Honey- the main product produced in apiaries.
Honey - a
very sophisticated product in terms of its identification. This allows
unscrupulous traders and dealers to falsify this product.
And the
first information about the falsification of honeys from sources available to
me back to the 19th century. There was even a special term for this honey -
"Vederinsky honey" by the name of its author.
Because you
always want to buy only natural bee honey (If reading this page), I will try to
tell you about this wonderful product life of bees and plants in detail.
What is honey?
Physical properties of honey
Viscosity
Odor
Taste
Weight
Crystallization
Chemical composition
Chemical composition
Fermentation, acidification
What
is honey?
Natural bee
honey (we will only talk about natural honey) is divided into two groups:
• flower
honey
• honeydew
honey
Flower
prepared by bees from the nectar of plants and nectar found in flowers.
And no
matter what the flowers. Cornflowers in the field, or linden viburnum blossoms,
if only they were able to produce nectar, ie is the color of honey plants.
Most buyers
in the market ask the standard question: "This flower honey? '. In this
issue they put some sort of a, a clear sense to them. Attempts to clarify what
they mean, always maintained ignorance of buyers in this matter.
So, any
honey: with herbs, Sweet Clover, Clover, osotovy, buckwheat, rape, etc. - All flower
honey.
Another
group - honeydew honey. It is more rare varieties of honey. Do not rush to
regret it. Consumer properties of this group of honeys very low. True, in some
countries - the most expensive varieties.
Honeydew
honey is divided into two categories: animal and plant.
Animal -
it's honey gathered from different insect groups, under certain conditions,
emit a sweet juice. Such as aphids.
Plant -
built with some varieties of spruce and fir. In warm autumn weather, it happens
that these plants start to the axils of the kidneys excrete a sweet juice -
sap.
Bees can
gather from them a decent amount of honey.
In my
practice, I have never received honeydew honey, and I know about it by hearsay.
According to my information on nearby apiaries podtaezhnoy zone since 1996
(Bolsheuluysky and Birillyusky districts) were just 2 of the season, which was
obtained in honeydew honey. In appearance it is almost black.
Next will
be a question only of a flower bee honey.
The physical properties of honey
Color
of honey
The first
impression of honey - it's his color. Depending on the botanical composition of
honey, its color can range from nearly colorless (transparent) to dark - brown,
almost black (honeydew).
Very
popular in Siberia Sweet Clover honey is just a light, only slightly yellowish.
Not far away from him and kipreyny honey (taiga).
Honey with
herbs can have a variety of shades (he is from the nectar of various colors),
depending on the conditions of the flora of the place where it is collected.
This yellow and dark yellow with a green tint and brown, in a word to convey in
words all of its color gradation is impossible.
I should
add that there is no honey and red and blue.
The
viscosity of honey
The
viscosity of honey - his second feature, which you can determine the right
market. The viscosity depends on the type of honey, its temperature, and most
importantly - from humidity. If you buy the "unripe" Honey, that is,
honey that the bees are not brought to normal moisture (not exceeding 21%), it
would be overly liquid at normal room temperature, it is not possible to cheat
on a spoon, even at a very rapid movements. Such honey is not sufficiently
enriched with enzymes, further storage begins to ferment and sour.
There is a
simple way to determine the viscosity of honey on the market. Pick up a
hermetically sealed container with nezakristalizovanym honey, quick movement
and turn it over to watch a ball of air that moves upward. The speed of its
movement can be seen on the viscosity of honey, and, consequently, the maturity
(do not forget about the temperature of honey).
There is a
misconception that chemical pencil can define natural honey. So: the use of
indelible pencil is connected with a certain humidity of honey, a little water
- not with ink pen.
The
smell, the aroma of honey
Under
normal conditions, the honey has a flavor. The origin of flavor due to the
presence of essential oils in nectar. Different varieties of honey have a
different flavor. This is understandable. As a rule, the northern honey have a
more subtle flavor, sometimes barely perceptible (Sweet Clover honey). Honey
southern origin are more pungent smell. The buyer in the market more quickly
sniff south honey.
In modern
conditions obanyanie people violated various chemical flavorings commonly used
in the confectionery industry.
Therefore,
buyers sometimes smelling honey, they say that it does not smell. Cold honey
smells less or no smell. Because there is no evaporation of essential oils.
The
taste of honey
Probably
the last thing you can do in the market, is to try honey.
In my
experience: to understand the honey from a sample of the market can not
everyone.
My
observations are as follows: half have tried honey, shrugging his shoulders in
meditation retreat. The reasons for this, I think, very different: a
psychological constraint when choosing ignorance that should raskushat,
frustration from unrealistic expectations.
So what is
the taste of honey? You can answer in one word - sweet. Many believe that the
real honey should taste bitter. Apparently this is misleading due to the effect
of "deaf phone." The focus should be on the finish, so-called sore
throat mucosa. It shows a tickle enzymatic and biological activity of honey or
as not related to the bitter taste. By the way, to feel the aftertaste, you
need to eat at least half a teaspoon of honey. Take the same sample many of the
droplet, which is not that up to the neck, to the language does not come to
that. Do not hesitate to try honey.
If you're
even in it do not understand it you have to like the taste, if not - why would
you buy? Remember, honey was the best treat our ancestors, and can not taste
bad.
Weight
of real honey
How much in
pounds? This is a very common question in the market. As a rule, buyers are due
to a quart jar. Upon hearing the price, surprised, and learn that liter jar has
a different price, are confused.
Honey - a
heavy product, its density at 19% moisture content of 1.42 kg / l. If the honey
has a lower moisture content, for example, according to the analysis of honey
in 2009 with herbs, humidity was 14.2%. Weighing showed a density of 1.48 kg /
l. In any case, the standard medical (up to 21% humidity) in liter jar, poured
at the top has a weight of at least 1.5kg.
The chemical composition of honey
The
composition of honey consists of two simple sugars:
• glucose (grape)
• fructose (fruit).
It is
important to understand that these sugars are not like ordinary beet sugar. The
latter - a complex saccharide for cleavage of which our body has to work hard.
Cleavage occurs to simple sugars, or absorption occurs. Sugar composition ready
for consumption of honey and used in one percent.
As part of
honey, glucose and fructose occupy the major part. By volume to 80%. The rest
is water (up to 21%), as well as minerals, amino acids and enzymes.
Misconceptions
about the properties of honey associated with this speculation and rumors,
"accurate knowledge" of some people, what honey, and what not, just
belong to the field of glucose and fructose.
I have
already said that honey is difficult to identify. Why? Now I'm not talking
about non-natural honeys. Only on this bee flower honey.
If honey is
always behaved the same way, probably, would not be difficult to remember what
it should be, and there would be so much distrust. However, they say: "How
many places - so much honey." We have already talked about the color and
flavor. They depend on the botanical composition of honey. It is much more
difficult to crystallize.
Crystallization honey
Crystallization,
other terms of the people - zasaharivaniya, warren.
This is a
natural for honey process that changes the consistency of the fluid in the
slabotekuchuyu or almost solid. Crystallization - a formation of crystals of
glucose. In appearance they resemble sugar. Only so many people are
afraid zakristallizovanogo honey.
So, is
responsible for the crystallization of glucose contained in honey. Normal
glucose solid state. Other sugars - fructose never crystallized. Its normal
state - liquid. Zakristallizovany honey is liquid crystals glucose fructose. In
the honey glucose and fructose is roughly equal. However, this
"about" affects the behavior of honey during storage.
The more
glucose in honey, the faster and harder crystallized honey. Conversely, more
than fructose, so crystallization takes place more slowly and may not even
occur. Honey with less glucose can separate into a liquid fraction and a
crystal-top from the bottom. Such honey causes the greatest mistrust.
Why a honey
more glucose and fructose in another?
First, the
variety of honey. Honey with canola, sunflower, yellow thistle, cruciferous
always has a high amount of glucose. Crystallization fast and hard. With fireweed
honey, on the contrary, are often more liquid crystallizes slowly, often
stratified.
There is a
"classic" noncrystallizing honey, such as acacia (not Siberian). In
Siberia, these honeys more, but it is not connected to the botanical variety of
honey, and the natural geographical features.
So
geography. Siberia - cold country. Short, cool summers often, the lack of sun.
Under these conditions, glucose in the nectar of plants produced bad. And not
just in the nectar, but also in the juice of fruits and berries. Best Siberian
berries are not very sweet. The sweetness in them is due to fruit sugars -
fructose. Many noticed that in the hot summer berries sweeter. This is due to
the generation of additional glucose. Grapes - berry with glucose. But in warmer
countries sweetness of grapes is not constant throughout the seasons.
In the hot
season the grapes sweeter wine in such years do best. All of the above applies
to the nectar honey plants. General rule: honey crystallizes in northern slower
in the southern faster.
Sometimes
you can read or hear in the media, for example,
that honey
should crystallize by October, otherwise it's not honey. This is not true and
goes from malosveduschih people. Imagine, my grandfather life in his yard kept
10 hives. Anyone would say, "Of course, it authority in this matter."
This is where knowledge of the grandfather is not complete. For many years he
was getting the honey in the same area and some surrounding its plants.
We are on
his apiary got invaluable experience on the subject. Three years, our apiary
based in d.Shpagino, Birillyuskogo district. This area was once famous for
honey. There got some of the best honey collection in the country.
So, there
honey crystallizes very slowly. In the first season we were very surprised when
the honey until March, and "think" would not crystallize. Appealed to
local beekeepers old. They confidently replied: "We have always honey of
three years did not crystallize until eaten or sold." They were sure that
the "low" just a bad honey. The old man with the stick in our area
opposite point of view.
Consumers
are entitled to ask: what kind of honey is more helpful, which crystallizes
quickly or slowly that. According to data from the literature and many
researchers healing properties of honey, never met distinction on the grounds
of the usefulness of honey crystallize. Based on the current state of the honey
market, I will say this - the main thing that it was natural honey.
Another
point on the crystallization of importance to the consumer: The structure of
crystallization. Many noticed that honey is crystallized from large granular
crystals and is a small, sometimes forming so called saloobraznuyu mass. Last
prefers the majority of consumers. The structure of crystallization depends
again on the botanical composition of honey (Class I) and the external
environment in which the crystallization took place. It is known that the
optimum temperature for the crystallization of honey +14 ˚ C. At this
temperature, honey crystallize fastest. The deviation from this temperature,
both downwards and upwards slow crystallization process. If you have just
evacuated the apiary honey freeze, for example up to -10 ˚ C, then it will
remain "fresh" for a long time. This honey chemical processes due to
low temperatures almost do not go. A more realistic example: you bought in
August, a jar of honey and put it in a cupboard in a city apartment. The
temperature is stable and there is no lower than 22 ˚ C. Honey in the jar will
crystallize more slowly same honey left in an unheated room. Honey, which
crystallizes slowly at a high temperature will have a structure with large
crystals. Honey, which crystallizes slowly at low temperature, will have a
structure with small crystals or even saloobraznuyu. Knowing this, you can
choose the conditions for the storage of honey.
How to make
a crystallized (solid) liquid honey?
Allowed the
slow warming of honey at temperatures above 40 ˚ C. With this method, honey
fully retains all its properties. This is difficult to do without a special
device, if large amount of honey. But for practical purposes, this is rarely
required. Much more often need very little liquid honey, for example, for
instilling in her eyes.
Fermentation,
acidification of honey
Another
property of honey - its hygroscopic. This ability to draw the moisture, odors
from the air.
When
storing honey is important to provide the right conditions for it. There is a
simple rule. Honey stored in a dark, dry place. It is important only that. All
other conditions are not important. People often ask why honey began to wander.
The main reason, was bought by "immature honey", ie Honey with high
humidity. Often, some unscrupulous beekeepers evacuated this honey, in pursuit
of an earlier implementation (yet no one is selling, and the market offers
fresh honey). There are other reasons. Ease of operation for pumping, this
honey is not necessary to print, it is not ready, and, consequently, his bees
wax lid is not closed. This honey is obtained more (there are a lot of water).
What is in it less, so it's good, because he nedoobogaschen enzymes bees. It is
often said: "He comes." In my experience, "yes, come, before
fermentation." Where such an experience? Almost every year we have to pump
out this honey, but not at the beginning and at the end of the season. In
cells, it accumulates in August, and, because of cold spells occurring bees
have not processed it. Such honey we do not sell, and use as a spring
top-dressing bees.
To choose a
ripe honey, read the section on viscosity.
And if
honey was a mature, but still has to turn sour, there were signs of
fermentation?
The reason
- in the wrong storage. Honey could "suck" the moisture, so went
fermentation.