When natural honey begins to thicken. Why does liquid honey thicken and is it normal? Which honey is better - thick or liquid

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 very useful 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? Product good quality by the beginning of winter should change its consistency. 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 beneficial features 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 sugar fresh honey, you need to understand what processes occur 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. Upper layer will have a more liquid consistency, and the bottom will have a thicker one. 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 microwave oven. 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.

Different varieties of honey differ not only in density, color, smell and taste, but also in the rate of crystallization: some varieties thicken faster, others slower. Hardening of honey is not a sign of its depravity or loss of nutritional and healing properties, this is a completely normal phenomenon. Moreover, in some cases, the liquid consistency of the product raises doubts about its quality.

Why does the product crystallize? How long does this process take? What does the absence of crystallization mean?

Why does honey thicken quickly?

Why does honey, liquid at first, thicken over time? In fact, a natural product must harden sooner or later. If honey after a certain time does not turn white and does not thicken, then it is natural.

The bee product is a supersaturated solution that cannot stay in a homogeneous state for a long time. As a result, the excess of the substance precipitates. In honey, this substance is glucose. It is glucose crystals that cause the honey to freeze and turn white (a white layer appears on the product).

The rate of crystallization depends on the following reasons:

• storage conditions;
• degree of maturity;
• glucose to fructose ratio.

When should natural honey thicken?

How long does the product need to dry? Why do some varieties of honey remain liquid for a long time, while others quickly thicken and turn white? It depends on the water content in the product: the more it is in honey, the longer it will remain in a liquid or semi-liquid state. For example, the acacia variety has a high water content, which allows it to remain liquid for two to three years.

The consistency of the product is affected by the time of year. In summer, honey is still liquid, and closer to winter it becomes thick and cloudy. It is believed that in the winter season the product cannot have a liquid consistency. If they are trying to sell you such a product, then keep in mind that it was initially thick, and it was most likely melted.

Many believe that a thickened product loses its useful and nutritional properties, but it's not. The increased content of sugars does not make the product harmful. For example, white cream honey initially has a rather thick consistency and has the same beneficial properties as ordinary liquid honey. It is widely used in medicine, cosmetology and cooking.

How to distinguish a real product from a fake one by crystallization?

Each variety of honey must undergo crystallization. A cool and dark storage location can slow down this inevitable process. The maximum temperature at which honey should be stored is 17 degrees. The product, which has a coarse crystalline structure, can be stored at 20 degrees. Honey with a fine-grained structure will retain its properties better at low temperatures.

A fake, which is honey diluted with water, will be easily identified by the tiers of crystallization and the accumulation of a transparent or slightly opaque liquid near the surface of the jar. An artificial product is more prone to the oxidation process than a natural product, which means it starts to ferment faster, which will be easy to determine by taste. In addition, you can not buy a product that has foam on the surface.

If the honey remains liquid for a long time, then there is a possibility that you were sold a fake. The simplest and fast way product quality control will be a "bread" test. A small piece of bread is placed in a jar of honey and left for 15-20 minutes. If the slice is soft, it means that you have purchased ordinary sugar syrup; in a real bee product, the bread becomes hard and hard.

When should you buy the product?

Honey is best purchased in late summer or early autumn. At this time, the main process of collecting flower nectar by bees and pumping out fresh and fragrant honey by beekeepers takes place. To be 100% sure of the freshness and authenticity of a store or market product, purchases should be made between the end of August and mid-September. You should not take three-liter jars right away, it is better to buy a small amount for testing and only then return for more.

Buckwheat honey

At the beginning of summer, bees begin to collect nectar from pink and white buckwheat flowers. At the end of August, this fragrant honey can be purchased in shops or markets. Fresh honey has a rich dark brown color with a slight red tint. Its taste has tart notes, and in aroma it resembles flowering fields of buckwheat.

Buckwheat honey contains:

• iron;
• vitamins;
• amino acids;
• fructose;
• sucrose;
• glucose;
• micro and macro elements;
• minerals.

Thanks to useful composition this variety is recommended for use in hypovitaminosis, beriberi, iron deficiency anemia. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal tract. The product speeds up the metabolism, has an antibacterial effect, promotes the healing of wounds and ulcers on the gastric mucosa. It is also recommended to use it for stomatitis, gingivitis, various skin diseases.

Linden honey

Linden honey has a mild and rich aroma delicate flowers of linden tree. Interestingly, the taste of the product depends on where it was obtained. Honey collected in Asian countries has a delicate refined taste, while the product from Europe is sweeter and more tart.

Collections of linden nectar begin in early June and end in late July. In August, the product will be available at specialized honey markets.

The composition of the honey product:

• 40% fructose;
• 38% glucose;
• polysaccharides;
• ash;
• essential oils;
• amino acids;
• vitamins;
• minerals;
• micro and macro elements;
• iron;
• phosphorus.

Quite often, linden honey is used in the treatment of obesity. In addition, the product helps reduce the risk of developing diabetes, myocardial infarction and stomach ulcers. One tablespoon a day will help with prolonged hypoglycemia, iron deficiency anemia and severe beriberi.

Herb honey

Herb honey is a unique bee product of its kind, it has a richer set of useful properties than other varieties. Often this species honey is collected from plants such as:

• field dandelion;
• raspberry;
• chamomile;
• sweet clover;
• sunflower.

Useful substances included in its composition:

• vitamins of group B, K, E, D, A;
• amino acids;
• essential oils;
• glucose;
• fructose;
• sucrose;
• phosphorus;
• calcium;
• iron;
• trace elements;
• macronutrients.

A forb product can be purchased from the beginning of June until mid-September. Its shade and density may vary depending on the location of the apiary.

Herb honey helps to strengthen the immune system and will be an excellent tool for the prevention of viral infections. One teaspoon of the product before bedtime will help to cope with insomnia by calming the nervous system.

What should I do to get the product back to a liquid consistency?

The consistency of natural honey depends on the storage temperature. In order for the product to become liquid again, it can be subjected to heat treatment. However, do not forget that with strong heating, the product loses its beneficial properties.

To safely warm up, you can resort to the three safest methods:

• water bath (water heated to 38 degrees);
• leave a jar of honey in a regular bath;
• slow heating for gas stove(requires constant stirring).

So, crystallization in no way affects the beneficial properties of the bee product. Crystallized honey is just as useful as liquid honey.

For hundreds of years, honey has been one of the most valuable gifts that nature gives to man. Such a product is valued not only for its taste qualities, it is also used in cosmetology and folk medicine. And many want to know more about the properties of this useful and delicious product, in particular, questions are raised by such a property of honey as sugaring. Let's talk more about this phenomenon and about honey in general.

Peculiarities

Honey is often used as an adjunct to cold and flu medications. It contributes to a rapid increase in the body's resistance, adds energy. Also, this product is widely used as a component for nourishing face and hair masks. It is used for massage and many other procedures. A drink made from milk and honey helps to get rid of a sore throat, has a calming effect on the body, and helps to fall asleep faster. But all the beneficial qualities of honey appear only if you have purchased a quality product and stored it correctly.

Kinds

There are a huge number of varieties of honey. It differs in the type of plant from whose pollen bees produce it. And also by consistency (liquid, in honeycombs, bee bread). We list the most common types of honey.

Lugovoi

It is also called flower. The main distinguishing feature of such a product is a rich and very pleasant aroma. The color of meadow honey is light, golden, and the taste is amazing. In addition, this product is incredibly beneficial for human health. It can be used as an effective prophylactic in winter, during colds.

Meadow honey also helps to strengthen the immune system, get rid of thyroid diseases, restores the functioning of the nervous system and quickly copes with insomnia. It is added to the menu even for small children to protect them from infectious diseases, unless, of course, allergic reactions occur.

Donnikovy

Natural sweet clover honey has a delicate taste and aroma of vanilla. To make this honey, bees collect nectar from a well-known medicinal plant - yellow and white sweet clover. Therefore, the product itself acquires healing properties. In particular, such a product helps to deal with abnormalities in the work of the respiratory tract, with coughs and bronchitis. Also, the product is used as a component of the complex treatment of atherosclerosis, hypertension, arthritis, migraine, constipation, etc.

Lime

This is another popular type of delicious, fragrant and healthy honey. Bees collect nectar for it from linden flowers. It contains a large number of miraculous components, thanks to which honey becomes a real healing product. The use of linden honey improves the skin, and thus the appearance of a person, rejuvenates the body as a whole.

Linden honey should be included in your diet for those people who suffer from excessive nervous tension, problems with the heart and blood vessels, asthma, tonsillitis, bronchitis.

in honeycombs

Such honey is considered even more useful than liquid honey, since all valuable nutrients remain in it. The honeycomb contains not only honey, but also beeswax, oils, pollen and propolis. Therefore, honey in combs is highly recommended for people who suffer from diseases of the teeth and gums. Also, such a product helps to remove harmful substances from the internal organs, to improve the functioning of digestion.

Why does it crystallize?

If you have ever had to store honey for a long time, then you have probably noticed that liquid honey can become sugary. This is a natural property of any real natural honey. The only difference is that each species requires different time in order to thicken. For example, the sweetness of acacia can crystallize only within a year or even two. While sunflower, buckwheat, dandelion and mustard honey freezes faster than others.

The process of crystallization is due to the fact that over time, glucose and sucrose, which are contained in honey, settle. Thus, the crystallization rate is determined by the amount of glucose: the less it is, the longer product remains liquid.

If you prefer liquid honey, and last year's stocks have already solidified, then you can easily melt the product. However, it should be understood that in this case the quality of honey will become worse, and some useful trace elements will disappear. But if you just want to enjoy the taste of this product, and not its healing qualities, then this moment should not bother you.

When is it liquid?

Whatever unscrupulous sellers say, you need to know that only honey that is not natural does not thicken. The only exceptions are honeycombs, since they themselves are a solid natural repository for healing sweetness.

We list a few specific reasons why the product is not candied.

1. Contains sugar syrup. Quite often, unscrupulous sellers dilute natural nectar with cheap syrup. This significantly reduces the cost of the product, but also significantly reduces its useful properties. Determine "by eye" the presence in the composition sugar syrup practically impossible, it can only be established after a special analysis of the product in the laboratory.
2. The honey was harvested ahead of schedule. If the beekeeper hurried and prepared the product before it was fully ripe, the honey is obtained with a high level of moisture. Therefore, natural sucrose may not settle. Moreover, sometimes honey simply deteriorates during long-term storage.
3. The product was remelted. Sometimes sellers re-melt thickened honey after a long period of storage in order to pass it off as fresh. After that, the product not only stops thickening, but also loses most of its useful properties.

Storage rules

Consider the main criteria that a place to store healthy sweets should meet.

• Lack of light. To keep the product as long as possible, it is strictly not recommended to store it under the influence of sunlight. Otherwise, he will simply lose all his healing characteristics. Even if you put honey in the sun for only a couple of days, it will turn into an ordinary high-calorie sweet.
• Dryness. If the room where the product is located is too humid, then it will simply deteriorate, become excessively liquid and sour. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that the humidity in the room does not exceed 80 percent.
• Cold. High temperature adversely affects the properties of healing sweetness and significantly reduces its shelf life.
• Purity. Naturally, food products should only be stored in clean rooms. Also, extraneous pungent odors should not be present there, since honey will immediately absorb them.

If you live in a private house, then best place to store healing sweets than a basement or pantry, just not to be found. However, there are also better options for apartment dwellers. You can put the jars in a cabinet on the balcony or in a nightstand in the kitchen. Just make sure that it is located away from the stove and heating appliances.

Also, the refrigerator is just an ideal place to store the product. He definitely is in any apartment without exception. In addition, inside the refrigerator is a constant temperature and humidity. Therefore, if you still have doubts about whether honey can be stored in the refrigerator, the answer is definitely yes.

The optimal temperature for storing sweets is considered to be from +5 to +20 degrees C. It is permissible to store the product in warmer places, but the thermometer should not fall below +5 degrees C.

What should be the dishes?

In order for honey to be stored longer, it is important to pay attention to the choice of the material of the dishes in which it will be stored.

• Clay. This material prevents the penetration of sunlight into the container, which means it is great for storing honey. However, pottery is not often found in modern stores.
• Glass. This container is the most common. Glass does not emit harmful substances, is not toxic. However, transparent walls let light through, and this will adversely affect the quality of honey. The way out of this situation is quite simple - buy dark glassware and put the jars in a room where sunlight does not penetrate.
• Plastic. It is a cheap, lightweight and affordable material that is great for short-term food storage. It is best not to leave honey in plastic containers for long periods, as the material can release toxic substances over time.
• Wooden. Linden, birch and beech containers are great for storing sweets. If you want to purchase containers from other tree species, then be sure that the material will not emit essential oils, which will then be mixed with honey.
• Metal. One of the natural properties of metal is oxidation. Therefore, for storage food products you should choose stainless containers that are free of copper, zinc and lead impurities.

Each material has certain advantages and disadvantages. However, according to most reviews of beekeepers and honey lovers, it is best to store sweetness in dark glass jars.

1. Remember that high-quality honey can only be bought in season. In summer, almost all types of this product are sold. And during the winter and off-season, it is better to buy only chestnut and acacia honey.
2. Pay attention to the texture of the product. If the product is too liquid, flows off the spoon in an uneven and interrupted stream, then it is better to refuse to buy it. Most likely, it was diluted with water to increase volume. This product will spoil quickly.
3. Pay attention to the region of production of the product.
4. If possible, try to always buy healing sweets only from a trusted seller.

If you are lovers of tea with honey, then remember that if you add the product to boiling water, it will completely lose all its healing characteristics. And you will get a sweet, tasty, but more high-calorie drink. Therefore, it is better to eat the product separately, rather than stir it in tea.

Now you know almost everything about the reasons for candied honey, as well as how to properly store such a product.

How to choose and store honey, see the following video.

24.11.2016 20

Why honey is quickly candied and not candied for a long time, which product has a higher quality, and what determines the crystallization rate? You will find answers to these and other questions in this article.

Should honey be candied?

Most buyers choose golden-colored liquid honey - they consider it the most natural and high-quality. Seeing a whitened, almost or completely solid product, many of us refuse to buy, and in vain. After all, high-quality honey does not remain bright, liquid and transparent for very long.

Most varieties are candied closer to the end of autumn or even earlier - you need to be wary, rather, if this does not happen. If honey is not candied, it contains artificial (and far from useful supplements), or the product was overheated altogether.

So, should it be candied good honey? Yes - definitely. Next, you will learn why this happens, after what time and how to melt candied honey without losing its beneficial properties.

Crystallization: process features

Crystallization is a natural process, but everyone treats it differently. Some people believe that only real honey is candied, others determine the freshness of nectar by the consistency, others believe that a quality product cannot crystallize, especially quickly. We can say the following for sure - natural nectar should be candied. The question is how much time should elapse from the moment of collection.

How fast does honey harden? The following factors influence this process:

1. Nectar type.
2. Collection features.
3. Compliance with storage rules.

It is impossible to judge the quality of a product only by its consistency - sooner or later it always begins to sugar. Candied honey is no longer as shiny, uniform and elastic, but as useful as before, it has a composition identical to liquid nectar. Plus, it can be melted down.

Crystallization and quality

Do you think that if honey is candied, then it is of high quality, and if not, then it contains artificial additives (in other words, it is not a natural product)? This is both true and not, since the quality of the product should not be judged by the nature of crystallization alone. Natural honey contains:

• sucrose;
• glucose;
• fructose.

When glucose takes the form of crystals and begins to settle, the process of crystallization occurs. It always occurs in the direction from the bottom up - this is how the whole mass gradually solidifies. Honey candied quickly - what does this mean? It contains a lot of glucose - the lower its content, the slower the sugaring process occurs.

A fresh product can be candied in a glass jar a month after harvest, or maybe only a quarter later, that is, closer to autumn. The rate of crystallization does not indicate the quality of the product - the course of this process is influenced by the type of sugar, the time of collection of nectar and the correct storage conditions.

Why is nectar not candied?

Candied honey does not always occur. Honey in a glass jar has been standing for a long time, but still retains a liquid consistency? It means that:

1. It contains a large amount of water - 17% or more. Sometimes beekeepers deliberately dilute nectar with water, because they know that buyers like the liquid product more. Will he sugar or not in principle? Of course - it will just happen much more slowly.
2. There is little or no pollen in the product.
3. The nectar was collected ahead of time - it does not contain a number of substances that are responsible, among other things, for crystallization. Unripe honey may eventually not thicken, but ferment. Have you seen a foaming product? It was assembled earlier than necessary.
4. You constantly stir the nectar - regular stirring delays the crystallization process. This does not mean that it will never thicken - it just will not happen soon.
5. At low temperatures, the crystallization process stops. At the same time, it is better to melt crystallizing honey than to freeze it and thereby deprive it of a number of useful properties.

What kind of honey is never candied? One that contains syrups and other additives that melt the crystals.

Varieties with slow crystallization

Why honey is not candied, we found out. Separately, one should consider varieties that are distinguished by prolonged crystallization. These include:

• acacia nectar - it thickens for about two years. The reason is the high content of fructose and water;
• the linden variety most often takes on a pasty appearance, but does not become thick;
• chestnut honey will become thick only after six months or a year;
• the May variety contains a large amount of fructose and remains liquid for a very long time.

These types of nectar like to add to tea and other hot drinks. But keep in mind - if you put honey in boiling water (which many do), then it loses a number of useful properties.

Reasons for sugaring

Honey is candied as a result of the fact that glucose settles in the form of small crystals. The following factors influence this process:

1. The amount of water in the product - if there is a lot of it, the crystals appear slowly, and vice versa.
2. The presence of dextrin - if this artificial polysaccharide is added to the product, it will thicken slowly.
3. Air temperature - honey actively begins to be candied at an air temperature of about 15 degrees (when it is higher or lower, these processes occur, but more slowly).
4. The presence of pollen particles - they also affect the crystallization process (there is pollen in honey - crystals form faster).

These factors only affect the rate of crystallization - after a certain time, the product will thicken in any case. The problem is that once it's sugared, it's hard to use. What to do? You can always melt candied honey, which is difficult to pick out of a jar, only partially dissolves in tea, and is not suitable for making desserts or adding to cosmetic masks. Learn how to do it right below.

How to make honey liquid?

Some varieties of honey are candied 2-3 weeks after harvest - for example, sunflower or rapeseed. They become hard and hard to get out of the jar. Using candied honey is inconvenient. What to do? Melt. It just needs to be done right.

Simple ways to make solid honey liquid:

• take two pans - one large, the second not very much (needed for a water bath). Pour in large water and bring it to a boil, make a small fire. Dip a small saucepan into the water of a large saucepan, put a jar of honey in a small one. At the same time, small dishes should not reach the bottom of large dishes - place it on the handles on the sides. The water should be hot, but not boiling, so there is no need to make more fire. After a quarter of an hour, honey should already be melted;
• take one saucepan, fill it with water, bring it to a boil and put the jar of sweet treat directly into the hot water. Previously, it is better to put a metal stand on the bottom of the dish;
• put the jar of honey in the microwave and heat it slowly. This method is the easiest and fastest, but using it, you risk depriving the product of its most valuable qualities.

Now you know how to make candied solid honey liquid. The main thing is not to overheat it - at temperatures above 50 degrees, all valuable substances are destroyed, and simple sugars turn into caramel.

How to make honey liquid in a maximum of half an hour? The main thing is not to take a large jar - the nectar that needs to be melted should be heated in a microwave or in a water bath in a small container. Wait until the crystals dissolve in a three-liter jar, you will be a long time.

Moreover, there is no point in this - now a large volume will melt, but after a month or two the product will again become thick or solid. Heat exactly the volume that you plan to use in the very near future.

Video: candied honey or crystallized honey.

Effective ways to slow down crystallization

Any nectar can be melted. But many people are interested in the question of how to slow down the crystallization process, so that later the product is not subjected to heat treatment.

So that the nectar does not thicken as long as possible:

1. Do not buy it for the future - if you take cans of three liters, you will constantly have to melt the product. Do you eat one liter at most per year? Do not take more - better next summer, buy a new jar.
2. Store the nectar in a dark place protected from the sun. Under the influence of sunlight, the structure of the product is destroyed.
3. The air temperature in the room should not be less than -10 and more than +5 degrees - otherwise the honey will quickly thicken.
4. Observe the humidity regime - the optimal indicators of air humidity are 60-80%.
5. The ideal dishes for liquid honey are wooden, earthenware, ceramic or enameled. In glass, the nectar thickens rather quickly. In principle, it is better not to store the product in a metal container - it will oxidize with the formation of compounds harmful to health. glass jars you must first wash and dry well - only then it will be possible to pour nectar into them. Be sure to close the jars tightly.

You can store the product in the refrigerator - you just need to monitor compliance temperature regime. Lightly candied nectar can be quickly melted to the desired consistency and stored in a place whose conditions comply with current requirements.

Everyone who loves honey is probably wondering what happens to the honey mass when thickened and why does it become less liquid? We will help you figure out why honey thickens quickly, talk about this unusual process and reveal its secrets!

There are several reasons for the onset of such a process, and all of them are caused mainly by the specifics of the substance. As you know, honey is a substance that is between a liquid and a solid state, physicists would call it an amorphous substance. Indeed, under certain conditions, this sweetness can thicken faster or slower.

The planting process is affected by:

• the percentage of water in the substance;
• storage time, degree of freshness;
• sugar spectrum;
• the number of seed crystals;
• additional processing steps.

What is the sugar spectrum of honey?

The combination of glucose and fructose in honey is called the sugar spectrum. In flower honeys, the value of this indicator reaches 80%, in honeydew - almost 60%. Both fructose and glucose are monosaccharides, and are born from sucrose in nectar, thanks to special enzymes that bees secrete.

Different types of sweet product have different levels of monosaccharides, but fructose often predominates. It is the sugar spectrum, along with other factors, that determines how honey will crystallize.

The amount of fructose in the raw material explains how quickly the product will thicken. When this component is in abundance, the bee gift will not become hard very soon, but if it does thicken, it will exfoliate and not lose its softness. Rich in fructose can be recognized in a thickened state by dividing the mass in a jar into two layers: the lower one is lighter, with crystals, and the upper one is dark and liquid. Such a product does not look marketable, but it is quite difficult to sell it.

When should real honey thicken?

How quickly honey thickens is also directly affected by the amount of water in the mass in relation to glucose. If the latter is several times more than water, the raw material will certainly begin to thicken.

In other words, when the mass is more saturated with glucose, it solidifies faster. Why? Because honey naturally contains many times more sugars than is necessary for them to remain liquid at normal storage temperatures.

A real, high-quality bee product thickens in different ways, so it’s impossible to say that the raw material has thickened incorrectly. The more water in honey, the longer it will remain soft, and the higher its viscosity will be.

The so-called cream honey has the highest viscosity, it literally falls into a spoon like a cream and is gently spread on bread. More attention should be paid to the market, because it is quite difficult to recognize a fake product.

Too, which does not hold its shape at all on any surface, should arouse suspicion. And if you drop them on paper and notice wet traces around the sweet spot, then you can confidently say - a fake was bought! Despite the thickening process, the bee gift should not smell like flowers, but only honey. An exception may be raw materials obtained from willow-herb nectar, in which case the smell will be specific, pungent.

How to distinguish a real product from a fake by crystallization?

We note right away that any honey should crystallize, regardless of the variety. This is a natural process, and even if it does not happen quickly, it still takes place. So, how to determine by the crystallization process whether you bought a fake? If jars containing sweetness are kept cool, such honey will thicken slowly. But if, even being warm, the product does not change its consistency at all, there is already a reason to think.

The correct temperature at which it is best is about 18 ° C. At the same time, it is good to store a mass with large crystals at an average temperature, and a finely crystalline mass in a cool place (basement, cellar). Germ crystals, which were mentioned at the very beginning, are also called crystallization centers. They consist of glucose, which, as we already know, the more - the better for thickening.

Good evenly! The process takes place neatly, without delamination of the mass. If there are different varieties in the jar, mixed, and even diluted with water or syrups, this will be immediately noticeable. How exactly? By division into "tiers" and the formation of a liquid layer at the top of the jar.

If the mineral composition of bee gold is normal, its viscosity will be optimal, and the tongue will feel soft and delicate taste. A low-quality, fake product is also prone to fermentation, therefore, if foam is visible in the jar, you should not buy such a product.