How to choose the right honey when buying

Honey differs in packing, aroma, texture and color, because the bees that produce this natural product collect pollen from a variety of plants.

The composition of honey includes trace elements and vitamins. Some use it instead of sugar for cooking and treats. Let's find an exhaustive answer to the question of how to choose honey when buying.

Bees use raw materials such as pad, honey dew, flower nectar, which are processed by fermentation.

Unfortunately, fakes are common. Unscrupulous manufacturers, using the names of well-known brands, supply low-quality goods. If the furniture and appliances are a bit lighter, poor-quality foods are hazardous to health.

The qualities of real honey

Maturity is a key indicator of quality

1. If you scoop it up with a spoon and it drains quickly - immature.
2. If you drop a drop of honey on a saucer and the shape is preserved - mature. If it quickly spreads - poor-quality or immature.
3. Mature is not afraid of long-term storage. Upon completion of pumping, it crystallizes within two months. There is no syrup on the surface after crystallization.
4. Immature less useful, not stored for a long time - begins to wander.

Scent

1. Strong aroma is a sure sign of high quality. Do not buy with the smell of smoke or fermentation.
2. The noble varieties of linden and acacia are distinguished by a delicate, sweet and pleasant aroma of flowers.
3. Buckwheat has a more pronounced tart flavor.
4. Padova has a faint odor.

Taste is an objective indicator of quality

1. A good product has a sweet and pleasant taste without the taste of caramel, fermentation and acid.
2. Heather and buckwheat has a tart and specific flavor.
3. willow or chestnut honey with a bitter taste.

Color is a biased indicator of quality

1. Color directly depends on the variety - light, dark or medium.
2. Honey collected from identical plants at different times differs in color. During storage, it can change color, bright.

Consistency - liquid and crystallized

1. Fluid consistency - deflated recently. The viscosity of liquid honey depends on temperature and maturity.
2. 2 months after pumping starts to crystallize.
3. Crystallization does not affect the quality. The absence of the process for a long period may indicate immaturity or falsification of honey.

How to buy honey on the market

While working on honey, hardworking bees try to evaporate excess liquid. As a result, complex sugars are broken down and saturated with enzymes.

Not every beekeeper waits until the honey is fully ripe. So, a low-quality product - watery, quickly acidifies, with a high content of sucrose.

1. Color. High-quality is transparent, regardless of the type.
2. If starch, sugar and other impurities are contained, slightly cloudy with a slight precipitate.
3. The unnaturally white color says that the beekeeper fed the bees with sugar.
4. The aroma. Quality differs fragrant strong aroma. Sugar practically does not smell.
5. Viscosity. To determine, dip the stick and pull it out. If it is followed by a continuous honey thread - the real one. Low-quality resembles glue. It drains and drips quickly.
6. Consistency.Quality is distinguished by a delicate and well-absorbed texture. Bad heterogeneous and rough structure.

Before going to the market, take iodine or a chemical pencil.

Apply a little honey on the paper and spread well. After on the honey plane write with a chemical pencil. If the inscription turns blue - there is flour or starch.

4 home experiments to determine the quality

1. Drop honey on a piece of paper. Good - if the drop retained its shape. Bad - wet a piece of paper or spread.
2. Put a piece of bread in it. Good - if after 10 minutes the bread hardens. Bad - bread will turn sour.
3. Dilute a few drops in distilled water and add a couple of drops of iodine. If blue appears in the solution, starch is present.
4. Lower the heated stainless steel wire into the product. Fake - if the sticky mass sticks.

The choice of honey in the store

In my life I don’t remember a single day that there was no honey in the house. Grandma always said that it is much healthier than sugar and even quince jam. It will energize, help fall asleep quicklysave from the common cold.

You can buy honey everywhere: in a specialized or grocery store, with a friend, in the market or in a special fair. I buy at fairs, where there is a wide selection, and prices are below market.

1. I recommend to buy weighted honey. So you appreciate the taste and check the quality.
2. If the store offers only packaged products, be sure to read the label. Quality meets state standards. If the label contains the abbreviation "TU", it is better not to buy.
3. According to GOST, the label must indicate the state of production, the legal address of the company or IP, year of collection and date of packaging. The importer or exporter must be present, net weight, storage conditions, numbers of quality certificates.
4. Do not buy if sugar is included.

What honey is not sugared -

I will describe in detail the correct procedure for sugaring.

1. In simple words, honey crystallizes because the liquid form hardens after a certain time and the viscous substance is cured.
2. The procedure is accompanied by the appearance of sugar crystals. Sugar sinks to the bottom due to weight. Therefore, sugar begins at the bottom.
3. Different varieties crystallize at different rates. Padova remains liquid for a long time.
4. The speed of the process directly depends on the amount of cane sugar in the composition. If the bees collected nectar from the flowers of mustard, radish or colza, the finished product contains a lot of pade substances, a small amount of cane sugar.
5. Some varieties become more dense upon crystallization. They have sugar crystals that are formed during cages, too small.

What is honeydew honey?

It is honeydew that remains liquid for the longest time. It is formed simply.

If the summer is dry, the bees produce honeydew honey. They use not pollen as a raw material, but sweet secretions.

1. Such a variety has not only vegetable, but also animal origin.
2. Color is varied - from light yellow to black.
3. Sometimes it is odorless and resembles burnt sugar.
4. The composition is viscous. After ingestion, it does not dissolve for a long time.
5. It is cheaper than nectar. It is widely used in the bakery and confectionery industries.

To make crystalline honey with your own hands, add a little sugar to the fresh honey. As a result, the cage will end much faster.

In the end, I’ll tell you how to store it, because this process is no less important than the purchase.

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Best suited for storage is wood, clay, ceramic, glass or porcelain. Do not use metal utensils. If over time it becomes cloudy and thickens, do not panic. These are the first signs of high quality.