contain copper, zinc and lead impurities.
Each material has certain advantages and disadvantages. However, according to most reviews of beekeepers and honey lovers, it is best to store sweetness in dark glass jars.
Helpful Hints
Take note of a few simple guidelines, which will help to accurately select high-quality honey, as well as to store it correctly.
- Remember that high-quality honey can only be bought in season. In summer, almost all types of this product are sold. And during the winter and off-season, it is better to buy only chestnut and acacia honey.
- Pay attention to the texture of the product. If the product is too liquid, flows off the spoon in an uneven and interrupted stream, then it is better to refuse to buy it. Most likely, it was diluted with water to increase volume. This product will spoil quickly.
- Pay attention to the region of production of the product.
- If possible, try to always buy healing sweets only from a trusted seller.
If you are lovers of tea with honey, then remember that if you add the product to boiling water, it will completely lose all its healing characteristics. And you will get a sweet, tasty, but more high-calorie drink. Therefore, it is better to eat the product separately, rather than stir it in tea.
Now you know almost everything about the reasons for candied honey, as well as how to properly store such a product.
How to choose and store honey, see the following video.