How to identify good honey? What should be real honey? The best varieties of honey

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Honey is a natural product produced by Apis mellifica bees from flower nectar. It not only has an excellent taste, but also strengthens and nourishes the human body. Its production is a long-term, labor-intensive process, so the high price of good honey should not surprise you.

Natural honey

Carefully studying the chemical composition of real honey, we can draw a simple conclusion: this product is good for he alth. Why? It contains simple sugars (glucose and fructose), proteins, enzymes (inhibin), organic acids, essential oils, vitamins and dyes. In 100 g of this product - about 5 mg of calcium, 16 mg of phosphorus, 0.9 mg of iron, 5 mg of magnesium and vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, fluorine, boron, cob alt, barium, palladium, tungsten, aluminum, zinc, tin and others trace elements. It contains vitamins A, B2, C, PP, globulin and albumin. Organic acids are responsible for the taste of honey, and essential oils are responsible for its aroma. Has a wide range of colors: from white to cream, from yellow to brown andeven greenish. Light varieties are delicate in taste. The darker the product, the sharper and spicier the taste.

Crystallization and bottling date

Fresh, real honey from the apiary has a viscous, thick, but still liquid consistency. Any variety of this product should crystallize after some time, which is proof of its naturalness.

The speed of this process depends on the type of honey. Most of its species should crystallize after 3-4 months from the date of bottling. Rape crystallizes the fastest - from the third day of bottling, while acacia has the longest time (the crystallization process lasts up to 12 months).

How to buy a natural product?

When buying honey, it is advisable to choose natural, because only it contains biologically active ingredients valuable for he alth in the form of enzymes, antioxidants, organic acids, vitamins and minerals. Artificial is useless in this regard, as it only contains sucrose. A wide variety of these products are presented on the shelves of stores. Consider how to identify good honey by the label and the characteristic qualities of a natural product in a jar. To do this, pay attention to the following points:

• Origin - The label of this product must indicate where it comes from. Beware of products that have the description: "Mixture of non-EU honeys." This means that you probably havedealing with artificial product from China. It is better to choose a Russian manufacturer.
• Price is a certain indicator. Good honey, unfortunately, is an expensive food product. If the price for it is extremely low, do not choose the product: it is most likely a fake.
• Name - only a product that is a natural sweet substance produced by Apis mellifica bees from plant nectar can be called honey. The name "honey" should not be changed, and terms like "honey as natural" are also unacceptable. The names “bee honey”, “natural honey”, etc. are allowed. Pay attention to the “artificial” label. Manufacturers are smart and usually put this information in small print at the very bottom of the product label. If you have vision problems, don't forget your glasses.
• Appearance - if the product is natural, it should crystallize (described above). The first sign of crystallization is its slight turbidity. This is not a sign of poor or low quality, but a confirmation of its naturalness. A crystallized or semi-crystallized product is he althy and can be taken off the shelf and bought and used in home cooking.
• Consistency - good honey should be thick. This is easily verified by turning the jar. If the product moves freely in a glass jar, you can be sure that it is fake.

The best varieties of honey

The properties of honey depend mainly on which plants bees collect nectar and pollen from. So, the most popular varietiesof this product are:

• Buckwheat. Promotes the reconstruction of bone cells, strengthens the immune system. Accelerates wound healing and bone growth. Due to the high content of rutin, a vascular cleanser, it is recommended for atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and hypertension. It is also used for inflammation of the kidneys, memory impairment, treatment of glaucoma, visual and hearing impairment. What does buckwheat honey look like? It is most often dark or brown. It has a characteristic aroma and spicy taste. Bees produce it from buckwheat flowers. If we compare it with light varieties, then it contains 2 times more trace elements and amino acids, which means it is the most useful.
• Lime. In the liquid state, it is light yellow, sometimes amber with a greenish tinge. The smell is reminiscent of linden flowers. The taste is spicy, sometimes with a slight bitterness. It has an antiseptic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, antipyretic, expectorant and sedative effect. It helps in the treatment of flu, colds, coughs, acute and chronic diseases, sore throats, sinusitis and inflammation of the respiratory tract. It is recommended for diseases of the urinary tract and neuroses. It is characterized by high antibiotic activity.
• Acacia. In the liquid state, it has a bright yellow color. It is characterized by antibiotic activity. Useful in the treatment of gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, mucositis and spastic conditions of the small and large intestines. Recommended for hypersensitivity of the digestive system. With peptic ulcer, it accelerates tissue regeneration, restoration of the mucous membrane. Softrelieves internal anxiety, helps to fall asleep, strengthens a tired, exhausted body. Due to its high fructose content, it can be used in some types of diabetes.
• Heather. Has brown and red color. Good heather honey crystallizes rather quickly, becoming a jelly-like orange or dark brown color. It's not too sweet, it has a nice heather scent. Recommended for diseases of the urinary tract, prostate gland, nephrolithiasis, as well as intestinal inflammation and diarrhea. It increases the body's resistance and protects against the development of infections.
• Chestnut. It is characterized by dark color, thick texture and pleasant bitter taste. This variety crystallizes quite slowly. It has high antibiotic activity. Recommended for diseases of the urinary tract, useful in the treatment of influenza, colds and diarrhea. Delivered to the regions of Russia from Altai, Kuban and Adygea.
• Sainfoin. It is distinguished by exceptional transparency and a light amber hue, moderately sweet taste and an unusually pleasant smell. Its crystallization occurs slowly, while it becomes white. This is a valuable product, as it is rich in microelements, vitamins and biologically active substances. It contains carotene, ascorbic acid and valuable enzymes. This is a good honey for those who want to strengthen their body, calm the nervous system.
• Donnikovy. This variety, with a slight vanilla aroma, has a bright amber color, becoming even lighter or yellow when crystallized. Hecontains coumarin, which lowers blood pressure. Honey has a calming and hypnotic effect. Recommended for cardiac neurosis and other diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Prevents degeneration of the heart muscle in atherosclerosis and thrombophlebitis. Affects the reduction of blood clotting, lowers blood pressure and has anticoagulant activity. It is recommended as an antispasmodic in coronary heart disease and coronary thrombosis. It can also be recommended for insomnia, migraine, neuralgia and menopausal syndrome.

Which honey is best for colds?

Honey has been known since antiquity as an effective remedy in the fight against colds.

Its consumption is recommended to boost immunity throughout the year, especially during the autumn-winter period. It is also worth taking the product during viral infections because it reduces high fever, sore throat and cough.

The most useful for the prevention of colds are varieties with a lot of propolis and bee pollen. Propolis provides protection to the bees in the hive against bacteria, viruses, fungi and mold, and bee pollen is a vitamin concentrate. The best for strengthening immunity is linden, buckwheat, acacia honey.

Remember that you can not add it to hot tea, as it loses all its healing properties. The maximum temperature that does not harm the useful substances of the product is 40 degrees.

How to recognize authenticity with homemademethods?

At home, it is difficult to check whether good or bad, poor-quality product we bought. But there are some methods that show how real honey should be:

• The simplest method described above is the fact of crystallization. Often in stores in January you can find, for example, linden honey in a completely liquid state (despite the fact that it should crystallize 3-4 months after bottling). This indicates its fakeness. Sometimes the reason for this consistency of the product is the fact that it was heated by the manufacturers and lost its best properties.
• Liquid honey, poured with a spoon, forms a convex funnel on the surface. This is because the real product must have the correct density.
• Natural honey, poured into a glass of water, flows down in an even stream, settles to the bottom and slowly dissolves. Artificial dissolves quickly and evenly.
• A 1 liter container should weigh 1.4 kg.

Fake or defective product

The most common method of adulterating honey is to feed the bees sugar syrup, which increases the yield from the hive. Too high sucrose content indicates fake honey, but its amount can only be checked in the laboratory. Bees feeding on sugar syrup produce a product that is whitish in color, without a floral aroma and without a characteristic taste. In addition, it does not have the healing and nutritional properties of natural honey.

How to properly store the product?

Many people don't know where is the best place to store honey,so that it retains its nutritional value for as long as possible. The product should be kept in a cool and dry place (up to 18°C) and out of direct sunlight. The sun's rays negatively affect its beneficial properties, as does high temperature.

Contraindications

In addition to the numerous medicinal properties of honey, there are also contraindications to its consumption. It can cause allergies in children and adults. Most often, an allergic reaction to honey occurs in people who are allergic to the pollen of flowers, trees, grasses. Allergy symptoms to this product are dermatological, gastric and less commonly respiratory.

It should not be given to children in the first year of life, because it entails the risk of botulism. Symptoms of infantile botulism include constipation, anorexia, drowsiness, weakness of the sucking reflex, and in the most severe cases, respiratory failure occurs. Adults have a fully formed intestinal microflora that protects them from C. Botulinum spore poisoning. Their content in honey can range from 4 to 20%.

The product should be restricted or completely eliminated in people with fructose malabsorption. Honey in their case can cause diarrhea.

Where is the best place to buy?

It is best to buy bee products directly from a small reliable apiary. Good quality Russian honey can be easily bought online. Then you can find moreinformation about product types and manufacturer.

You can also buy good honey at grocery stores if you can recognize certified organic.

You should be very careful when buying the product from sellers on the roads and in selected markets (you do not know how long it was exposed to sunlight).

Now you know which honey is better to choose and how to distinguish a natural product from a fake one.