Crystallization of bee honey is a natural phenomenon. Liquid amber dessert changes structure and color over time. A few months after collection, it becomes thick, heterogeneous, loses its transparency and turns white. The beneficial qualities of honey do not suffer from this, but often consumers prefer a liquid product. After all, such a dessert is more convenient to spread on sandwiches, add to drinks, use for baking and home cosmetics. Therefore, many will be interested to know whether it is not candied and why it retains its original appearance.

It is not surprising that honey becomes sugar over time. This is a natural process that speaks of the naturalness of the product. Depending on the consistency that the dessert acquires over time, there are three types of crystallization:

1. With a fat-like consistency. The treat turns into a thick homogeneous mass without distinguishable crystals.
2. With a fine-grained consistency. After thickening, small crystals (up to 0.5 mm) are formed in the bee treat.
3. With a coarse-grained consistency. Honey thickens with the formation of large crystals (more than 0.5 mm).

What kind of honey can remain in its original form for a long time? The sugaring ability of natural honey depends on the ratio of its two important components - glucose and fructose. Crystallization of the product occurs precisely due to glucose, therefore, varieties of honey with a predominance of fructose retain their liquid consistency and a pleasant golden hue for much longer.

But often this is not the only reason, there are other reasons why honey is not candied. Let's list the main ones:

• High water content in bee treat. If it exceeds 17%, the crystallization of the dessert will proceed very slowly, and it will never completely harden, but will turn into a pasty state.
• Lack of large amounts of pollen. The fact is that impurity particles are crystallization centers around which sugar glucose is collected. That is, the less pollen, the longer the crystallization process takes.
• Early collection time. Pumped out ahead of schedule, bee treats remain liquid for a long time. But picking too early has a bad effect on the quality of the product - all the beneficial substances have not yet accumulated in unripe honey. There is also a possibility that such a treat will ferment if it contains a lot of water.
• Mechanical impact. Candying of natural can be delayed if the delicacy is stirred periodically. By the way, this trick is used by many beekeepers to preserve the attractive appearance of their products.
• Storage conditions. If you store honey at very low temperatures, then it will freeze and the processes of sugaring will naturally stop. Also, crystallization does not occur when the product is stored in hot rooms (temperature 30 degrees and above). But such conditions have a bad effect on the quality of honey and deprive it of some of its healing properties. In order for the product to remain liquid and not lose its valuable qualities, it must be kept at zero temperature for the first 5 weeks after collection. Then it is stored in a room with a temperature of 14 degrees.
• Poor product quality. Liquid honey is in great demand, so dishonest sellers resort to various methods of artificial liquefaction. Syrup and other harmful additives are mixed into the bee treat, and it is also reheated at a high temperature. It is clear that it makes no sense to use such a product for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes.

Important! To protect yourself from counterfeiting, learn how to identify overheated honey. After heat treatment, it acquires a dark shade and loses the pleasant tart aroma characteristic of an untreated product.

Don't forget that early spring honey is often counterfeited. The fact is that in appearance, the early varieties resemble honey, which bees produce after feeding with sugar. It is much easier to distinguish a natural May product at the beginning of autumn, when it is infused and shrinkage begins.

Quality checking

Whichever type of honey you choose, remember: a natural delicacy cannot always remain liquid. Over time, at least slight signs of crystallization should appear in it. Therefore, pay attention to the bottom of the vessel - this is where the first sediment forms over time.

But what if the honey bought on the market does not crystallize much longer than usual and there are doubts about its naturalness. How to check the quality of the flower dessert in this case? Find a teaspoon of an old, candied product, add some liquid to it and stir until smooth. Then pour this mixture into a bowl of honey and leave it in a cool dry place. If after two weeks the product began to be sugar-coated, then it is natural.

Liquid species

The tendency of honey to be sugared depends on what kind of honey plant prevails in it. Some varieties begin to change consistency within a couple of months after harvest, while others remain liquid even after a year. The following types of honey are candied most slowly:

• Acacia... This variety of bee treats can remain in a liquid state for a very long time - up to two years. This amazing property is due to two reasons: high fructose levels and high fluid content. A freshly pumped treat is so liquid that it pours like syrup at first. After crystallization, it turns white and becomes fine-grained.
• Lime... It also belongs to white, fine-grained varieties, does not sugarcoat for a long time, and is often used for medicinal purposes. After sugaring, it does not completely harden, but more resembles a soft paste. Therefore, it is very convenient to pick up a delicious delicacy in a spoon and eat "a bite of tea".
• Chestnut... This variety has a characteristic shade - it is not amber yellow, but brownish. It can remain in a liquid state for about six months, and if stored correctly, then a whole year. After crystallization, it remains brown, and its crystals increase over time.
• May... This is an early variety that begins to be pumped out in late spring. The pollen for this spring delicacy is collected by bees in March and April, when the first honey plants (lily of the valley, apple, cherry, etc.) bloom. This delicate, aromatic variety does not thicken due to its high fructose content. A light, low-calorie product is well absorbed even by a weakened body and does not put stress on the pancreas. Doctors often allow to eat linden honey in moderation even with diabetes mellitus.
• Greek varieties... Beekeeping products from Greece enjoy a good reputation. Tourists who have visited this beautiful country often bring a jar of fragrant dessert as a gift to their relatives. The healing delicacy is often surprising. After all, it remains liquid much longer than the already familiar varieties. But this is not unusual - it is common in Greece. And he belongs to the honeydew non-thickening varieties. Another popular Greek variety is thyme. In good conditions, it retains its liquid form for up to one and a half years.

If you like liquid transparent dessert, try to get one of the listed varieties and store it in optimal conditions. Then you do not have to spend efforts on melting honey, and you will be able to enjoy the healthy unprocessed product for a long time.

This is sugaring. Such a product changes its structure as a result of the formation of crystals.

This is influenced by a number of specific factors. Therefore, it is necessary to know which honey is not candied and how to determine it.

When the bee product changes from liquid to solid. The essence of this process is that sugar crystals begin to form in it. They are significantly heavier than other components of honey.

As a result, sugar crystals sink to the bottom. This leads to the fact that it begins to crystallize from the bottom up.

The rate of setting the product depends on many factors, among them the following can be distinguished:

• Honey variety. The variety of the bee product depends on how much it contains such components as fructose and glucose. In the event that the amount of fructose exceeds the amount of glucose, the sugaring process will proceed rather slowly, regardless of the storage conditions of the product.
• Storage temperature. If honey is stored at a temperature of 0 degrees and below, it freezes, and, therefore, the cage slows down significantly. It is also possible to achieve a slowdown in crystallization if the storage temperature of honey is 30 degrees or more. At the same time, in no case should we forget that both options negatively affect not only the healing properties of the product, but also its taste. In order for honey to remain liquid for a long time, it is necessary to store it at a temperature not exceeding 0 degrees during the first 5 days after pumping it out, and the rest of the time at a temperature not exceeding 15 degrees. Only in this case it is possible to preserve all the properties of the bee product.
• The amount of water. If the content of water in honey is not more than 15%, it will be sugar much slower. You can be sure that in this case the honey will never be solid, but will have the consistency of a paste.
• Shelf life. If the product is natural and stored for no longer than a year, it will have a liquid consistency. With a longer shelf life, honey will gradually harden.
• Stirring. In order to minimize the chance of honey settling, it is recommended to stir it periodically.
• Collection period. There is a certain period for collecting honey. Upon reaching this period, honey finally ripens. If the product is harvested earlier than it is ripe, the possibility of fermentation or crystallization is not excluded.
• Quality. If the purchased honey is liquid, this in no way means that it is of high quality. You can use several methods to make solid honey liquid, but do not forget that the product then loses its medicinal properties.

What honey doesn't crystallize

For most people, when buying honey, the question arises, which honey is not candied and why? As mentioned earlier, the crystallization of honey is directly dependent on its type. In turn, the type of bee product depends on the type of flowers from which the pollen was collected.

Experienced people say that there is no pure honey. He will always have impurities in him. But at the same time, the amount of pollen from one type of flowers will always prevail. This is the determining factor in determining the name of the honey variety, as well as its healing and taste qualities.

It is safe to say that only a natural product is practically not candied. These include the following varieties:

• May. It belongs to the earliest varieties. It can be pumped out at the end of May. To create it, pollen collected from such melliferous plants as lily of the valley, cherry, bird cherry, apple tree and others is used. According to experts, this particular type of honey has the highest medicinal properties, and also has excellent taste. May honey contains quite a lot of fructose, which means that it practically does not crystallize. Due to its composition, this type of product is recommended for people with diabetes mellitus. This is due to the fact that May honey is low in calories and does not harm the functioning of the pancreas. There are many cases of fake honey in May. This is due to the fact that it is very similar to the honey that bees make after the winter feeding with sugar syrup. In order not to buy a fake, experts recommend buying May honey in the fall. By this time, the crystallization process has already begun, which means that it will be easier to determine the naturalness of honey.
• Acacia. This variety is practically white in color, and also has unique taste and aroma properties. It contains about 36% glucose and 39% fructose. In addition, it contains a lot of moisture. All this contributes to the fact that acacia honey does not crystallize for almost 1, 5 - 2 years. Natural honey of this type has such a liquid consistency that in some cases it looks more like sugar syrup. The crystals that form as a result of the sugaring of acacia honey have a very small diameter. This is the main reason why acacia honey is fine grained.
• Greek. The name of the variety is due to the fact that it is Greece that is famous for this variety of bee product. It is considered the purest honey. According to experts, Greek honey does not crystallize. But, unfortunately, there is practically no way to meet this kind in its pure form.
• Chestnut. Natural honey of this variety has a rather thick consistency and dark color. When buying chestnut honey, you can be sure that within 1, 5 years it will not succumb to the crystallization process. But, even after that, it does not lose its taste and healing properties. Over time, the crystals of chestnut honey get larger.
• Lime. It resembles acacia honey in appearance. It has the ability to not be sugared for 2 years. By its consistency, linden honey can be medium or highly viscous. The rate of its crystallization depends on this. This sort of bee product belongs to medium-grained. After crystallization, honey has the ability to stratify into solid and liquid parts.
• Buckwheat. This type of honey contains a large amount of mineral components. Its color can vary from light to dark brown. In some cases, buckwheat honey can have a slightly bitter taste. This type of honey has a high crystallization rate. In order to slow down this process, it is recommended to observe the storage conditions. Buckwheat honey is recommended for those people who need a speedy recovery and strengthen the immune system. It should also be noted that this type of product is actively and successfully used in cosmetology as an antiseptic, healing and regenerating agent.

How to check the quality of honey

It is not enough to understand which honey does not crystallize and why, it is also necessary to know how to quickly and easily check the quality of the product.

There are several correct ways:

• Natural honey by its consistency is never watery. It must be stringy. To test, it is recommended to heat a spoonful of honey to 21 degrees, and then gently turn the honey, slowly pouring it out. It should drain slowly and drain into the bowl in the form of a slide with the formation of bubbles.
• The quality of the honey can also be checked with a regular newspaper. To do this, drop the product onto dry paper. If honey drips down the newspaper, leaving a wet trail, it means there is too much moisture in it.
• It is also possible to test the honey by using a crust of bread. To do this, you need to lower the bread in honey for 10 - 15 minutes. Then take it out and check for firmness. If the honey is natural, the bread will become hard. Otherwise, it will remain the same or, on the contrary, soften.

The crystallization process depends on many factors: grade, pumping time, saving conditions, and others. In order to extend the shelf life of a product, you need to know how to test it for naturalness.

What consistency and color should a natural product be, why honey is liquid or too thick, and how to distinguish a real product from a fake? For a beginner, and for people who are not professionally engaged in beekeeping, it is not so easy to understand these issues. In addition, more and more often you can come across fraudsters who instead of this valuable product offer counterfeit products. Let's try to find out what kind of honey is liquid and remains so for a long time. So let's get started.

A little about honey

Natural honey is a product with exceptional taste and nutritional qualities. This is a fairly high-calorie product (about 328 kcal), its composition is close to blood plasma. 200 g of honey is nutritionally equivalent to 480 g of fish oil. Honey improves metabolism, enhances digestion, stimulates appetite, increases hemoglobin. Helps with cardiovascular diseases, as well as liver and stomach. This product contains folic acid, which is beneficial for the growth and development of children. It is even called the elixir of youth. Attention should be paid to the fact that one liter of mature honey should contain 1.4 kilograms.

When to buy?

Buy in total in summer or autumn. It is during this period that the bees-workers begin their work, which will continue until the last fine days. At this time, fresh liquid honey is obtained, so it is collected from the honeycomb. After the time has passed, the moisture evaporates and it begins to thicken.

What influences the choice?

Let's consider in more detail the quality of a natural product. This will help you not to make the wrong choice.

Consistency

It is she who is the first sign of a quality product. The mass must be homogeneous, no delamination or precipitation is allowed. The consistency of the product directly depends on the season, air temperature. In the summer, when they start pumping it, honey is liquid, closer to winter the consistency becomes thicker. Usually, with the onset of cold weather, the process begins; it becomes thicker, lighter and more turbid. An exception is acacia honey, which crystallizes much later. Natural honey cannot have a liquid consistency in winter. If honey has a liquid consistency in winter, it means that it was heated on the stove or the bees were fed with sugar.

Fluidity

The next method is used to check only young liquid honey: you need to scoop it up in a jar with a spoon and lift it up, natural honey stretches for a very long time and flows down in a continuous stream. If you put it on a plate, it lays down in a slide, and only then spreads over the surface. You can take a spoonful of nectar and twist it around its axis, a high-quality product will wrap around it, and unripe honey flows down immediately. If you take a little honey and rub it between your fingers, the natural one will immediately be absorbed, and the fake one will turn into a lump.

Taste

The taste of real honey is not only sweet, it should also be slightly bitter, cause a slight tickle in the throat and have a tart taste.

Scent

Natural honey has a pleasant, unobtrusive scent of flowers. The fake product either has no aroma at all, or it can be harsh, caramelized.

Color

The color of the finished product directly depends on which honey plant the bees collected nectar from. Linden honey is amber, buckwheat honey is brown, and flower honey has a light shade. The white color indicates that the bees were fed sugar.

How to make honey liquid?

It is not difficult to make honey liquid; for this you can melt the crystallized product. However, it should be remembered that when heated above 40 ° C, all useful substances disappear from it, which is not so scary. When this product melts, a substance is formed - oxymethylfurfural, which is a real poison. There are three ways to heat honey:

1. The most popular way is to heat honey in a water bath (in water up to 40 ° C).
2. Leave honey in a room with a sufficiently high temperature (for example, in a bath).
3. Last but not least, stove melting should be considered, not forgetting the poison content.

Why is honey liquid?

The answer is simple enough - fresh, freshly pumped honey contains about 22 percent water. After a while, the liquid evaporates and the crystallization process begins. The consistency of the product may vary, depending on the variety and storage temperature.

Which honey is better - thick or liquid?

Honey lovers often ask themselves which honey is better and healthier - thick or liquid? The answer is simple: crystallization does not impair the quality of honey in any way. If the mass is homogeneous with sugar crystals, this is considered the norm for such a product. The use of honey depends on which honey plants it is collected from.

Unripe honey

Sometimes the acquired honey has a liquid consistency, stratification is observed, the thick fraction settles at the bottom, and the liquid fraction, on the contrary, rises upward, there are no sugar crystals. This means that the purchased product is immature, most likely the temperature regime has been violated, as a result of which the honey has a high humidity. Therefore, honey aging is very important. A poor-quality product may soon foam and ferment.

Varieties

Among the natural varieties of honey, there are those that are candied later than others. This must be taken into account when buying.

May

This honey is the earliest, they start pumping it out in the first month of summer. For him, bees collect pollen from the very first honey plants: bird cherry, apple, cherry, lily of the valley. It is considered one of the most valuable varieties of natural honey. This variety contains a lot of fructose. It is known that it is often sold as a fake because it is very similar to the product developed after feeding bees with sugar syrup. It is better to buy this kind of honey in the fall, when it will last well.

Acacia

White honey variety has a unique aroma and taste. It contains 40% fructose and 35% glucose, as a result of this and due to the moisture that it contains, the product does not crystallize within 1-2 years. Acacia honey is very liquid, once pumped out, and retains this consistency for a long time.

Chestnut

Real chestnut color and very viscous consistency. The crystallization process takes from six months to a year, but even in this form, it has an excellent taste. Crystals of hardened honey are similar to gelatin granules. With prolonged storage, its structure becomes coarser. This variety has the ability to flake off, but this does not mean that it is not real, but is considered its special quality.

Lime

This is another white honey, just like acacia honey, it remains in liquid form - from 1.5 to 3 months. Linden honey - viscous consistency. When crystallized, it becomes similar to semolina with lumps.

Buckwheat

The variety is dark in color, while it is orange and brown. Contains a huge amount of minerals. Honey has a rather tart taste with bitterness. When eaten, it may have a slight sore throat. It crystallizes very quickly, so it must be stored properly. Recommended to use to boost immunity.

How to store it correctly?

It is necessary to choose the right utensils for storing honey. For this purpose, you can use glass, ceramic, wood, metal containers. In the room intended for storing the product, the temperature can be from +6 to +20 degrees, but at room temperature, the crystallization process will begin much earlier. If the refrigerator has a dry freeze function, honey can be stored in it too. This product has the ability to absorb odors, therefore it is recommended to store it separately. It should not be placed in a bright place, the light will destroy its antimicrobial properties. During storage, liquid honey turns cloudy, darkens, becomes thicker - this is a completely normal stage of its maturation.

Many people who purchase tasty bee products are interested in the question of whether honey should be candied and which honey is not candied. Crystallization is a natural process that changes the structure of the product and its color. After a certain amount of time, the dessert becomes viscous, begins to turn white and loses its original color. Most buyers give their preference to a liquid delicacy, but the question of whether they are doing the right thing, and whether the honey should be candied, still worries everyone.

Why does crystallization occur?

To answer the question of how and why honey is candied, you need to understand what is included in the product. A few months after collecting the bee product, it can begin to thicken, then turn white, its color becomes lighter, and the consistency is thicker, what does this mean? Such a process may mean that honey is being sugared.

Natural honey contains a large amount of substances such as fructose and glucose. Honey is candied in accordance with the ratio of carbohydrates contained in the product and glucose. If the amount of glucose in the sweetness reaches up to 35%, then honey quickly begins to crystallize. This happens for a simple reason, glucose is converted into sweet crystals that settle to the bottom.

There are varieties of bee products in which fructose predominates. It is thanks to her that honey is not sugar-coated so quickly or should not be sugar-coated at all for a long time (sometimes even more than one year). Fructose helps to envelop the components that make up the delicacy, and this, in turn, prevents the formation of crystals. If the honey is sugared, don't worry.

Candied honey does not lose its useful properties at all and does not mean that the quality of the delicacy is poor. It is equally well taken in food, used as an additive to desserts and drinks. If there is a desire, then you can melt the candied honey, while maintaining all its useful qualities. But the main thing is to do it right, for this you need to remember that you cannot heat the product to more than 50 degrees, so as not to lose its beneficial properties. It is best to melt the sweetness in a water bath.

Crystallization reasons

There are several reasons why honey can become sugar-coated. They are affected by certain factors, these include:

• Type of flower - honey plant;
• Weather;
• Maturity;
• Are there any impurities;
• The presence of moisture;
• Storage method;
• Storage.

It depends on the variety whether the honey will be candied. For example, such varieties of "gold" as sunflower and buckwheat do not retain their freshness for so long (only about a month). The sugared product does not differ in quality from the liquid consistency. And there are varieties of sweets, such as acacia or May, which retain their liquid consistency for a long time. How long can such honey be stored in a liquid state? Such varieties can remain liquid for more than one year in a row. A non-crystallizing product has a higher demand from buyers.

What kind of bee products does not crystallize?

None of the types of real honey can remain permanently in a liquid state. In any case, the honey should be candied after a year or several years. But if you observe the correct storage of the product, then you can leave it for a long time in a liquid consistency. How to store honey properly and how long will it stay fresh? You need to store the sweetness in a dark and cool place; a basement is good for this, but there should not be excessive moisture there. If you follow the requirements, then a year or two you can feast on a viscous sweetness.

For example, the sweetness of acacia is similar to syrup, so the liquid consistency can delight you for 2-3 years. The linden product may not completely sugar, but only become pasty. The chestnut bee product has a bright and rich color with a brown tint. It is capable of not crystallizing for half a year.

May honey is harvested in late May or early summer. Such a product is able to maintain its liquid consistency for 1-2 years, since it contains a large amount of fructose.

The main thing is to remember that in no case should you add sweetness to hot drinks, since a healthy product will lose its healing properties. Candied honey can be melted before drinking.

Why is the beekeeping product not sugar-coated?

There are times when a long period of time passes, and a tasty and sweet product is still not sugared. Why is honey not sugar-coated and how much time is needed for this?

The reasons may be various factors, for example, the water content in the delicacy exceeds the norm. Some beekeepers deliberately dilute the delicacy with syrup in order to lure customers, because such a sweetness cannot crystallize.

Another reason why fresh honey is not sugared is that there is not enough pollen in its composition. The beekeeper is in no way guilty of this, the bees themselves determine the rate for the development of their bee "gold".

Stirring the treat constantly can prolong the period at which the sweetness remains in a liquid state. Storing a sweet product at a low temperature can freeze the sugar process a little, this will not in any way affect its beneficial properties.

Do not forget that there are some varieties that, without adding impurities, can be stored in a liquid state for a long time.

Are the beneficial properties preserved?

A bee product can be in a liquid state and crystallized, which raises the question, is a sugar-coated product useful or not? Of course, you should not question the benefits of such a delicacy. Indeed, during crystallization, its color changes, a little taste sensations, but the beneficial properties remain unchanged. Most people, when choosing such a delicacy, prefer sweetness in a liquid state, but liquid does not mean healthy.

It is much easier to mix any impurities into a liquid consistency, for example, sugar syrup. Thanks to him, honey is not only diluted, but also does not become sugar-coated for a long time, thereby attracting the attention of buyers. After all, liquid sweetness is much easier to spread on bread, and it is more pleasant to eat it than to chip off a solid product.

When choosing a delicacy, you should pay attention to the candied sweetness, which has a huge amount of useful and nutritious substances. The bee product can be used for medicinal purposes, for example, for angina (it is enough to eat one or two spoons daily on an empty stomach with warm water or milk), with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, with high blood pressure, as well as with bruises, bruises and sores ( you can make various lotions and compresses based on the bee product).

How to quickly and efficiently melt a sugared treat?

There are several ways that you can quickly and correctly melt a treat so that the product does not lose its useful properties. Among them, the following three methods are noted:

1. method: kindling in a water bath, for this it is necessary to place any dishes with honey on it, then reheat slowly to the required temperature. The main thing is not to overheat, because if the temperature goes over 50 degrees Celsius, then most of the useful microelements die.
2. way: honey can be melted with a stove or battery. Install the jar near the battery, it will warm up slowly, and most importantly, gradually. This process will take much longer, but it will be worth it.
3. way: there is a special equipment designed for beekeepers, which is called a decrystallizer. With its help, you can easily melt honey and not worry about the fact that it will be overheated.

So, most people who purchase this healthy sweetness ask many questions about whether a sugared product is useful, which delicacy is better to choose, which one will be healthier: sugared or having a liquid consistency. Sweetness begins to crystallize as a result of the fact that it contains a large amount of glucose, which prevails over the rest of the components, therefore crystals appear.

In cases where fructose predominates in the product, it may not be sugar-coated for a long period of time, sometimes even several years. The crystallization process can be slightly slowed down or suspended if the sweetness is stored properly under the necessary conditions: in a dark, cool place free of moisture. The benefits of the sugared bee product remain unchanged. During crystallization, the beneficial properties do not leave the delicacy. It is best to purchase sweetness from trusted and reliable beekeepers. A liquid product or a thickened product is everyone's personal choice. The main thing to remember is that if you wish, you can melt the sugared delicacy in a water bath.

Anyone who loves bee products wondered if honey should be sugared. Definitely should, since this is the first sign of its natural composition. When honey is candied, its shelf life is increased. Although there are varieties that even sugaring does not save from souring. Each variety has its own characteristics and can crystallize in different ways. At the same time, the sugared product does not lose its usefulness.

Many people consider the liquid state of a product to be an indicator of freshness, regardless of the season. This opinion is erroneous. For the most part, a non-candied product indicates a counterfeit product. It can also be a sign of deliberate heating in order to improve the external characteristics of the product. Based on the above, it is not difficult for beekeepers to identify falsification in appearance. We will find out further about the reasons why honey is candied, what it means and whether it is right.

Should be sugared or not

Should honey be sugared? All supersaturated substances, including useful sweetness, cannot be in one aggregate form for a long time. Based on the laws of physics, such substances should precipitate. This is followed by the process of restoring the water balance, which leads to the return of the solution to saturated.

Honey candied

In the case of honey products, sugar, as a poorly soluble element, turns out to be superfluous. As a result, white flocculent crystals can be seen. This explains why fresh honey quickly became candied. The time it takes for the product to freeze will depend on the ratio of fructose to glucose in the composition. When the second substance predominates, crystallization is faster. Sugar fructose will not work, and winter will pass with fresh and healthy liquid honey.

High levels of pollen and other solid ingredients are another reason the correct crop crystallizes. The crop, which is cleaned during processing, does not change its aggregate shape for a long time. Also, unripe honey, which is saturated with moisture from the environment, does not thicken. In this case, an increase in water molecules occurs, the product becomes less saturated with sugars and loses its naturalness.

Note! Rubbing a piece of sweetness with your fingers, you can talk about its naturalness. An artificial product will begin to roll into lumps, a natural product - after rubbing, it will simply be absorbed into the skin.

Now, knowing why honey is candied, it is easy to understand whether natural honey should be candied.

Knowing whether natural honey is candied, it should be remembered that this process does not in any way affect the usefulness of the product. The healing properties are also preserved. Although the resulting grain suggests that it is no longer recommended to store such a product for a long time.

It is worth considering! A fresh product contains more nutrients, which means it is healthier. On the contrary, there is less chance of fermentation and spoilage in a product that has crystallized, since in this form the honey is exposed to less pollution and the influence of light and air.

Excellent natural honey

It is imperative to include honey products in the daily diet. Indeed, honey contains 22 of the 24 microelements necessary for the body. It is impossible to determine the quality of honey products, only focusing on crystallization. It should be borne in mind that the process of sugaring can be influenced not only by the type of honey, but also by many external factors. Thinking about whether real honey is candied, you need to understand that this is not the sign that will help to correctly determine the naturalness of the product without additional verification. One way or another, all products lend themselves to gradual crystallization.

Natural honey

The only thing that should be alarming is liquid homogeneous products in late winter and early spring. In such cases, more than one month has passed since the harvest, and it is no longer a season for fresh produce. All this suggests that the honey is additionally warmed up, which means that there are no nutrients there anymore. If the honey is not sugared before winter, then at least it should crystallize slightly, starting from the bottom, as can be seen by examining the bottom of the jar.

Attention should be paid to the fact that with the arrival of autumn there are almost no liquid products left. Most of it at this time either has already become sugar, or begins to crystallize.

Unknowingly, many connoisseurs of products take counterfeit honey for natural, giving the usual price for it. To avoid falsification, you should know how to choose real honey.

You can define natural products by the following criteria:

• Visual inspection. Natural products are distinguished by their density. Pouring honey into another container, you can see how it folds up in a slide, while gradually distributing it, taking up free space. This is the first sign of low water content in the product. Also, weight is considered a sign of naturalness: if you buy a liter can, you get about 1.5 kg of products. When the honey is picked up with a spoon, the product flows smoothly with a thin, homogeneous transparent thread, which indicates quality. Also, the products should not foam, as this is a sign of unripe or fermented honey.
• Taste qualities. Real honey products are so tart that tasting them makes your throat sore. If you drop a little honey on your skin, it will be quickly absorbed. The smell of real honey smells strongly of flowers and pollen.
• State of aggregation. With a high content of useful elements, honey hardens much faster. Fresh pumped honey in the summer should be only syrupy. In winter, it is impossible to find a liquid consistency; choose the right solid product.
• Home check. Do not buy large containers right away. Better to take a little for verification. This requires ordinary bread, it is dipped in honey for about 15 minutes. During this time, in natural honey, the bread should become hard. If the bread product is softened, it is not honey, but ordinary syrup. If you drop diluted honey on a paper sheet, a greasy spot will appear, or it will simply drain. Good honey will stay in place.
• Documentary verification. You can always ask for a passport of the quality of the product you want to buy. After all, an analysis carried out in laboratory conditions will accurately determine what the product consists of.

Reasons for Sugaring Honey

Honey is a living product that has its own stages of development and life. The sugaring process lasts for 1.5-3 months after harvest. A sugar cap may appear within a month if stored in a cold place. Honey must crystallize, because this is its natural process, which is typical for almost all types of quality products. When stored for a long time, products in combs in apiaries can become sugar-coated. It is this kind of honey that retains its beneficial properties for a long time.

Sugar cap on honey

Already in the fall, most of the sweetness begins to form crystals. First of all, the product becomes cloudy, after which a sugar film appears at the top. Initially, it hardens, then it becomes soft. Outwardly, each variety is different from each other. Some are characterized by an oily structure, others resemble simple sugar crystals. Regardless of the size of the crystals, all natural varieties should harden.

To preserve the liquid for a long period, the sweetness must be bought immediately after collection, keeping it in a warm place at room temperature. Such conditions will help to delay the process a little, but not cancel it. Storing honey at a temperature of 5 to 8 degrees will help to achieve oily fine crystallization.

The honey settling rate depends on the type of flowers from which the pollen is collected. The cultivars that are sugared last are:

1. Acacia - a variety with a high water content, retains a liquid state for 2 years. The fresh crop is so thin that it resembles syrup in structure. After crystallization, honey brightens and becomes fat-like;
2. Lime - a variety that resembles acacia in terms of the duration of thickening. The shrinkage rate is directly related to the viscosity. After crystallization, it becomes pasty. Gradually begins to divide into layers: hard and softer;
3. Greek - a pine variety, which is often called a padev, i.e. collected not from flowers, but from insects. It is believed that such honey does not lend itself to sugar at all. Usually this kind is mixed by bees with flower pollen, which allows the honey to solidify;
4. May - swinging one of the first. It has a high fructose content, which prevents the product from crystallizing. This variety is considered the most useful, quickly digestible, which allows people with diabetes mellitus to use it;
5. Chestnut - viscous, very dark variety. Products need at least 7-12 months to become sugar-free. After sugar, the consistency resembles small gelatinous granules. During long-term storage, the structure changes significantly.

Candied honey of the new season

Knowing what natural honey is, it is important to understand whether honey collected in the new season should be sugar. Beekeepers think they should. Not taking into account the properties, variety and storage conditions, all types of natural honey products must go through the crystallization process and change their original appearance. This can happen as early as a few weeks after harvest, or within a few months.

Fresh honey

For your information. For a long time, only artificial products can not change their structure.

Often, when buying products in the markets, it happens that fresh honey begins to acquire the consistency of melted granular lard. This is a completely normal natural product that speaks of early ripening of the crop. In addition, such a thickening may be associated with favorable temperature conditions in which the sweet purchase is stored.

Also, fresh produce thickens:

• with a high glucose content;
• when the main constituents are pollen and other solid impurities;
• when fresh honey was mixed with previously collected honey, which has already begun to sugar.

All this speaks only of the naturalness of sweet honey products. If you need to keep the liquid consistency longer, you can do the following: leave honey in a room with zero temperature for 1.5 months. Next, transfer the container to a place where it will be permanently stored at a temperature of no more than 14 degrees.

Crystallization rate factors

More than once it was necessary to observe that after mixing the honey, white crystals appear throughout the mass and the vessel. This is explained by the fact that crystallization spreads from the center of formation of crystals, which are, in fact, clots of pollen and other mechanical impurities mixed with glucose. When honey is mixed, the number of such centers increases, and the process is accelerated.

Crystallization of honey

In general, it is easy to explain why honey becomes sugar-free. A favorable condition for crystallization is considered to be a temperature of 15 degrees.

Also, this process is influenced by the following factors:

• The temperature at which honey is stored, below 4 and above 27 degrees, inhibits sugar sugar. It is known that subzero temperatures lead to freezing of sweetness, freezing of sediment. A similar effect should be expected at temperatures above 30 degrees;
• The amount of glucose in the composition - the greater its percentage, the faster the honey thickens;
• Water - its content in the product slows down the crystallization of glucose;
• Heat treatment, which is carried out before packaging the product;
• The degree of air humidification;
• Mechanical influence on the process. You can slow down the thickening by periodically stirring the product;
• Dextrin additive is a polysaccharide, when added, the thickening process can be delayed;
• Product maturity - immature products with water in the composition crystallize unevenly. Unripe products are the most subject to fermentation.

Summing up, it should be said that crystallization is an irreversible process, indicating the naturalness of beekeeping products without artificial additives. Due to the high glucose content in the composition, one way or another, honey will change its consistency from liquid to solid, forming sugar crystals that will solidify. We must not forget about the factors that can slow down or, conversely, accelerate the formation of crystallization centers.

It should also be said that after sugaring, honey products remain just as tasty and healthy, and the process itself does not in any way affect the healing qualities. The usefulness of such honey is no different from freshly pumped products. However, such a product is not recommended to be stored for a long period, since it is the fresh product that is considered the most useful.