Can real honey be candied? Is liquid honey better than thick honey? Why honey remains liquid and does not thicken

Honey is a useful product that is used in the daily diet and for the treatment of colds. Stored in a cool dark place. It happens that honey is not candied: it depends on the variety, on the conditions in which the bees are kept and on the main composition.

Why does nectar crystallize?

Natural honey is valued for its composition: it contains monosaccharides that are beneficial for the human body. If it does not contain stabilizing additives, after a few months it changes its structure.

Any variety thickens, but with different intensity - some types 2-3 weeks after preparation, while other types remain transparent for several months.

The main causes of crystallization

Reasons why honey begins to sugar over time:

1. The mixture begins to harden due to the properties of monosaccharides. If fructose predominates, then the mixture will sugar in 1-2 years.
2. An important factor is the conditions in which the bees are kept. To speed up the work of insects, they are fed with syrup. This method leads to a decrease in the quality of the product itself. The saliva of bees that has fallen into the nectar affects its quality, so it cannot stand for a long time and quickly crystallizes.
3. The natural ingredient should not be constantly stirred. Such actions affect natural processes - crystallization does not occur, and the honey mixture separates.

Fake artificial honey is not candied because it is diluted with sugar syrup. It becomes liquid and lighter, but is not useful. Nectar with a high water content does not begin to sugar - if these are artificial additives, and not the characteristics of the variety.

Which varieties remain liquid

The selected variety should stand for a long time and not lose its amber translucent structure, this is the guarantee of its quality: the composition and quality of the resulting nectar directly depends on the flowers from which the bees transfer pollen to the hive.

A species that does not crystallize at all or thickens slowly:

• lime;
• Greek;
• chestnut;
• May;
• acacia honey.

lime nectar

Real linden honey belongs to fine-grained varieties of white color. It can remain liquid in winter and part of spring (3 to 5 months). The viscosity of the nectar determines the rate of crystallization.

Liquid honey gradually turns into a solid and thick white mass.

There are no large crystals in the solid mixture: the structure changes by dividing the mixture into 2 parts - stratification occurs within 3-4 months. The upper layer of the substance remains liquid (it looks more like syrup), and the lower part turns into a thick porridge, which is divided into parts using an ordinary spoon. Solid linden nectar does not exist. Its long-term storage leads to the formation of lumps.

Greek nectar

One of the most environmentally friendly varieties of honey - Greek, is used to feed children and to treat diseases of the skin or respiratory tract. The main difference is the collection technology: honey is collected not from flowers, but from insects that feed on the juice of useful plants. It never thickens, even when stored for a long time, and does not crystallize due to its low glucose content.

The main types of Greek honey:

1. Pine. Natural liquid honey does not change its structure (if there are no additives in it). Minimal crystallization occurs due to minor impurities - this is plant pollen. Honey becomes thick, but not hard.
2. Thyme. Obtained from thyme inflorescences. It remains liquid for at least 6 months. Shelf life up to 2 years without additional heat treatment or pouring into a new container.

Natural Greek honey is harvested in late autumn. If winter frosts come late, bees can collect pollen until December. Late collection of the product leads to its long shrinkage.

chestnut blossom nectar

A product with a dark shade and a viscous structure is prepared from the nectar of chestnut inflorescences. Candied after a year and a half. The first shrinkage occurs after 10-12 months. Gradually, the structure of the nectar begins to resemble brown jelly.

In the sweet mixture, granules stand out, which differ in color - they are light and large. Gradually, the granules increase in size. A year later, the product is stratified - a change in the structure does not affect the taste of the nectar.

May nectar

The natural product is collected in the warm season: in late spring and early summer. A variety is collected from inflorescences of apple, cherry or bird cherry. It has a high content of glucose - it is high-calorie and quickly absorbed by the body. Fresh nectar does not have time to sugar by the beginning of autumn.

To find out why honey is candied, it is necessary to consider its composition and properties. Crystallization is considered a natural process, which indicates the high quality of the product. In the thickened composition, all useful properties are preserved.

Reasons for crystallization

Should honey be candied? The crystallization process is an obligatory stage that the products in question go through. The appearance depends on its variety. Candied honey becomes like butter or sugar. In some cases, crystallization does not occur. Which honey is not candied and why? Often this happens with all artificial varieties.

Nectar refers to a natural solution consisting of sugar syrup and glucose. It is glucose in some cases that is able to turn into crystals. Honey is candied, if there is little liquid in it, it is mature.

All artificial analogues contain a huge amount of non-natural polysaccharides. For this reason, the crystallization process is slower. It is considered normal if the first signs of crystal formation appear 1.5 months after its pumping. Only chestnut and acacia varieties harden longer. Sunflower and buckwheat nectar crystallizes most rapidly. It depends on the storage temperature. In cool rooms, sugaring of honey occurs after 30 days. If you keep products in combs, the first crystals will appear only on the 6th month of storage.

Product types

It has been proven that many factors influence the rate and intensity of crystal formation. One of them is the percentage of fructose and glucose. This applies not only to artificial species. Different varieties have different composition and different degree of saccharization. It all depends on the concentration of glucose. For example, acacia nectar often remains liquid all season. Heather honey candied almost immediately after pumping. The first contains a minimum of glucose, the second has almost 100% glucose composition.

Sugar formation is much more pronounced in natural products. If the variety does not have any additives, then by November its structure changes dramatically. Candied honey acquires a thick consistency. Most consumers opt for liquid varieties that retain their shape for a long time. They are much more practical and easier to use.

It cannot be argued that if honey is not candied, then it is not real.

There are varieties that crystallize slowly. valued for its monosaccharides. Due to the high concentration of these substances, the process of crystallization occurs. Monosaccharides are complex elements consisting of several simple sugars. Most often, they are represented by fruit and grape substances. The higher the ratio of fruit sugar in the finished product, the less pronounced the tendency to crystallization. Acacia honey is considered the “leader” in terms of such durability.

Why doesn't crystallization occur?

The beekeeping product is not candied for the following reasons:

1. Derivative products. Unscrupulous beekeepers often feed bees with sugar syrup to increase the amount of product. This kind of artificial feeding leads to the formation of low-quality honey, which retains a liquid structure for a long time.
2. Heat treatment. This is a surefire way to melt candied honey. Under the influence of high temperatures, it loses its nutritional value and the ability to crystallize. The overheated composition darkens sharply and does not have any healing effect on the body. In some cases, the use of such a product can cause severe poisoning.
3. The amount of water. An increased percentage of liquid prevents the product from sugaring. Real honey may not be candied if not stored properly. It absorbs liquid, becomes oversaturated with it and loses its ability to thicken.
4. Pumpdown time. The newly pumped composition has a liquid consistency.
5. Constant stirring. It has been proven that frequent stirring affects the process of crystal formation. All sellers use this technique to keep the attractive presentation of the nectar.
6. Adding sugar syrup to already prepared nectar. If a natural product is diluted with syrup, it will again become liquid, and, therefore, more attractive.

When choosing nectar, it is important to carefully approach the procedure. Do not chase a liquid product. This is not always a sign of high-quality and fresh products. A diluted, overheated product can cause severe harm to the body instead of good.

Product variety as a factor in its consistency

It largely determines the characteristics of the product itself, the rate of its crystallization. The variety is determined by the plant from which the bees obtained pollen. It is a mistake to assume that honey is a pure product obtained from a particular plant. It will always have a mixed composition, but with a predominance of one type of plant. The name, properties and sedimentation rate of sweetness depend on this.

The types of honey that are characterized by a slow process of sugaring include:

• lime product;
• buckwheat;
• chestnut;
• acacia;
• May.

Linden honey is a representative of white fine-grained varieties of nectar. Maintains a liquid consistency for a long time. This period lasts up to 3 months. Honey can be viscous or moderately viscous. From this in the future depends on the rate of sedimentation of sweetness. The candied product is more like a thick porridge. Large crystals are not formed. Over time, the product is divided into 2 completely different fractions - the upper liquid and the lower thick. Such honey does not harden. The old product is more like semolina.

Greek honey comes from Greece. This is a unique variety, which is rightfully considered the purest and most useful. What is the reason for the high quality of this nectar? It is collected not from flowers, but from insects that feed on plant juices. The Greek variety is stored in a liquid state for a long time.

Other varieties

Other types of honey:

1. Honeydew (pine) product. The most famous and useful variety of nectar. It is a pure source of fructose. But on the way, the bees meet a huge number of flowering plants. Therefore, the sweetness in such honey is still present and settles, but very slowly.
2. The thyme variety is made from thyme. The first crystallization appears only six months after pumping. The liquid state of the product is stored for up to one and a half years.
3. chestnut nectar. Differs in darker shade and viscous structure. Crystallization of the product is slow, starting six months after pumping. It acquires a brown tint, and small crystals resemble granules.
4. The May variety is pumped out in late spring. It is considered the most useful beekeeping product. It contains a lot of fructose, so the nectar retains a liquid consistency for a long time. This variety is very high-calorie, quickly absorbed, without affecting the pancreas. This product is recommended for patients with diabetes.

All lovers of liquid honey should know how to properly preserve its original structure. It is better to buy honey immediately after pumping. It is stored at room temperature. To obtain a fine oily consistency, the product should be stored in a cool place at a temperature not exceeding 5 degrees.

The material of the storage container also plays an important role. It has been proven that bee sweetness will remain liquid longer in wooden containers than in metal containers. The location of sugar depends on the shape of the dishes. In oblong containers, sugar is located from the walls to the center, and in wide containers - only on the surface.

Properly choose and store it, following the suggested recommendations. Remember that the abuse of honey leads to the development of an allergic reaction and other consequences.

Perhaps there are not many people who do not like honey. Preparing for the winter, we try to get a sweet treat, which is also a very healthy product. And there are always many questions. Should the product be thick or liquid, and in general, To understand the issue, let's look at the topic in more detail.

Should honey be sugared or not?

Opening honey in winter, we are sincerely upset when we find that it has become candied. By the same principle, we acquire sweetness, believing that the liquid product is better, fresher and healthier. Many even in winter prefer to buy exactly the honey that retains a liquid consistency. But this is fundamentally the wrong approach. A similar mistake in reasoning is made by many due to inexperience, not knowing the answer to the logical question, why is honey sugared?

Crystallization of a product is a completely natural process that occurs in natural substances. It is he who is the best characteristic of quality. Why does honey sugar quickly? It is worth knowing that even in apiaries, with long-term storage of honey in combs, the process of crystallization begins. This is very good, because it is in such a product that all useful substances are stored.

How fast does honey sugar? A good quality product should change its consistency by the beginning of winter. At first it becomes a little cloudy, and then an upper sediment forms, which gradually turns into crystals. After sugaring, honey first becomes hard and then soft. All this speaks of the naturalness of such a product.

Different varieties of honey outwardly look completely different after thickening. Some of them resemble butter, while others become like grains of sugar. No matter how the crystals look, any honey should be sugared. If you buy sweetness in winter or late autumn, then you should focus on its consistency. By this time the honey should show signs of sugaring.

Why do some varieties take a long time to sugar?

Why do you think honey does not sugar for a long time? Monosaccharides inside the sweet product are its main value. Their ratio is quite large. It is for this reason that honey begins to sugar over time. And yet there are varieties that remain liquid for a very long time without changing the original structure.

It is worth highlighting a number of reasons why the product does not thicken:

1. Monosaccharides are a combination of grape and fruit sugar. When the second type of sugar predominates in the product, honey loses its ability to crystallize.
2. To obtain precious nectar, some unscrupulous beekeepers feed bees with sugar syrup, which leads to a poor quality product. It is commonly referred to as a surrogate. It stays liquid for a long time.
3. Honey after heat treatment loses not only all its beneficial properties, but also the possibility of crystallization. Overheated product sometimes acquires a dark tint.
4. In addition, honey cannot be candied with a high water content. This situation is possible with improper storage of the product. If the technology is broken, then the nectar begins to absorb moisture, which leads to the loss of certain properties.
5. Frequent stirring of the product can also interfere with the crystallization process. Sellers use this technique to make their product look more attractive for a long time.
6. Natural honey, diluted with sugar syrup, becomes liquid and does not thicken further.

liquid varieties

Why does honey sugar so slowly? In nature, there are liquid varieties of honey. The rate of crystallization depends on the variety of nectar, that is, on the type of plant from which the pollen was collected. In any case, each product variety has a mixed composition with a predominance of one species. It is on this that the rate of crystallization of honey depends.

Some species are extremely slowly candied, but it cannot be said that they do not crystallize. Such a statement would be incorrect. All varieties thicken and candied, but do so at different rates. Lime, May, acacia, chestnut and Greek species are distinguished by slow processes. Such varieties remain liquid for a long time, without losing a beautiful shade.

Reasons for crystallization

To answer the question why fresh honey is sugared, you need to understand what processes take place inside it. All saturated solutions, which include bee nectar, cannot maintain a uniform structure for a long time. An excess of one or another substance, according to the laws of physics, tends to turn into a precipitate. Honey contains a large amount of glucose, which is rather poorly soluble in liquid. It is because of it that white flakes appear - crystals. The ratio of fructose and glucose levels affects the rate of crystallization. With a large amount of fructose, the product will remain liquid for a long time.

The speed of processes is influenced by storage temperature, air humidity, degree of maturity, processing before packaging. The optimum crystallization temperature is 15 degrees. Below four degrees and above twenty-seven, processes are suspended until better times.

The most popular varieties of sweet nectar

One of the most popular types of honey is lime. It belongs to the fine-grained white varieties. Such nectar retains its consistency for a long time - almost three months. Linden honey can be viscous or moderately viscous. The rate of thickening of the product depends on this to a greater extent. After crystallization, linden honey becomes like porridge.

There are no large crystals. After a certain period of time, you can notice the stratification of nectar into two parts. The top layer will have a more liquid consistency, and the bottom layer will be thicker. But with all this, linden honey will never become hard. That is his specialty.

May honey is no less popular. Sometimes it is also called flower. The time of its crystallization largely depends on the plants from which the bees collected pollen. By the way, May nectar is always a quickly candied product. So, for example, blueberry flower honey thickens within three weeks. And nectar from sage - within a month.

Is it true that nectar is sugared in grains?

Why is honey sugared in grains? Because glucose collects around the particles, forming crystals. And the process always starts from the bottom. After all, it is there that heavy particles of impurities or pollen fall. But gradually the crystallization process covers the entire product.

Does honey have to thicken or not?

Honey should definitely thicken. Regardless of the conditions under which it is stored and all other factors, a natural product must crystallize sooner or later. The process of thickening can occur a week after collection, and maybe even after a few years. It should be noted that after three years of storage, only artificial honey can remain liquid. This is proof of its unnatural origin.

Everyone, probably, faced such a situation when a fresh product immediately thickened. Why does fresh honey sugar quickly? Sometimes nectar literally immediately turns into a sugar clot. However, there is no need to worry about this. Early ripening types of honey may well crystallize quickly. In addition, the following factors affect the thickening process, which we mentioned earlier:

1. The presence of mechanical impurities and pollen.
2. High glucose content.
3. Adding old honey.

All these factors are not something terrible and do not give reason to consider the product bad. It is much worse when honey does not thicken, which indicates its unnatural origin.

To form a crystal structure, honey needs a fulcrum. It becomes particles of pollen or other substances that fall during the pumping of nectar.

Experienced beekeepers who know many of the secrets of the product give some advice on how to keep the original look of honey. Initially, it must be kept for about five weeks at zero temperature. And after the jar can be sent for storage to a place whose temperature does not exceed 14 degrees.

When should honey thicken?

Many consumers are interested in why honey thickens, but does not sugar? And how fast should it crystallize? It is difficult to give exact answers to these questions, because they simply do not exist. It all depends on many factors that affect the processes of thickening - the type of nectar, its purity, pumping and storage conditions. Varieties that candied the fastest include sunflower, rapeseed and buckwheat honey. They begin to crystallize just a few weeks after pumping.

Linden, sweet clover and buckwheat nectar also quickly thickens. Heather, honeydew, chestnut honey crystallizes more slowly. Such varieties may not be candied throughout the winter. The record holder in this matter is the acacia product, which retains its structure for up to several years. This is the reason why he is so popular.

How to return honey to its original state?

Some people do not really like candied honey, preferring to use viscous nectar. If the consistency of the product is important to you, then it can be returned. This is done by heating. This method is actively used by nectar traders in the markets. To keep the presentation of honey for a long time, it is heated. However, excessive overheating leads to the loss of all useful properties. In addition, honey acquires a characteristic brown hue. An overheated product forever loses its ability to be sugared, and there is no longer any benefit from it.

How to make nectar liquid?

In order for the nectar to become liquid again, it must be heated in a water bath. To do this, we need two pans of different sizes. It is necessary to pour water into a large one and send it to the fire. After boiling the liquid, it is worth reducing the intensity of the gas to a minimum. We lower a smaller pan into a large container, after putting a towel on the bottom, and put a jar of honey in it. The water should be very hot, but not boiling. Within fifteen minutes, the honey will again become liquid. But it is worth remembering that at temperatures above +40 degrees nectar loses its properties.

The second way to liquefy honey is a bit easier. We lower the jar of nectar into a pot of hot water. After a while, it will become more rare. You can also heat the product in the microwave. This method is the easiest and fastest, but also the most dangerous, since you will not be able to control the temperature.

Experts do not recommend heating all the honey that you have. If you really want liquid nectar, make a small portion so as not to spoil the whole mass. Moreover, in the future, the product will thicken again anyway.

Instead of an afterword

Honey is a wonderful natural product that should always be in the house. But buying sweet nectar always comes with a lot of questions. We hope that in our article you have found answers to them, which will be useful to you in the future. And now the acquisition of nectar for you will become an easier task. After all, now you know why fresh honey is sugared, which means you should not be afraid of it.

Consider a beautiful golden-amber hue, transparency and liquid consistency. Seeing a solid, whitened product, some people think that they have a fake with sugar added in front of them, and they try to get a liquid delicacy even in winter. These inexperienced buyers make a mistake, because high-quality honey does not remain bright and transparent for a long time. At the end of autumn, the first signs of sugaring should already be visible on many varieties. Otherwise, there is a possibility that the healthy treat was overheated or mixed with artificial additives. Many people are interested in the questions: why is honey candied when it happens and is it possible to melt it? We will tell you more about the reasons for this natural phenomenon and about ways to make the product liquid without losing its healing qualities.

The gradual sugaring of honey is explained by a simple law of physics: supersaturated solutions are not able to maintain a homogeneous structure for a long time, because the excess of the substance goes into sediment. In the case of honey, this substance is glucose, since it is the least prone to dissolution. That's why the structure of the natural treat changes over time, and it is filled with white candied crystals.

This means that the ability of real honey to be candied depends on how much glucose it contains. If glucose predominates over fructose, the product crystallizes very quickly. But a dessert containing a lot of fructose does not sugar for longer.

Sometimes lovers of bee delicacies are surprised: why recently bought honey is candied and what to do in this case? Nothing wrong with that. If the honey is candied early, most likely it contains a large amount of pollen. Its particles served as centers around which crystallizing glucose accumulated. That is, early crystallization is a good sign, it speaks of the naturalness of the product, you can safely eat it. (If desired, it can be gently melted, retaining its healing properties). But a processed and refined dessert, in which there is no pollen, is in no hurry to be candied. It remains transparent and uniform.

Terms of crystallization

Why, in some cases, natural sweetness is candied early, while in others it retains a liquid consistency even many months after collection? The time of crystallization of the bee product depends on its variety and storage conditions. Varieties that thicken quickly include:

• buckwheat;
• lime;
• sunflower,
• rapeseed;
• sweet clover;
• rapeseed.

There are also varieties that retain their original consistency for a long time. They can be in a liquid state all winter and begin to change their structure only by the time of the next harvest. For a long time, such varieties of flower delicacies are not candied:

• clover honey;
• chestnut;
• heather;
• honeydew;
• acacia.

Interesting to know! The healing acacia variety remains liquid and transparent for the longest time. Under favorable storage conditions, it does not change its appearance for up to two years, and there are practically no candied clots in it. That's why the natural acacia product is so popular among the people!

Helpful advice! If you want to delay the crystallization of a newly purchased liquid treat, keep the storage temperature under control.

For the first five weeks, keep the product at zero temperature, and then put it in a cool, dark place with a temperature of about 14-15 degrees. Then he will begin to sugar soon.

It is also important when collecting bee treats to pour it into a sterilized container to prevent the formation of additional crystallization start points.

Simple ways to make honey runny

If you eat real honey in its purest form, as a nice light dessert, it is not necessary to try to make it liquid. Candied honey is very convenient to use with your favorite tea, and you do not need to think about how to melt it. Baking is another matter entirely. In home cooking, liquid honey should be used. Also, you can’t do without it if you decide to do honey skin care procedures.

There are several ways to make a crystallized dessert liquid. Let's talk about the simplest methods of how to melt honey.

Method 1

Take two saucepans: a large one and a smaller one. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan and reduce heat to low. Lower a small saucepan into the water, in which there is a jar of honey. (It should be held on the handles and not reach the bottom of a large pan). In no case do not increase the fire on the stove, let the water be hot, but not boiling. Stir the product from time to time so that it melts evenly. In this way, you can melt honey quite quickly, it should melt in 15-20 minutes.

Method 2

Instead of two pans, use one. And a jar of candied treats is placed directly in hot water. At the bottom of the pan, it is advisable to put some kind of metal stand (grid for dishes or a sieve). In this case, the water should also not be boiling; it is desirable to melt the product gradually. And also make sure that the water level is a couple of centimeters below the level of honey.

Kindling can also be done in the microwave, but after that the product risks losing valuable qualities.

Whichever way you decide to melt a natural dessert, try not to overheat it. The temperature regime during heating should not exceed 50 degrees, otherwise all useful substances will be destroyed, and simple sugars will become caramel. And one more tip - do not try to make a large amount of ghee at once, it will take a lot of time and patience. To quickly make candied honey liquid, take the amount you need at one time.

Crystallization and benefits of honey

Aged candied honey retains the whole complex of healing components. That is why in folk medicine it is used with the same success as the recently pumped out one. So you can safely use hardened sweetness for the prevention of various diseases and general strengthening of the body.

Do you want to know why honey is candied (crystallized)? In fact, this is a normal natural process that is characteristic of almost every type of bee product and is evidence of its high quality.

As often happens that many people, having opened a jar of honey in winter, are upset when they see a white “cap” on the top layer of a sweet product. Exactly the same reaction can be found when people buy this sweet in the market.

Many, due to inexperience, choose the product that even in winter looks liquid, transparent and without a top white coating. But this is precisely where their biggest mistake lies. Indeed, in fact, the crystallization of honey is a normal natural process that is characteristic of almost every type of natural product and is evidence of its high quality.

Even in the apiary, the product in the combs of beekeepers also crystallizes after long-term storage. And this is very good! Why? There is one secret of this product - only "shrunken" honey, that is, which has succumbed to the thickening process, retains all its beneficial properties.

Each species, approximately by the beginning of winter, should already show the first signs of crystallization. First, the bee sweetness should become slightly cloudy, then an upper sediment should form in it, which is gradually converted into crystals. Candied first, it should be hard, and then soft. But in any case, this is evidence of its naturalness.

At the same time, different varieties of honey may look different after crystallization: some resemble butter, others are ordinary grains of sugar. Whatever the size of the crystals, each product must be sugared. This is the main criterion for the naturalness of this product when buying in late autumn or winter.

How to keep liquid?

If, for example, you like liquid honey, then purchase it immediately after pumping and store it in a warm place. At room temperature, the sweetness will last longer in liquid form. But the processes of thickening in any case will occur. If you want to achieve oily fine crystallization, then the sweetness should be stored in a cool place at a temperature not exceeding 5-8 degrees.

How fast is the sugaring process?

Before answering this common question among buyers, it is worth saying one main rule of this product. It should be remembered that honey is a living product. Like any organism, it goes through its stage of "development" and "life". And it should be candied for 1.5-3 months after pumping. The only exception to this rule is the acacia and chestnut product. The fastest crystallization process lends itself to the sweetness of sunflower and buckwheat. When stored in a cool place, an upper white "cap" may form after the first month. candied a little longer, about 4-6 months of storage.

Influence of composition

The rate of crystallization depends primarily on the percentage of fructose and glucose in the product. It is no secret that this ratio in different varieties of honey is different, so each type of this sweetness has its own terms for the onset of saccharization. Moreover, the more glucose is contained, the faster it “sits down”. This is easy to see on specific samples. For example, a product from acacia, due to its high fructose content, can remain liquid even throughout the season, but heather is sugared immediately after pumping from the combs.

Proper storage

Do not forget that the rate of crystallization also depends on the method of storage: this is affected by the air temperature, and the material of the container, and the volume, and location of the container with honey, and even its shape. If we consider in more detail, then in a wooden container, bee sweetness will remain liquid longer than in a metal container. Especially in a cool place.

If the container is oblong, then a white coating, which is also sugar, will be located from the walls to the center. If the capacity is wide, then only on the surface. At air temperatures below 14 degrees, the process of glucose crystallization is fast and very active. The size of the crystals also depends on the temperature. They are small (butter-like saccharization), medium (fine-grained) and large (coarse-grained saccharization).

How it looks visually, we suggest looking at the photo.

Reasons for sugaring

We have already talked about the fact that honey should be sugared. Now let us touch upon the question of the cause of this natural process. So, in order to better understand the nature of candied bee sweets, consider its composition. Honey is a very rich solution of sugars. All of them exceed the norm at which they could be in a dissolved state.

At the same time, glucose, which is also one of the main components of bee sweetness, begins to be converted into crystals under the action of other components after a certain period of time.

Main Factors

• the presence of glucose - we talked about it;
• the presence of water - the less water the sweet product contains, the faster the crystallization of glucose will occur;
• dextrin (an artificial polysaccharide extracted from starches) - the more dextrin is added to the product, the slower it thickens;
• the degree of maturity of honey - in immature bee food, with a sufficient amount of water, crystals are formed unevenly with a watery "sludge" on the surface.

Many have probably noticed that if you mix the sweetness, then white grains appear throughout the vessel. This is due to the fact that saccharization occurs from several centers of crystal formation. This center is a clot of pollen, mechanical impurities and already formed glucose crystals. If honey is mixed, then there are already more centers.

How to keep a natural product presentation?

For many beekeepers who sell their own bee products, it is very important to keep their "marketable" appearance. It's no secret that many people, having seen a plaque on the top, do not want to buy it, and a beautiful yellowish, pasta-like, soft product is "sold out with a bang." Experienced beekeepers know that under certain conditions, you can get a natural sweet product with a "beautiful" crystallization. That is, this process can be controlled.

Useful Tricks

So, for example, if you immediately add a small amount of crystallized product to liquid bee sweetness, you can get the most beautiful cream honey. At the same time, this should be done in a warm place in a ratio of 9 to 1. When stirring, it should also be heated to a temperature of 26-28 degrees, and then stored at a temperature of 14 and below. After a few weeks, the process of formation of fine-grained saccharization will begin.

During the industrial production of cream honey, continuous processes of cooling and mixing of the product are used. The viscosity of the product will depend on the amount of water in its composition.

Does the natural product thicken?

Sugarization is a sign of both real (natural) and falsified honey. It differs only in appearance and time of formation of the crystal cap. The natural product lends itself to these processes very quickly, especially at low temperatures. But a fake one, if it exceeds the sugar norm, hardens slowly, regardless of temperature and storage location. It is good if the surface of honey is fluffy, loose, similar to foam, and there are white spots inside. These are air bubbles that indicate the naturalness of the product.

In order for natural honey to be candied, it must contain a lot of pollen. In this case, it always thickens. If it remains liquid for a long time, most likely, it was subjected to heat treatment and it lost all its useful properties.

Is the May view sugary?

As you know, today there are a lot of varieties (varieties) of honey. Its appearance is determined by the pollen that bees collect from different plants. The most popular and most demanded in our country was and remains, or, as it is often called, flower. The process of its crystallization depends on the type of plants from which the pollen is collected. But all of them, without exception, candied very quickly. For example, a sweet product from blueberry flowers thickens within three weeks, and sugar from sage within a month.

To explain this, it is enough to say this fact - nature takes care to preserve all the most useful properties of its products for a long time. This is facilitated by the process of thickening and crystallization.

Also remember that it is best to buy real May honey from familiar beekeepers. And if it is not possible, then you should know the main signs of the quality of such a product. For example, when buying, do not forget to taste and smell the sweetness. The taste and smell should contain only the natural natural aromas of plants without various impurities and additives.

Also, natural liquid honey should be wound on a spoon and form a hill when poured. Air bubbles may be present in the vessel. To consider this in more detail, we suggest you watch a video on how to properly distinguish a natural product from a fake.

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