We all know that honey is different. It can be denser or thinner, almost white or completely brown. However, the main indicator of the division of honey into varieties is its origin. According to this criterion, honey is divided into floral and honeydew honey. Floral, in turn, can be pure or mixed. There is also such a separate concept as honeydew. This substance can not be produced by bees at all, for example, in New Zealand, insects from beech forests produce an analogue of honey from black and red beech. The drops of nectar that they leave on the leaves glisten under the rays of the sun - hence the name.

It is simple to distinguish the types of flower honey - they are named after the plant from which it is collected. The most common varieties in our strip are: flower, linden, buckwheat, acacia, clover and alfalfa. Alfalfa honey, for example, has a mild flavor and aroma; has a light golden color; can be quite watery. Clover honey is even lighter in color - at light it may seem almost colorless; clover honey has an unobtrusive interesting aroma and taste. Clover honey is collected mainly from white clover.

Linden honey is legendary. It is recognized as one of the best varieties in the world because of the whole bouquet of its merits. Firstly, it has an unforgettable taste and aroma, which, by the way, will change somewhat depending on the linden variety and the place of its growth. Secondly, the medicinal qualities of linden honey cannot be listed at once - this is also the first remedy for various colds, wound healing, strengthening and anti-inflammatory agent. Linden honey is not only white, but also golden, sometimes with a green tint. When it crystallizes, it becomes creamy.

Another legend is acacia honey. Like linden, it is very popular because of its taste, and is also used throughout folk medicine. It is considered very useful for children and is used to treat diseases of the genitourinary system. For anemia, it is recommended to use buckwheat honey. It has a reddish hue ranging from golden red to brown. The abundance of vitamins puts it above most types of honey.

In general, flower honey can be further divided into meadow and forest honey. Meadow honey is lighter, its spectrum of aromas differs from forest honey. Meadow honey is honey of the first grade (lower grades are produced using a different technology); has a golden color, its main components: thyme, clover, thyme, sage, alfalfa and other herbs. Forest honey is mainly made from nectar collected by bees from bushes, including: blackberry, hawthorn, mountain ash. Grasses and trees are also found in forest honey. The range of colors of forest honey is large: from almost transparent golden to dense dark brown.

Often, some percentage of honeydew is present in flower honey, that is, one that is obtained from the processed nectar of other insects (honeydew). Honeydew honey is mixed with forest varieties and helps to create a special flavor. By the way, some types of forest honey can be dangerous to humans. They are also called drunk honey or poisonous honey, in appearance they differ little from ordinary honey. Such a substance causes a semblance of food poisoning, but does not cause serious harm to the body. According to the final result, honey can be divided into filtered, unfiltered, honeycomb and artificial. Cellular honey is especially laborious, because the cells need to be fixed so that they do not break during transportation. The so-called artificial honey is a product of bees when they are specially fed with sugar or honey from the previous harvest. Its value characteristics are much lower than that of ordinary filtered honey.

Varieties and varieties of honey

Acacia(white acacia) honey is considered one of the best varieties. In liquid form, it is transparent, upon crystallization (sugaring) it becomes white, fine-grained, reminiscent of snow. Bees also collect nectar from yellow acacia flowers. This honey is very light, but when crystallized it becomes greasy, white, medium granularity. Acacia yellow honey is also one of the best varieties.

Barberry honey golden yellow in color, aromatic and delicate in taste. The bees vigorously process the nectar of the flowers of the common barberry shrub, which grows in the European part of Russia, in the Crimea and is widely cultivated as a valuable hemostatic agent.

Budyak honey belongs to the top-notch. It is colorless, greenish, golden (light amber), has a pleasant aroma and taste. It becomes fine-grained during crystallization. The bees vigorously collect it from the beautiful crimson flowers of a weed with thorny stems and grayish leaves - a buddy, a drooping thistle.

Borage honey is obtained from the nectar of large beautiful blue flowers of borage - a cucumber herb. Borage is grown as a valuable honey plant and medicinal plant. Honey has a pleasant taste, transparent, light.

Cornflower honey- greenish-yellow in color, has a pleasant, almond-like aroma and a peculiar, slightly bitter aftertaste. The blue cornflower, or field cornflower, is a good honey plant.

Heather honey obtained from the nectar of small pink flowers of a branched evergreen shrub of common heather, common in the western and northern steppe regions of Ukraine, in the western and north-western regions of Russia, in Belarus. Heather honey of dark, dark yellow and red-brown color with a weak aroma, pleasant or tart bitter taste. Refers to low types of honey. Has the ability to thicken in a jelly with a lot of air bubbles that can rise to the surface. With stirring or shaking, the gelatinous structure of heather honey is destroyed, and it again becomes liquid, but later thickens again. This property is called thixotropy. Buckwheat honey also has small thixotropic properties. After removing protein substances from heather honey, thixotropic properties are lost.

Mustard honey- a product collected from large yellow flowers of white mustard growing in Ukraine, Belarus, in the European part of Russia. In the liquid state, it has a pleasant golden yellow color, and later acquires a yellow-cream shade. Crystallizes in small crystals. Has a pleasant aroma, sweet taste. It has high nutritional and medicinal properties, thanks to which it is recommended for respiratory diseases.

Pea honey harvested from the flowers of the thin-leaved pea growing in the steppes of Siberia.

Buckwheat honey produced everywhere, but mainly - in the central and southern regions of Russia, in Ukraine. Honey color - from dark yellow and reddish to dark brown; it has a distinctive spicy taste and pleasant aroma. It crystallizes into a homogeneous, most often coarse-grained, dark yellow mass. Some tasters note that when eating buckwheat honey, it "tickles the throat."
In most cases, buckwheat honey is rated as high grade and has medicinal properties. It contains more protein and iron than other botanical honey varieties. In this regard, such honey is recommended to be taken in the treatment of anemia. People say: "Dark honey is very useful for pale-faced people."

Angelica honey bees collect angelica from flowers, widespread in Russia, Crimea, Belarus, Ukraine.

Melilot honey- very light, white or light amber. It has a delicate pleasant taste and aroma reminiscent of vanilla. It is rated as one of the best varieties. Bees collect it from the bright yellow flowers of sweet clover or yellow. It crystallizes quickly. Due to its high nutritional and medicinal qualities, it is very popular. Recommended for respiratory diseases, colds, headaches, insomnia. In the USA, sweet clover honey is rated as one of the best varieties; it accounts for 50-70% of the total amount of all honeys on sale.

Blackberry honey bees collect from the flowers of widespread blackberry bushes. It is transparent like water and has a high taste and medicinal qualities and a delicate aroma.

Snakehead honey- light, transparent, with a pleasant aroma and taste. Bees prepare it from the nectar of blue-violet flowers of the Moldavian snakehead growing in the Caucasus, Altai, and Ukraine. Snakehead is a very valuable melliferous plant, as it contains a large amount of high-sugar nectar with a lemon scent.

Willow honey- golden yellow color, during crystallization it becomes fine-grained, acquires a creamy hue, has a high taste. The bees vigorously collect it from the flowers of various types of trees and willow shrubs, of which there are about 170.

Hyssop honey according to its organoleptic properties, it belongs to the first-class samples. The nectar for this honey bees collect from the dark blue flowers of the medicinal and melliferous subshrub hyssop.

Stone honey- rare and peculiar. Wild bees collect it, laying stone cliffs in crevices. This honey is pale yellow in color, with a pleasant aroma, good taste. Honeycombs contain little wax and are a single crystallized substance that has to be chipped off in order to be consumed, like candy. Unlike ordinary bee honey, stone honey is almost non-sticky and therefore does not require a special container. It keeps well without changing its qualities for several years. It is also often called Abkhaz honey.

Chestnut honey has a dark color, has a weak aroma, unpleasant taste. To prepare this honey, bees collect nectar from the flowers of the chestnut tree, which grows mainly in the Crimea and Transcaucasia. Bees also produce honey from the nectar of the bell-shaped white-pink flowers of the decorative horse chestnut tree. This honey, unlike the first one, is transparent (colorless), liquid, but crystallizes easily and quickly, sometimes it tastes bitter. Chestnut honey belongs to the category of low-grade honey.

Fireweed honey- transparent, with a greenish tinge, during crystallization it becomes white in the form of snow grains, and sometimes resembles a creamy or fine-grained mass. When heated, it turns yellow, has a very weak delicate aroma and does not have a distinct honey taste, so buyers often do not recognize its naturalness. This honey has to be blended more often than other varieties. Honey bees are harvested from the nectar of beautiful lilac-red flowers of narrow-leaved fireweed (ivan tea), which is found in the wild quite often.

Clover honey- light, almost colorless, transparent, sometimes with a greenish tint, with a delicate aroma and a pleasant peculiar taste. It quickly crystallizes into a solid white fine-crystalline mass. Refers to high-grade, first-class honey.

Maple honey refers to light varieties of honey, has excellent taste. Bees vigorously collect it from the beautiful yellowish-green flowers of the Norway maple, found in almost all forests of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus.

Cranberry honey produced by bees from the nectar of cranberry flowers. It has a beautiful color, delicate taste, very aromatic, less sweet than other types of honey (probably due to high acidity). In the USA it is in great demand.

Lavender honey belongs to the category of first-class. This golden-colored transparent honey with a delicate aroma and pleasant taste is produced by bees from the nectar of light blue or bluish-purple flowers of the perennial essential oil plant lavender. Lavender is cultivated on the southern coast of Crimea, in the Kuban and the Caucasus. Lavender honey is of the highest quality.

Linden honey is collected everywhere and is considered one of the best among the population. Due to its extremely pleasant taste, it is highly valued. A sharp taste is typical for Central Russian honeys and, in particular, for the Ufa "Lipets". Far Eastern linden honey is very delicate and aromatic. Freshly pumped out on a honey extractor, this honey is very fragrant, usually transparent, slightly yellow or greenish in color. Ufa (Bashkir) lime honey, the so-called lipets, is colorless; upon crystallization it becomes white, with a golden tint and a coarse-grained mass. Amur (Far Eastern) lime honey of dull yellowish color. All samples of linden honey have an excellent specific aroma and wonderful taste, despite the sensation of slight bitterness, which, however, quickly disappears. Honey crystallizes into a solid white mass, has a coarse-grained cage. Crystals of calcium oxalate were found in lime honey. It is believed that the content of these crystals is characteristic only of linden honey. Their detection may serve as an additional indication of the establishment of a lime honey variety. Bees produce linden honey from the nectar of linden flowers, which has high melliferous qualities. Linden honey has valuable nutritional and medicinal properties. Its antibacterial effect is manifested against gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms, as well as against ciliates, amoebas and Trichomonas. It contains volatile, non-volatile and low-volatile antimicrobial substances, has an expectorant, anti-inflammatory and. mild laxative effect. It is successfully used for diseases of the respiratory tract (sore throat, runny nose, laryngitis, bronchitis, bronchial asthma), as a means of strengthening the heart, for inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, for diseases of the kidneys and gall bladder. It has a good local effect on purulent wounds and burns. Sometimes linden honey has a light yellow or greenish-gray color, which comes from the ingress of honeydew honey. (Linden falls are common.) In folk medicine, linden honey is widely used for colds, mainly as a diaphoretic.

Burdock honey has a pungent spicy smell, has a dark olive color, is very viscous. To obtain this honey, bees collect nectar from small dark pink flowers of felt burdock and large burdock. This nectar is of a beautiful yellowish color, sometimes it can have a greenish tint, and has a strong pleasant spicy smell. Honey collected from the flowers of felt burdock (cobweb) has an olive color, light, viscous, easily wrapped around a spoon.

Meadow honey (Herbs) has a golden yellow, sometimes yellow-brown color, pleasant aroma, good taste. Meadow ("prefabricated") honey bees produce from the nectar of various meadow flowers.

Alfalfa honey bees collect from lilac or purple alfalfa flowers. Freshly pumped honey has different shades - from perfectly transparent to golden amber; quickly crystallizes, acquiring a white color, and resembles thick cream in its consistency. The color depends on the water content: the lower the water content, the lighter the honey color. This honey has a pleasant aroma and specific taste. If honey is stored in a warm room, it can remain liquid for a year.

Raspberry honey belongs to the light varieties of honey of the highest quality, has a pleasant aroma and good taste. Raspberry honeycomb has delicate taste and melts in your mouth. This honey is made from the nectar of wild and garden raspberry flowers. Due to the fact that the raspberry flower is knocked down, the bee, extracting nectar, is, as it were, under a natural canopy or umbrella and can work even in the rain.

Melissa honey has a transparent color, pleasant aroma and taste. Bees harvest it from the nectar of light purple or pink with a strong scent of lemon balm flowers. Bees love the scent of lemon balm very much.

Carrot honey has a dark yellow color, strong aroma. Bees produce it from the nectar of fragrant white flowers of umbrella-shaped inflorescences of a cultivated biennial plant - carrots.

Mint honey bees produce from the nectar of the fragrant flowers of the perennial essential oil and spice plant, peppermint, which yields abundant harvests of high quality honey. This honey has an amber color and a pleasant mint aroma. Mint honey is considered to be of high quality in Western Europe. This honey contains a lot of vitamin C, has a choleretic, sedative, analgesic and antiseptic effect.

Dandelion honey has a golden yellow color, very thick, viscous, crystallizing quickly, with a strong odor and pungent taste. This honey is obtained from the nectar of a well-known and widespread weed - dandelion.

Sow honey is white, fragrant and tasty. This premium honey is produced by bees from the nectar collected from the numerous golden-yellow flowers of the sow thistle weed.

Sunflower honey has a golden color, weak aroma and tart taste. Crystallizes quickly. When crystallized, it becomes light amber, sometimes even with a greenish tint. This honey has valuable dietary and medicinal properties.

Motherwort honey- very heavy, light yellow in color, with a specific, but not sharp taste. Bees collect nectar from the pale purple flowers of the motherwort honey plant.

Rapeseed honey has a color from white to intense yellow, weak aroma and sugary taste, thick, quickly crystallizes. It dissolves poorly in water and quickly sour during long-term storage. Bees prepare it from the nectar of rapeseed flowers.

Reseda honey belongs to the category of high-grade, has a pleasant aroma, and can compete with linden in taste. Bees produce this honey from the nectar of mignonette flowers, which is a good honey plant.

Rowan honey has a red color, strong aroma and good taste. During crystallization, a coarse-grained mass is formed. Bees harvest honey from the nectar of rowan flowers.

Ripe honey has a greenish-yellow color, has a weak aroma, but a pleasant taste. Not suitable for long-term storage. It is produced from the nectar of the golden yellow flowers of the rape.

Pumpkin honey has a golden yellow color, pleasant taste, crystallizes rather quickly. The bees harvest it from the large golden flowers of the pumpkin.

Tulip honey has a reddish color, has a pleasant aroma and good taste. Bees collect this honey from a greenish-reddish decorative tulip tree. This tree is a good melliferous plant, as it contains the highest amount of nectar in comparison with other melliferous subtropical plants.

Phacelia honey has a light green or white color, has a delicate aroma and pleasant delicate taste. Belongs to the best varieties. After crystallization, it resembles a dough. It is made from the nectar of phacelia flowers, which is considered a good honey plant.

Cotton honey- very light and only after crystallization becomes white, has a peculiar aroma and delicate taste. Honey collected by bees from cotton leaves tastes the same as honey collected from large cotton flowers.

Cherry honey. In some regions of Ukraine and southern regions of Russia, there are large areas of cherry plantations, which are also melliferous. From the nectar of sweet cherry flowers, bees produce sweet cherry honey. It has a characteristic lemon-sweet taste, has a white-yellow color, and a pleasant aroma. Well accepted by the body. Possesses antimicrobial properties.

Blueberry honey possesses an exceptional aroma, pleasant taste and has a reddish color. It is produced by bees from the nectar of blueberry flowers.

Sage honey has a light amber or dark golden color, has a delicate pleasant aroma, good taste. It is produced from the flowers of the pharmaceutical sage.

Eucalyptus honey- unpleasant in taste, but highly valued, as it is used in folk medicine for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. Bees produce this honey from the nectar of large single flowers with numerous stamens of the evergreen eucalyptus tree, cultivated mainly in the subtropics.

Esparcet honey belongs to valuable varieties. It is light amber in color, transparent like a crystal, has a pleasant delicate aroma and taste. It slowly crystallizes in very fine crystals. In the settled form, it is a white solid mass with a creamy tint, resembling fat in appearance. It is harvested by bees from the nectar of the sainfoin plant, or vicolor, growing in the wild. In addition to nectar, bees take brown-yellow pollen from sainfoin. According to available data, during the flowering period of sainfoin, its pollen is dominant in any bee pollen.

Apple honey has a light yellow color, very delicate aroma and taste, crystallizes quickly. Made from apple blossom nectar.

The most pleasant and delicious fasting begins on August 14th. On this day, the holiday of Honey Savior is celebrated, and people go to the church to bless water, poppy seeds and honey.

Ancient holiday

Honey Savior is one of the oldest holidays, which testifies to the beginning of the collection of honey in apiaries. From the day of the first Savior, the Assumption Fast begins and lasts until August 28. This is the only multi-day Orthodox fast in honor of the Mother of God and her Assumption.

Three August holidays, celebrated in honor of the Savior Jesus Christ, go one after the other. The first Savior is Honey (Savior on the water), the second is Yablochny (Savior on the mountain), the third is Nut (Savior on canvas).

Honey Savior is also called Macovey. Indeed, it falls on the day of the commemoration of the Maccabean Brothers Martyrs. However, the holiday received the name "Honey Poppy" not for this reason. The fact is that from August 14, the collection of poppy began annually.

In Orthodoxy, the first Savior is called the Extermination of the trees of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. The tree of the Life-giving Cross was taken out to the streets of Constantinople, since it was during this hot period that various epidemics and diseases began to spread. The emperor even left the capital so as not to be affected by epidemics, and people were given the opportunity to touch the shrine, ask God for mercy, for healing. The people also have the name Wet Spas. After the procession, they bathed in consecrated water and bathed livestock to wash away diseases.

The most important thing to do on the day of the first Savior is to consecrate the main dish of the festive table - honey. He was sanctified in a new vessel, which was not yet in use, where a beekeeper in clean clothes put part of the honeycomb from the richest hive. After Mass, the priest blessed the “new nova” from the summer labors of the bee, “God's worker,” and began to sanctify the honey brought in honeycombs. The clerk was collecting the “priest’s share”. Part of the consecrated honey was immediately handed over to the “poor brethren”, they said, “On the first Savior, the beggar will try the honey!”.

After visiting the church, the people organized a festivities. The celebration should not be too fun, especially for those who observe the Dormition Fast. Instead of alcoholic beverages, only kvass and, of course, honey should be on the table. After the "wet Savior" they no longer bathed: summer is approaching sunset, the water "blooms", the birds become silent, the bee does not wear fees, the rooks gather in flocks and prepare for departure. A hard time began, field work, haymaking, harvesting. The peasants prepared threshing floors, barns for the new harvest grain, arable land for winter crops.

In a barrel of honey

Interestingly, honey is one of the most frequently falsified foods, as its prices are 5-10 times higher than sugar and other sweeteners. To determine the quality of honey, you need to dip a wooden stick into it. The trickle from it should flow like a "snake", without interruption, and fit in a "slide", and not in a "hole". Unripe honey contains a lot of moisture, which means that it can ferment soon. Foam and a sour smell will let you know if this has already happened.

When buying young honey, tilt the jar - the mass inside should be homogeneous and smoothly flow from wall to wall, leaving a thick layer on them. When testing, it is necessary to take into account the variety, since different types of honey have different viscosities. Also, you should be alerted if the honey is very transparent. Natural honey contains pollen particles, wax, and other natural inclusions.

When shopping for honey, it's best to grab a few small glass jars with screw caps to help you eat it faster. You should not keep the sweetness in plastic containers for a long time. This is a temporary package - try to transfer it to glass (ideally, it is better to buy honey in it immediately) or ceramic dishes as soon as possible.

It is not recommended to store honey in a metal container - it reacts with zinc and copper, and toxic substances can accumulate in it. Honey is stored in liquid form for the longest time in natural packaging, in sealed combs. At an ambient temperature of 20-30 ˚С, as well as in a hive with bees, it may not thicken for up to 2-3 months.

Taste and color

Depending on the melliferous plant, the nectar of which was collected by the bees, honey differs in color, taste and smell. If honey is obtained from one specific type of plant, then it is called monofloral, usually it is given the name of this plant - for example, linden, fireweed, buckwheat. If bees have collected nectar from different plants, then such honey is usually called polyfloral (mixed), or simply floral. It is almost impossible to get honey from one honey plant because several honey plants usually bloom at the same time next to the apiary.

By color, honey is divided into light and dark with numerous transitional shades - from white to reddish-brown. The color depends on the plants from the nectar of which honey is obtained: relatively light species are obtained from inflorescences of linden, sunflower, acacia, relatively dark - from buckwheat, milkweed. Honey collected by bees from one particular plant usually has its own characteristic taste and aroma. With a little experience, you can, for example, unmistakably identify buckwheat honey. Linden honey or honey collected from sunflower flowers has a peculiar aroma. The taste and color are influenced by nature itself.

In today's article we will talk about such a useful product as -.

We all know from childhood that honey is very useful, and regardless of whether we love it or not, we always try to have honey in our house. Many people use honey not only for the treatment of diseases, for cosmetic purposes, for massage, in the preparation of various culinary masterpieces, but also in many other areas of life. Therefore, due to the popularity of honey, people, unfortunately, have learned how to make honey without bees and profit from customers who do not know how to distinguish real honey from a fake, which not only will not bring benefits, but can seriously harm our health.

So, let's arm ourselves with the necessary knowledge about honey and learn how to choose real honey and not buy a fake one.

Classification of honey

Honey is distinguished by:

- origin;
- manufacturing method;
- color and consistency.

Origin:

- Monofloral - formed from the nectar of one plant (linden, maple, buckwheat, acacia, etc.).
- Polyfloral - mixed, formed from nectar from different plants (meadow, steppe, garden, etc.).

Honey is flower and honeydew.

Bees produce honeydew honey not from the nectar of flowers, but from honeydew, the sweet juice that leaves and honeydew secrete (discharge in the form of liquid sweet drops of herbaceous aphids, worms, pure beetles). Honeydew honey is dark in color, viscous, has an unpleasant aftertaste and bad aroma. This type of honey is used for processing.

Bees collect flower honey only from the nectar of flowers.

By manufacturing method:

Self-flowing, freely flowing out of the honeycomb, pressed and centrifugal, separated by a centrifuge. This is the purest and most transparent honey. The method of obtaining honey using a centrifuge is the most common.

By color and consistency:

By its consistency, honey is liquid and thick (as a result of crystallized glucose).

The color of honey depends only on the variety. The color of real honey can be all shades of brown and yellow.

Below are the main types of honey:

Lime. Light yellow, easy to crystallize, has a characteristic odor. It is used for diseases of the respiratory tract, good for colds and, including for inhalation. It has a good effect on the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. From one linden, bees can collect about 40 kg of honey.

Acacia. Transparent, light, more liquid, with a slight acacia aroma. Crystallizes slowly. It is used for diseases of the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract and female inflammatory diseases, not only internally but also externally, due to its bactericidal properties.

Buckwheat. Bright brown color, with a characteristic odor and slight bitterness. This type of honey is used in confectionery. Treats diseases of the stomach, blood and skin

Field and meadow. Light amber or brown in color, with a very pleasant smell and taste. It has almost all medicinal properties.

Fruit honey. Harvested from berry and fruit crops. Light amber, with a delicate smell and taste. Possesses dietary qualities.

Sunflower. Golden yellow in color, pleasant to the taste, crystallizes quickly. Antiallergenic, but in terms of medicinal properties it is inferior to the main types of honey.

Types of honey fakes:

- natural honey with additives;
- honey from products of non-nectar origin;
- artificial "honey".

When buying honey, pay attention to:

The price. If you want to buy honey at a lower price, then you can slip sugar syrup for a good price, which will be tinted with tea. This type of counterfeit is mixed a little with real honey, and then it will be difficult to find a difference from real honey. For fakes, sucrose, molasses, starch, chalk and even sand are used. Craftsmen-beekeepers have learned to counterfeit honey in such a way that it is difficult to figure it out even in laboratory conditions. The most common fake is when bees are fed sugar syrup and we end up with processed sugar instead of nectar from the fields.

Color. Unnaturally white honey can be sugar-like. Unnaturally dark, even dark brown honey can be either melted (with a caramel flavor) or, in the worst case, honeydew (made by bees from insect secretions). Such honey not only does not contain useful substances, but is also harmful to health.

Each sort of honey has its own natural color: floral - light yellow, lime - amber, ash - transparent, buckwheat any shade of brown.

But any variety, regardless of color, if it is real and pure, will be transparent. While honey with additives will be cloudy and, if you look closely, with sediment.

Smell. If honey has a pleasant rich aroma, then it is real, because in a fake one you hardly notice the smell, and if you can hear it, it is from sweet water.

Taste. Real honey, when you taste it evenly, will dissolve in your mouth without residue, there will be no crystals or powdered sugar on the tongue. Also, after real honey, there will be a little scuffle in the throat.

All types of honey have a sweet taste, but some of the varieties have a specific taste (tobacco, chestnut and willow varieties have a bitter taste, and heather has a bitter taste). Any deviations in the taste of honey indicate its poor quality. Other defects in taste can be associated with the presence of impurities. Excessive acidity can be due to the beginning of fermentation, the aroma of caramel is the result of heating and melting honey, bitterness is the wrong storage conditions.

Viscosity and consistency. Dip a toothpick into a plate, and if this is real honey, then it should be drawn with a long continuous thread, and when the thread breaks, it will completely sink, forming a small hill on the surface of the honey, which will gradually and slowly diverge. Natural honey is thin and delicate, it is easily absorbed into the skin without leaving lumps.

Real honey does not roll off the spoon quickly. Take a tablespoon of honey and turn the spoon over several times in quick circular motions. Honey will wrap on it, almost without draining.

Dip the spoon into the honey container. As you pull out the spoon, watch the honey drip. A high-quality one will form a ribbon and lie down like a slide, and bubbles will form on its surface.

Natural honey is liquid and crystallized. Crystallization time depends on colors and storage temperature.

Most of the honey varieties crystallize in November-December. So, buying candied honey at this time, there can be no doubt that it is real. If honey is in a jar and two layers have formed: a denser one at the bottom and a more liquid one on top, then this is a fake. Because there are few varieties of honey (heather, acacia, chestnut), in which there is a lot of fructose, remain liquid until spring. Natural liquid honey in the middle of winter is a huge rarity. It can be either sugar (the bees were fed with sugar), or melted.

Dip a slice of bread in honey for 10 minutes. In real honey, the bread will harden, and in fake it will soften. This is a sign that sugar syrup has been added to the honey. Real honey is completely water-free.

Take a drop of honey and sprinkle it with a pinch of starch. If the starch remains on top of the yellow droplet with a white cap - real honey, if not - fake.

Add a few drops of vinegar to a spoonful of honey diluted with distilled water. In the presence of chalk, the mixture will boil due to the release of carbon dioxide.

And if instead of vinegar you drop a few drops of iodine and it turns blue, then starch was added to the honey.

Put honey on paper and light it. Real honey does not burn, melt or brown, only the paper around it will burn. If the honey melted, then the bees were fed with sugar syrup, and if it turns brown, it was diluted with sugar.

Video on the difference between real honey and fake

That's all for today, and in the following articles, dear readers, we will get to know you the methods of storing honey, and also dwell on its useful properties.

We know from childhood that honey is a delicious and very healthy delicacy.

Today the market provides us with a huge number of different types of honey.

Among them, unfortunately, there are also fakes.

In order to make a quality purchase and not harm your health, it is very important to know what honey is and what properties it has.

Differences between different types of honey

Bee honey is a sweet, thick product produced by bees. Different characteristics make it possible to distinguish many types of honey.

The classification is made according to the following criteria:

• botanical origin;
• geographical origin;
• marketable condition;
• method of obtaining;
• density;
• color and transparency;
• taste and smell.

According to its botanical origin, honey is floral (natural) and honeydew honey.

Flower honey bees produce from the nectar of flowering and extra-flowering plants.

It is produced from honeydew (sweet sticky sap of plant stems and leaves) and honeydew (sweet liquid secreted by insects that feed on plant sap).

A typical example of the classification of honey by geographical origin is the name "Carpathian honey".

According to the method of extraction, honey can be honeycomb (in natural form) and centrifugal (pumped out).

In terms of density (or consistency), honey can be liquid and shrunken (crystallized).

By its color, honey can be light and dark, by this characteristic it is possible to roughly determine what the nectar was collected from: light honey is obtained from linden, acacia, sunflower, dark - from buckwheat and chestnut.

The transparency of honey determines the presence of bee bread (pollen) and crystallization processes. Natural honey is sweet with different notes: with a characteristic aftertaste, bitterness or sweetness. The aroma of honey is determined by honey plants.

Honey, collected from one plant, exudes a pronounced smell, a diverse aroma is obtained from a whole bouquet of plants. All types of honey have similar medicinal properties. Honey has a wound healing, antibacterial, sedative effect, has a positive effect on the cardiovascular, digestive, and nervous systems.

Did you know? In 2015, Ukraine became the first country in Europe and the third in the world in terms of the amount of honey produced.

– a very valuable product that ends up on our table in its natural packaging - honeycombs, bypassing contact with technological equipment. For particularly demanding buyers, honeycomb is a guarantee of quality and protection against counterfeiting. In addition, if the cells of the honeycomb are sealed with natural "caps" (wax plates), it means that the honey in them is fully ripe.
Honey in combs is well preserved and does not crystallize for a long time. Honeycomb honey is much more aromatic and can be consumed together with honeycomb.

The body receives useful fat-soluble biologically active substances, vitamins and natural antibiotics from wax. Fatty acids of wax and propolis increase the body's defenses and prevent the development of atherosclerosis.

Propolis has bactericidal, anti-toxic, antiviral, fungicidal and anti-inflammatory effects. Flavonoids that propolis contains enhance the effect of vitamin C and reduce the likelihood of blood clots.

The wax cleans the gums and teeth from plaque, and the propolis contained in it destroys pathogenic bacteria. In the organs of the digestive system, wax acts as a natural absorbent.

The benefits of daily use of honeycomb honey are undeniable: it will help protect the body from colds, cope with stress and restore strength during hard work.

Did you know? Propolis is a resinous brown bee glue that bees create by collecting sticky substances from tree buds and modifying them with their enzymes. With its help, bees cover up cracks, disinfect combs, regulate the permeability of the entrance.

Monofloral flower honey

Honey from only one plant is called monoflorous... Such honey in its pure form comes across very rarely, more often a particular plant prevails by 40-60 percent.

Acacia honey transparent in liquid form and white in solidified form. From yellow acacia light, almost transparent liquid honey is obtained. Fragrant acacia honey has a delicate taste and bitterness is not peculiar to it, and in a liquid state, due to the high content of fructose, it is able to stay for quite a long time (1-2 years).
Acacia honey is easily absorbed by the body and can replace sugar and sweets. The product is an important component of a diabetic diet; insulin is not required for its processing. It does not cause allergic reactions and has a good effect on the digestion of children.

With hypertension, this honey helps to lower blood pressure, has a beneficial effect on the work of the cardiovascular system.

The antiseptic properties of acacia honey are useful for eye diseases: a solution of honey in distilled water is instilled into the eyes; lotions are used for conjunctivitis.

Honey ointments and solutions are used to treat dermatitis, wounds and ulcers. Traditional medicine advises to simply apply honey to the affected skin.

In industrial cosmetology, acacia honey is used in the preparation of creams. You can do at home honey masks. For normal to dry skin, honey is mixed with olive oil, for oily skin - with egg white. After 20 minutes, the mask is washed off with warm water. Washing with honey with water helps the skin to cope with minor imperfections and improve nutrition.

Important! Candied honey is a good alternative to industrial skin scrubs.

Buckwheat honey is easy to recognize. Its shades are dark (orange, terracotta, brown), and the taste is spicy and tart, sometimes even with a bitterness that makes the throat tickle. Buckwheat honey crystallizes quickly.
Buckwheat honey, due to the presence of many vitamins, has a general strengthening effect on the body. It is useful during periods of increased activity of colds, as it helps to increase immunity and improve the body's defenses.

Buckwheat honey helps to deal with tissue damage: reduces inflammation, promotes wound healing. To restore the gastric mucosa in case of peptic ulcer disease, it is recommended to drink a glass of boiled water on an empty stomach every day and eat a dessert spoon of buckwheat honey in 15 minutes.

Vitamin supplements are prepared using buckwheat honey.

For honey storage, it is advisable to choose a tight-fitting glass, ceramic, aluminum container or stainless steel dish. Plastic containers should not have a specific odor.

Important! A mixture of honey and radish juice is an excellent cough remedy.

The rich brown color and bitterness on the palate are the hallmarks of chestnut honey. This honey is often more expensive. Light honey is obtained from horse chestnut, dark honey is obtained from seed chestnut. Not everyone likes its specific taste, many prefer the more popular types of honey, but connoisseurs will definitely appreciate the interesting nutty aftertaste and tart aroma.
Like other types of honey, chestnut honey has many medicinal properties.

It is recommended to eat it for colds, insomnia, nervous tension. Chestnut honey is a strong natural antibiotic, it will help fight inflammation, strengthen blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and increase appetite. It has a choleretic effect, stimulates digestion, tones the body.

Chestnut honey should be eaten with caution by children and people prone to allergies.

Important! Sometimes dishonest sellers try to fake the dark color of chestnut honey by mixing burnt sugar with it. Such fake honey has a matching aftertaste.

Linden honey is one of the best types of honey. It is transparent, light yellow with an amber or greenish tint (due to honeydew), the smell of honey resembles the scent of linden flowers - sweet and fragrant with hints of mint and camphor. The honey tastes very pleasant, with a persistent aftertaste and possible slight bitterness.
Saturated honey has a bright yellow color and a coarse-grained structure. It is candied 3-4 months after pumping, gradually losing transparency and acquiring a thick consistency.

Also, this type of honey is useful for the liver and organs of the digestive system (has a mild laxative effect), it restores strength, strengthens the general condition of the body.

The optimal daily intake of lime honey is 2 tablespoons for adults and 2 teaspoons for children.

Did you know? Under optimal conditions, bees can produce more than 16 kg of honey from the flowers of one medium linden.

Bees collect nectar from garden or forest raspberry flowers in the first months of summer. The structure of the flower allows them to do this even in rainy weather. Forest raspberries are a more productive honey plant: bees collect 70-100 kg of honey from an area of ​​one hectare, and 50 kg from garden raspberries.
Fresh raspberry honey has a golden hue, pleasant raspberry aroma, soft structure and delicate taste without bitterness. During the crystallization process, raspberry honey becomes granular and takes on a creamy hue.

This type of honey is a wonderful immunomodulatory agent and a powerful assistant in the treatment of colds and respiratory diseases. Traditional medicine prescribes the use of raspberry honey with warm tea or milk.

For inhalation, pour into a small kettle a glass of hot water and add a spoonful of honey, you need to breathe in pairs for about half an hour. This procedure can be done for 10 days.

It is useful to eat raspberry honey in the presence of wounds and stomatitis in the mouth, chronic fatigue and neuroses. It will help the body relax and get sound sleep. In ancient times, the property of honey to eliminate inflammation was used by women in the treatment of their diseases (ulcers, cysts).

Important! To distinguish real honey from fake honey, it is important to know a few rules. Real mature honey is viscous; it cannot drip from a spoon like jelly. In winter, honey cannot be liquid. If you dissolve quality honey in a glass of water, no sediment should form. If you drop a drop of iodine on the honey and it turns blue, then the honey is thickened with starch.

Sunflower honey

Sunflower honey is easy to recognize: it is bright yellow, sweet and slightly tart in the first seconds. This honey crystallizes very quickly, a white crust often forms on the surface, and after 2-3 weeks, liquid honey turns into a thick mass with large lumps. This is due to the fact that 50% of the mass of honey is glucose. Ripe honey is hard, with yellow or amber crystals, reminiscent of ghee.

Sunflower honey contains a large set of useful amino acids necessary for the synthesis of proteins, and antioxidants.

Due to its not very attractive appearance, buyers often bypass this type of honey. In fact, it has many medicinal properties. Sunflower honey is a natural antidepressant, it also strengthens the walls of blood vessels, reduces swelling, and improves liver function. The high glucose content contributes to the rhythmic work of the heart.

The combination of sunflower honey and cinnamon is effective in preventing arthritis.

Important! When heated above 50 ° C, honey loses its valuable properties.

Rape honey is more popular in Europe and America, in our country rapeseed is mainly regarded as a forage crop for animals. The plant contains essential oils that give honey its characteristic aroma. Up to 90 kg of honey can be obtained from 1 hectare of rapeseed field.
Rape honey is characterized by a light yellow color (after crystallization - white) and a pronounced pungent odor. This honey tastes very sweet, even a little sugary, as it contains a large amount of glucose and fructose, and leaves a bitter aftertaste. It is practically insoluble in water, it is better not to add it to drinks.

The consistency of rapeseed honey is thick. Crystallization of honey occurs so quickly that it can become sugared a day after collection, and it will not be possible to pump it out. Therefore, rapeseed honey is often fed to bees in hives.

At home, rapeseed honey can remain in a liquid state for up to 3 weeks, so it is better to buy it in small containers and use it right away. A jar of honey is stored in a cool, dark place.

Rape honey is useful for treating anemia and diseases of the cardiovascular system. Boron contained in it contributes to the restoration of bone tissue and the functioning of the thyroid gland. Honey saturates the body with energy, which is important during heavy physical exertion. Rapeseed honey is effective in fighting coughs and relieves sore throat.

Important! Sometimes honey can cause asthma attacks. Contraindication to the use of honey is individual intolerance. For diabetics with the second type of illness, it is better to discuss this issue with a doctor. It is not recommended to eat honey for children under 3 years old.

Polyfloral flower honey

Polyfloral honey is produced from the nectar of various melliferous plants. Honey often gets its name from the land from which it was collected: forest, steppe, meadow, mountain.

May honey is the earliest honey, pumped out in mid-May - early June. This honey is light in color (white to yellow) and has a sweet taste without bitterness. Immediately after pumping, it looks like a sweet light syrup with almost no odor, it gets its final appearance when it is infused for 3-5 months.
The aroma of May honey is a unique bouquet of the smells of various honey plants blooming in spring: lily of the valley, bird cherry, currant, strawberry, lingonberry, cherry, apple, pear, sage, willow.

May honey is the most popular and demanded, it has many medicinal properties, like other types of honey.

A special benefit of May honey is that it is low-allergenic and can be safely used in baby food, and the presence of fructose allows diabetics to eat it.

Important! If you suffer from insomnia, try drinking a glass of warm milk or water with a spoonful of honey before bed.

Forest honey

Forest honey is produced by bees from the nectar of flowers of forest trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants (maple, acacia, willow, chokeberry, broom, bird cherry, hawthorn, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, oregano, lily of the valley, thyme).
Such honey has a slightly tart, bitter taste and a very fragrant herbal aroma. The color of forest honey depends on which plants served as honey plants: it varies from light to dark shades. When stored for a long time, honey acquires an inhomogeneous structure with small crystals, initially it can have both a liquid and a thick consistency. Beehives for a forest apiary are placed on glades and forest edges.

Forest honey is a very healing product that has collected the beneficial qualities of many plants. By the number of medicinal properties and useful substances, forest honey is the leader among all types of honey.

It contains a large amount of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, C, PP, K, E) and minerals, has a beneficial effect on almost all organ systems, has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

Forest honey helps to increase the level of hemoglobin, tones the body and is recommended for insomnia. It is useful for the prevention and treatment of colds: in a period of increased risk, a mixture of chopped dried fruits and nuts with honey will be a tasty and healthy vitamin supplement to the diet.

Do not forget that forest honey is high in calories and often causes allergic reactions in children.

Did you know? Borting is an ancient method in beekeeping, based on the use of bort - a natural or hollowed out hollow in trees for keeping bees. With the development of cultural beekeeping and the spread of the frame hive, it has lost its meaning and is rarely used, but on the territory of Ukraine it is still found in the forests of Polesie.

Field honey

This type of honey is very popular. It is based on the nectar of many field herbs: oregano, valerian, celandine, mustard, thyme, shepherd's purse, sage, rose hips, clover, alfalfa, willow-herb, dandelion, chamomile, thyme, chicory, St. John's wort, thistle, nightshade.
The taste and medicinal qualities, as well as the appearance of field honey, depend on the prevalence of characteristic plants in the honey collection area. One field in different seasons can produce honey of different characteristics. The color range of such honey is from colorless to yellow-orange and light brown, the taste is sweet with bitterness, the smell is pleasant, herbal.

If rose hips are the predominant plant, honey contains a lot of vitamins. Sage and chamomile provide honey with anti-inflammatory properties, thyme - expectorant, diuretic and bactericidal, valerian - soothing. St. John's wort flower honey is effective in treating skin abscesses, ulcers, wounds.

Steppe honey

Steppe honey has absorbed the aroma and beneficial properties of the steppe herbs, it is characterized by high nutritional and healing properties. The honey plants for such honey are cultivated (buckwheat, clover, rapeseed, thyme, sweet clover) and wild (dandelion, thistle, cornflower, thistle, wild radish) plants.
Honey has amber and golden hues, flower-herbaceous odor and pleasant tart taste, quickly crystallizes.

Steppe honey is useful for treating diseases of the liver, respiratory organs and colds. The calming effect of steppe honey is effective in treating nervous disorders, headaches, stress, insomnia.

Honey helps to normalize blood pressure, expand coronary vessels. For the treatment of gastritis with high acidity, it is recommended take three times a day a few hours before meals a glass of warm boiled milk with a tablespoon of steppe honey.

Did you know? From such plants as azalea, andromeda, aconite, wild rosemary, common privet, calyx heather, mountain laurel, rhododendron, hellebore, the so-called "drunk honey" is obtained. It causes signs of intoxication or poisoning in a person: nausea, vomiting, dizziness and weakness, respiratory and heart failure, and sometimes loss of consciousness.

Mountain honey

Mountain honey is an elite and expensive type of honey collected in ecologically clean mountainous areas (in the foothills, at the foot of the mountains). Honey plants for mountain honey can be more than 50 plants: acacia, hawthorn, blackthorn, bird cherry, wild rose, thistle, sage, elecampane, oregano, veronica, lemon balm, thyme, hawthorn.
Mountain honey is polyfloral, so its smell combines the aromas of many flowers, and its taste is astringent and bitter. The type of honey depends on the region in which it was harvested. The color of mountain honey is light shades of yellow and brown.

Real mountain honey is an excellent remedy for colds, diseases of the respiratory tract, eyes, liver, it is useful for the cardiovascular system and the thyroid gland, soothes the nervous system, has antibacterial properties, which is why it is used in the treatment of wounds and burns.

Mountain honey is a strong immunomodulator. It is also recommended for diabetics.

Did you know? The Nepalese Gurung people extract wild honey at a height of 25 meters above the ground using the simplest tools: rope ladders and long bamboo sticks.

In hot weather, when plants stop producing nectar, bees collect honeydew and honeydew. The first is a sweetish liquid that is secreted by the leaves and shoots of plants, and the second is the waste product of insects (aphids, leaf beetles, worms) that feed on plant sap.

This liquid contains protein breakdown products and other animal substances.

When the source of honeydew is the leaves of coniferous trees (fir, spruce, pine), honey is called coniferous; honeydew collected from deciduous trees (linden, maple, oak, willow, ash, cherry, plum, apple, willow) becomes the basis of coniferous honey.

Bees collect honeydew in the highlands and in coniferous-deciduous forests. Often honeydew honey contains some part of flower honey, this type of honey is called mixed. Honeydew honey is categorically not suitable for feeding bees in winter. Too much minerals and nitrogenous compounds can lead to the death of the bee family.
Honeydew honey is produced in dry summer or late season, when most of the plants have faded. It has a viscous, sticky structure, dark brown or orange-yellow (honey from pine needles) color and contains many minerals. Such honey tastes sweet with hints of bitterness. The aroma of honeydew honey is peculiar, spicy. This type of honey dissolves poorly in water.

Thank you for your opinion!

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METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF HONEY

Methods for determining the quality of honey

1.

In order to determine the maturity of liquid (non-sugar, fresh) honey, in
a spoon is lowered to it and they begin to rotate it. Unripe honey flows from the spoon, and
mature - wrapped, lying on a spoon in folds, like a ribbon.

2. Take liquid (non-sugar) honey for a sample,
dropping a thin stick into the container. If this is real honey, then it goes after
behind a stick with a long, unbroken thread, and when this thread breaks, then it
completely descend, forming a turret on the surface of the honey, a pagoda, which then
will slowly disperse.
Fake honey will behave like glue: it will
drip abundantly and drip down from the stick, forming a splash.

Fresh mature
honey flows down from the spoon in thick continuous ribbons.

Normal density of ripe fresh honey when draining from a spoon (at a temperature
+20 o C).

3. High-quality honey should not
foams. Foaminess indicates fermentation, i.e. spoilage of honey. Natural
honey cannot ferment, because it is bactericidal. (To obtain alcohol from honey
drinks by fermentation or dissolved in water and brought to a boil. When
heating the honey loses its bactericidal action and can be fermented.)

4. Over time, honey becomes cloudy and thickens (candied) -
this is a sure sign of good quality. Liquid honey is usually in the summer.
(July-August) during its pumping out. Maximum in 1-2 months (depending on
varieties) it crystallizes.
Therefore, if in winter or spring is sold
liquid honey means that it is either heated or falsified. It should be remembered that
when heated to a temperature of + 40 ° C and above, honey loses its main
beneficial properties, turning into a simple sweet fructose-glucose syrup.
In candied natural honey, all the beneficial properties are preserved, and
it is undesirable to heat it up or add it to hot dishes, drinks.

Most often, real honey is candied 2-3 weeks after harvest.
Considering that the last bribe is taken in late September - early October, to
On October 20, natural honey can only be candied. An exception
is acacia honey (acacia honey) which for a long time
crystallizes (sometimes until spring), and heather honey turning into
jelly-like mass.

FROM RUSSIAN HISTORY. Once upon a time
Catherine II issued a decree to flog merchants with "thin" honey in November
and later. Unfortunately, now this decree is not being implemented, therefore, before the new
year, and even in spring, the shelves in Russian stores are completely filled with transparent
unsweetened "honey", i.e. a deliberate falsification.

It happens that honey during storage forms a crystallized layer from below, and
on top - syrupy. This indicates that the honey is immature and contains
increased amount of water.

5. Check the smell and
taste. Counterfeit honey is usually odorless. Real honey
has a fragrant aroma. This smell is incomparable. Honey with an admixture
sugar has no aroma, and its taste is close to the taste of sweetened water.

6. Determine if the honey contains starch. For this
put some honey in a glass, pour boiling water over it, stir and cool. After
add a few drops of iodine to it. If the composition turns blue, then honey
added starch.

7. Adding starch
molasses can be determined with ammonia, which is added dropwise to the sample
honey, previously dissolved in distilled water (1: 2). Solution
turns white with a brown sediment.

An admixture of chalk can be detected if diluted with distilled honey
water, add a few drops of vinegar. Boiling occurs in the presence of chalk
mixture due to the release of carbon dioxide.
Or you can just drip on
honey vinegar or some other acid. If the honey "boils", then
there is chalk.

9. Determination of sucrose additives in honey
(Sahara). Dissolve honey in hot distilled water (as a last resort -
boiled) in a ratio of 1: 2 to obtain an easily flowing (liquid enough)
solution. Inspect for mechanical impurities - solution
natural honey (without added insoluble additives) will certainly be
transparent, without sediment and without impurities on the surface. Then
gently drop a few drops of silver nitrate solution there,
watching the reaction. If the honey is without added sugar, there will be no cloudiness.
If a
sugar is added to the honey, a clearly noticeable whitish
turbidity.

10. The presence of mechanical impurities. IN
take a sample of honey in a small test tube, add boiled or distilled
water and dissolve it. Natural honey dissolves completely, solution
transparent. In the presence of insoluble additives (for falsification) on
surface or in the sediment, a mechanical impurity to it will be found.

11. Traditionally, light honey varieties are considered the best.
However, this is not always true. For example, honey with a dark color, say,
buckwheat, may contain more iron, copper, manganese and other important
substances and be more valuable to the body than light.

TO
INFORMATION:

In general, all varieties of natural honey are practically
are equally very useful and necessary in a healthy diet. The difference between different types of honey
more in their varied taste and appearance, and the benefits are approximately
is the same and always excellent (see below the conclusion of the professor of the Agricultural Academy
them. Timiryazeva Y.A. Cherevko).

The main thing is that there is no honey
falsified and was not collected in areas with a high content of toxic
substances.

It must be borne in mind that the plants that get on the toxic
substances in the honey collected from them are concentrated (i.e., are in significantly
greater concentration). Bees are insensitive to many poisonous substances, and
for people, such honey can be very harmful, up to massive heavy,
and even fatal poisoning (such cases are very common, because the presence of
all possible poisonous substances to check honey in the laboratory is simply unrealistic -
there are too many such substances).

Honey collected from
honey plants at military training grounds, next to chemical plants
industry, large airfields, thermal power plants, in areas of increased radioactive
pollution, as well as in areas of agriculture using enhanced
chemicalization of fields with highly toxic pesticides.

In Russia there is
there are a lot of highly chemically or radiation contaminated areas, in
which is impractical to extract honey. As an example, about one of these zones
- Mountain Altai - see below on this page the article "Roscosmos and the poisoned
honey of mountain Altai ".
AT THE APPENDIX FOR THE AMATEUR at the end of this
pages - maps of various technogenic pollution of the territory of Russia.

Storage of honey

Honey should be stored in
complete darkness, because many useful substances quickly disintegrate under the influence
Sveta. (This applies to all food items as well.)

The best thing
store honey in tightly closed glass containers (e.g. glass jars
screw caps) in a cool place and always in full
darkness.

During long-term storage, loosely closed honey can
greatly change its specific gravity, its own weight, water content.

If stored in a dry place in an open container, the water content in
it can decrease up to 14%, and the weight will decrease by 4-5%. And if stored in a damp
indoors, honey is able to absorb ambient humidity from the air.

At 60% relative humidity, mature honey becomes watery, and as the
As the humidity increases, the wateriness increases (honey absorbs moisture from the air).
At the same time, as a rule, honey turns sour.

Indoor dry
mature honey keeps well at any temperature. And at high humidity
best stored at temperatures below +10 degrees Celsius (for example, in
refrigerator) or above +27 (but not more than Y32).

Honey is capable
absorb foreign odors, so the dishes and the room must be clean. IN
it cannot be stored sauerkraut, herring, vegetables, kerosene, etc.

Store honey in a tightly closed glass, enamel or
ceramic dishes (but in no case in iron, copper or
galvanized). Galvanized and copper cookware strictly
prohibited! Honey enters into a chemical reaction with zinc and copper,
filling with poisonous salts.

Unenamelled metal cookware
can only be made of stainless steel or aluminum, but in any case
unenamelled metals are undesirable.

Honey can be successful
store in wooden barrels or boxes. The most suitable material for
barrels is a linden tree. Beech, cedar, poplar are also suitable. In coniferous barrels
tree honey gains a resinous smell, in aspen it becomes bitter, and in oak
turns black.

The shelf life of honey in optimal conditions is one
year. After that, it loses its antimicrobial properties. 10-20%
decreases the amount of glucose and fructose. Vitamins B1, B2 and C start
collapse. The amount of sucrose and acids increases.

If you
want to turn thickened honey into liquid, put the container with honey in
a saucepan of hot water and heat while stirring (the honey itself directly
it is not recommended to heat on fire).
But,
remember, when heated to 37-40 degrees Celsius and above, honey inevitably begins
lose many of its useful (healing) properties, turning into an ordinary sweet
fructose-glucose mass.
For this reason, you should not add honey to
hot tea and other hot drinks.
In addition, when heated
honey over 45 gr. With part of fructose forms oxymethylfurfural –
substance harmful to bees.
If necessary to dissolve
crystallized honey, then it is necessary to heat it only in a water bath and
at the same time, make sure that the water temperature does not exceed 50 grams. FROM.

Curious in the world of honey

Macedonian beekeeper sues bear for stealing honey
For the guilt of the bear
answered the state

In Macedonia
a rather unusual court case took place, in which the beekeeper
sued the bear. As a result, by the decision of the court of the city of Bitola, the clubfoot was
found guilty of stealing honey and causing damage to the beekeeper's economy.

Speaking about the details of the incident, the beekeeper said that he honestly tried
scare off the intruder with loud turbo-folk music.

"I tried to scare off the bear with bright lights and music, because I heard
that the bears are afraid of this, '' Zoran Kiseloski told the press after completing the
his favor in the case, which had been going on in court for a whole year. - Therefore
I bought a generator, put the lights on and turned on the music. "

The bear did not approach for several weeks, but as soon as it stopped working
the generator and the music died down, the clubfoot climbed again for honey. Then the victim
the beekeeper went to court with a demand to curb the wild robber.

The bear was found guilty, but since he is not anyone's
property and belongs to the species protected by the state, the court ruled
the state to pay 140 thousand dinars (about $ 3550) damage to the beekeeper, but
ordered the victim to continue to improve the security of his apiary, so as not to expose
a wild animal to unnecessary temptation.

Fake honey and how to identify them

Counterfeiting, or counterfeiting, bee honey has been known for a long time, especially
in connection with the development of the sugar industry.

Amos Ruth in his
The Encyclopedia of Beekeeping (1876) reports on Gassel's book
"Detection of falsification" (1855), where, in his opinion, for the first time
provides information on honey falsification. He brings the topical and into our
time to quote: "Fake and adulterated honey is quite common on our
markets. The commonly used substance is ordinary sugar, diluted with
water in the form of syrup and flavored with various aromatic substances. This
the drug is usually mixed with real honey. "Among the impurities in
Even unhealthy alum was found in counterfeit products.

Per
the past century, the methods of falsification have improved. Began to use
molasses, invert sugar and sucrose. For fakes, various containing
carbohydrates substances, such as potato and corn starch, and others
products.

Counterfeit honey has become difficult to distinguish from natural
not only organoleptically, but also in laboratory studies.

Therefore, in the articles below on this page, the SuperCook edition gives
all possible methods of self-checking honey at home.
Some of these methods are repeated in different articles, which indicates
their popularity.

Protection of consumers of honey from purchasing
counterfeits in the trading network were taken over by the state, but often honey, in addition to
markets and shops, purchased from individuals.

Consumers should
know about the existence of counterfeit honey and be able to recognize them.

TO
the currently known counterfeit honey can be summarized in three large
groups: natural honeys with the addition of foreign products to increase their
mass and viscosity, honey made by bees from sweet products is not
of nectar origin, and artificial honeys.

Honey coming to
sale must always comply with GOST. The label must indicate
GOST. Any deviation from it indicates unnaturalness and
falsifications. To assess the quality of natural honey, they are offered in the scientific
literature 43 indicators: maturity, stability, water content, sucrose ...
Unfortunately, these requirements are often violated. How to determine
benign natural bee honey?

Regardless
where you buy honey, you should always ask where and when it was
assembled.

When buying honey in a specialized store(what,
however, in Russia, too, there is no guarantee against counterfeiting at all - now we have swindlers
everywhere there is enough in abundance) read it carefully label... She is
and will tell you what kind of honey it is.

White label will indicate
for high-quality honey, blue- that honey is of poor quality or honeydew.

The label should contain the standard, variety, botanical type of honey, time
and the place of collection, the name and address of the supplier.

Methods for determining the quality of honey

IN
people have their own methods of how to determine the quality of honey, for example,
application chemical pencil. The bottom line is as follows - on
a layer of honey is applied to paper, a finger or a spoon and is carried out over it with a chemical
with a pencil or pencil dipped into the honey itself. It is suggested if honey
falsified, i.e. contains all sorts of impurities (sugar, sugar honey, and
increased amount of water), then a colored pencil mark will remain. But,
researcher V.G. Chudakov in 1972 tested 36 samples of honey of various
quality, including 13 falsified, and believes that this folk
method for determining the naturalness of honey and assessing its quality is absolutely
wrong.

There is another popular method to identify counterfeits
honey, it lies in the sample on blotting paper... Small
the amount of honey falls on the blotting paper. If after a few minutes on
a watery spot appears on the back of the paper, this is considered a sign
falsifications. Again, V.G. Chudakov conducted laboratory
studies of this sample, which led to the conclusion that the sample is in fact
allows you to determine almost 100% of counterfeit honey, but also part of
natural honeys also fall into the category of counterfeits.

If a
buy honey, then look in the guides how it should look like. The main thing,
it must have a certain aroma, honey taste, that is, a bouquet,
corresponding to a certain grade of natural honey; must match and
color.

If honey is too white it should raise suspicion
isn't it sugar? If the color is dark brown- is he not dead? If a
its scent is dulled, the taste of caramel is felt - it means that it is melted
honey.

Also pay attention to the consistency of honey.- is he
must correspond to the density of the variety, at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius
wrapped around the spoon, like a ribbon, with sweet threads, breaking in
a certain moment.

Liquid honey should raise suspicion. Rather
in all, this is unripe honey. It will not be stored, fermented, as it contains
plenty of water. Such honey will not "wrap around" on a spoon, but simply
will drain from it. If you buy honey in winter, it should not be liquid, but
if so, it was most likely warmed up or diluted.

When
check the honey for fermentation. If, upon stirring, it does not feel
viscous, actively foaming and gas bubbles appeared on the surface. From him
a specific sour smell emanates, and also has an alcoholic or burnt
smack.

Before buying large quantities of honey, buy 100-200
gram per sample.

Beware of buying honey from apiaries,
located along highways with heavy car traffic. IN
such honey may have an increased amount of lead compounds and other substances,
falling on flowers with car exhaust gases. With nectar and pollen
lead gets into honey, and this is dangerous for the health of those who use it.

Honey collected in areas with unfavorable ecology is also very harmful.
(see maps below).

How to identify in honey
impurities

To identify different types of honey in honey
impurities recommend the following methods. Pour into a transparent jar of honey,
then add distilled water - the honey will dissolve, the impurity will settle at the bottom.

• In order to discover admixture of flour or starch in honey need to
  pour 3-5 ml of an aqueous solution of honey (1: 2) into a jar or glass and add 3-5
  drops of Lugol's solution (or tincture of iodine). If the honey contains flour or
  starch, the solution will turn blue.
• Impurity of starch syrup(mixture
  cool water and starchy sugar) can be recognized by their appearance,
  stickiness and lack of crystallization. You can also mix one part of honey with
  2-3 parts of distilled water, add a quarter of the volume of 96% alcohol and
  shake up. If there is starch syrup in honey, then the solution will take milk
  color. After settling of this solution, a transparent semi-liquid sticky mass will settle.
  (dextrin). If there is no impurity, the solution will remain clear.
• Detect impurities of sugar (beet) molasses and common
  Sahara you can add a solution to a 5-10% solution of honey in water
  silver nitrate (lapis). If a white precipitate of silver chloride precipitates,
  then this indicates the presence of an impurity. If there is no sediment, then the honey is clean. There is another
  method: add 22.5 ml to 5 ml of a 20% solution of honey in distilled water
  methyl (wood) alcohol, with the formation of an abundant yellowish-white
  sediment, honey contains sugar syrup.
• To detect impurities
  inverted sugar there is a rather complicated way: grind 5 g of honey
  with a small amount of ether (in which the cleavage products dissolve
  fructose), then filter the ethereal solution into a bowl, evaporate to dryness and
  the remainder add 2-3 drops of a freshly prepared 1% solution of resorcinol in
  concentrated hydrochloric acid (specific weight 1.125 g)... If the impurity
  will turn orange (to cherry red) color, which means there is an inverted
  sugar.

Increased percentage of sucrose in honey what can
installed in laboratory conditions, speaks of its poor quality: in
natural flower honey of sucrose no more than 5%, no more than 10% - in honeydew.

The better the quality of natural honey, the less sucrose it contains.
"Sugar" honey has its own organoleptic characteristics: the smell of old
honeycomb, fresh expressionless taste, liquid consistency (if fresh), with
long-term storage becomes thick, sticky, sticky.

"Sugar" honey, like all unnatural honey, is different,
lack of vitamins, organic acids, protein and aromatic substances,
mineral salts. In sugar honey, the main element is silicon and
the rest of the salts are practically absent, there are only traces of them. In kind
honey - on the contrary.

• If honey does not crystallize, then it can be assumed that
  what is admixture of potato molasses.
• In order to
  discover admixture of honeydew honey pour 1 part of water into a glass
  honey solution (1: 1) and add 2 parts of lime water, then heat the mixture to
  boiling. If brown flakes are formed, precipitating, then this
  indicates the presence of an admixture of honeydew honey.

SET OF EXPRESS CHECKS OF HONEY FOR QUALITY WHEN PURCHASING

(Some points will repeat the above, but the repetition is
mother of learning, because any reasonable adult must simply not allow
fool yourself with all sorts of rogue crooks and in all cases be able to choose

Can I buy honey by hand? If only
sure exactly what you are buying. Selling honey in a store is also not at all
a guarantee of its quality.

The only true quality assurance
purchased honey - personal acquaintance with the beekeeper, confidence in his
integrity and knowledge that his apiary is located in a safe
terrain. Therefore, it is best to buy honey from a beekeeper friend directly to his
apiary.

The most common honey counterfeiter is
sugar syrup. Unripe honey is often diluted with the same syrup to
give it the missing sweetness.

First, honey must be
mature. After all, bees work on nectar for about a week: they evaporate the water,
enrich with enzymes, break down complex sugars into simple ones. During this time, honey
insists. The bees seal the finished product with wax caps - namely
such honey has all its beneficial properties and can be stored for a long time
(but not more than one year).

Very often, beekeepers pump honey into
during the honey collection, without waiting for it to ripen, due to the lack of combs. Content
water in such honey sometimes doubles the norm, it is little enriched with enzymes and
sucrose, quickly turns sour.

To determine the maturity of fresh
unsweetened honey, its temperature is brought to 20 grams. C, stirring
spoon. Then the spoon is taken out and rotated. Ripe honey is wrapped around
her. From time to time, honey can become sugar, this is normal and does not affect in any way
on the taste, or on the aroma, or on the healing qualities of honey.

Via
simple tests can determine if honey is falsified.
- flour and
starch is determined by adding a small amount of honey diluted with water
a drop of iodine. If the solution turns blue, honey with flour or starch.
- If at
the addition of vinegar essence, the solution will hiss - there is chalk in the honey.
- If in
5-10% aqueous solution of honey with the addition of a small amount
of lapis solution around the drops, turbidity forms and a white precipitate forms -
sugar has been added.

How can you define quality
honey?

1) By color.
Each type of honey has its own
coloring inherent only to him. Flower honey - light yellow, lime -
amber, ash - transparent, like water, buckwheat has different shades
Brown. Pure honey without impurities, as a rule, is transparent, whatever
color he was not.
Honey containing additives (sugar, starch,
other impurities), is unclear, and if you look closely, you can
detect sediment.

2) By aroma.
Real honey
has a fragrant aroma. This smell is incomparable. Honey with an admixture
sugar has no aroma, and its taste is close to the taste of sweetened water.

3) By viscosity.
Take honey for a sample by dropping it into a container
thin stick. If this is real honey, then it follows a long stick.
a continuous thread, and when this thread is interrupted, it will completely descend,
forming a turret on the surface of the honey, a pagoda, which then slowly disperses.

Fake honey will behave like glue: it will drain and drip abundantly from
sticks down, forming a splatter.

4) By consistency.
Have
of real honey, it is thin, delicate. The honey is easily rubbed between the fingers and
absorbed into the skin, which cannot be said about a fake. Have fake honey
the structure is rough, when rubbed, lumps remain on the fingers.

Before buying honey in the market in reserve, take the one you like
product from 2-3 regular sellers. To start with 100 grams. At home, do
recommended quality samples and only then buy it for future use from the same
sellers.

5) Check if water is added to the honey and
sugar.
To do this, on a piece of low-grade non-glued paper
(for example, ordinary newspaper or toilet), which absorbs moisture well,
drip honey. If it spreads over the paper, forming damp spots, or even
seeps through it - it's fake honey.

6) Determine if there is
whether there is starch in the honey.
To do this, put some honey in a glass, pour
boiling water, stir and cool. Then put a few drops there.
iodine. If the composition turns blue, then starch has been added to the honey. This is fake honey.

7) Find out if there are other impurities in honey.
For this
take a hot stainless steel wire (you can heat it in a flame
lighter) and dip it in honey. If a sticky foreign mass hangs on it -
in front of you is a fake honey, if the wire remains clean - honey
natural or, in other words, complete.

8) What follows
pay attention when buying honey?
Honey, incl. and when selling, you cannot
store in a metal container, since the acids contained in its composition,
can give oxidation. This will lead to an increase in the content of heavy metals in
it and to a decrease in nutrients. Such honey can cause unpleasant
sensations in the stomach and even lead to poisoning.
Conscientious sellers
store honey only in glass, clay, porcelain, ceramic and wood
dishes. If you see that honey is sold from a metal container, immediately go to
side.

9) How else can you distinguish a fake?

IN
a cup of weak warm tea add a little what you bought under the guise
honey. If you are not fooled, the tea will darken, but no sediment will form at the bottom.

Over time, honey becomes cloudy and thickened (candied) - this is a sure sign
good quality. And not, as many people mistakenly believe, that honey has gone bad.

Sometimes honey during storage is divided into two layers: only thickens
from below, but from above it remains liquid. This suggests that he is immature, and therefore
it needs to be eaten as soon as possible - unripe honey is stored for only a few
months.

Careless beekeepers do not take out bees to collect nectar, but
just feed them sugar. Sugar honey is unnatural. Nothing useful about it
not. Such "sugar" honey is unnaturally white.

IN
real honey lacks free water - there is water in mature honey (about 20% of it)
fully bound in a true saturated solution. Honey with sugar syrup has
high humidity - this can be checked in the following way. Dip in honey
a slice of bread, and after 8-10 minutes, take it out. Bread in high-quality honey
will harden. If, on the contrary, it has softened or crawled altogether, then there is no
nothing but sugar syrup.

But no one in the market will let you
conduct such experiments, but they will give a try. Often small
a piece of paper dripping honey for tasting. This is enough to
conduct another experiment. When going to the market for honey, take with you
indelible pencil. Spread honey on a piece of paper with a pencil, you can smear
finger, and on the "honey" strip try to write something with a chemical
pencil. If after a few seconds an inscription or blue streaks appear
colors, you can confidently and loudly inform the seller (so that others can hear
buyers) that starch or flour is present in the product. If there is no chemical
a pencil, a drop of iodine will do. The same blue tint for the proposed
honey will accurately determine the starch and flour in the product.

10) What
is honey better - mountain or, let's say, flat?
Don't fall for
fishing rod when they try to convince you that mountain honey is better than the one that
collect bees in our open spaces. No particular benefits of mountain honey
before the "plain" no. The quality of honey and the concentration of nutrients in
it depends only on the decency and knowledge of the beekeeper, as well as on the ecological
the setting of the honey collection area. Here, however, there is a difference between honey,
collected in a clean environment, and the fact that bees collected from industrial flower beds
enterprises. But here, too, everything depends on the beekeeper. Conscience must not allow
him to earn on "industrial" honey.

11) At the honey vendors
There are several tricks for gullible buyers.
First, cover your ears and don't listen to what they tell you. Check
all by ourselves. Of course, one honest seller can fall for a bunch of liars, but
how do you know that the one who stands before you is honest? Try honey not
only from above, but also from the bottom of the can. Feel free to spoon into the jar and not
listen to sellers who start shouting: "Don't spoil the product!"
Unheated honey - both fresh transparent and candied - effective
antiseptic, and a clean spoon in a jar can't ruin it. It's another matter if on
the day was not honey, or this honey was previously heated, which led to the loss of it
antiseptic and all other medicinal properties.

Do not buy on
market honey without checking or rolled up. That honey is better kept rolled up
a tin lid is a myth. Plain curled or tight enough
plastic cover.

Crystallization (sugaring) -
a natural process for honey that does not affect its quality and composition
useful substances. Don't be confused by crystallized honey. Do not come to
the next day to the seller who promised you not crystallized honey.
They will bring the same, but warmed up. And in no case should you heat honey, because this is
turns it into a simple sweet substance, devoid of many useful
properties!

12) Real honey has the following characteristics:

Quality honey does not roll off the spoon too quickly. Take
a tablespoon of honey and in quick circular movements turn the spoon over a few
time. Honey will wrap on it, almost without draining into the jar.

Dip the spoon into the honey container. Pulling out a spoon, appreciate the character
swelling of honey. A good one will form a ribbon, sit down in a hill, and on
bubbles form on its surface.

All types of honey are sweet
taste, but some of the varieties have a specific taste. For example, tobacco,
chestnut and willow varieties have a bitter taste, and heather ones are different
astringency. Any deviations in the taste of honey speak of its
poor quality. Other defects in taste may be associated with the presence of
impurities. Excessive acidity may be associated with the onset of fermentation,
caramel aroma - the result of heating, obvious bitterness - incorrect storage conditions
substandard product.

The color of honey depends solely on the variety.
It can be all shades of brown and yellow. Do not be alarmed
pale yellowish, slightly cloudy honey - this is normal for a standing
some time of acacia honey, because it is candied very slowly and for a long time
- sometimes completely only by the end of winter (but be sure to try it yourself
determine by taste that it is acacia honey). Other types
Unsacharified honey is not inherent in turbidity, because the process of their sugaring
(turbidity and hardening) occurs quickly - it has just been transparent and suddenly
(2-4 weeks after the bribe - the period depends on the type of honey) all at once
sugared.

Another very simple express check: it is necessary
drip honey on paper and set it on fire. The paper burns around, but real
high-quality honey does not burn, melt or brown. If honey
began to melt - it means that the bees were fed sugar syrup, and if it turns brown -
means diluted with sugar.