Why honey is liquid: what should be the real one and is thick honey better?

Honey is liquid and solid, crystallized. A liquid consistency is characteristic of a fresh product, after which most varieties harden. Consider why honey is liquid, how quickly a natural product thickens, which affects the process. Why sometimes the product remains liquid. How to distinguish a good bee product from a counterfeit, how to properly store it.

What affects crystallization and does real honey thicken?

Fresh, freshly pumped - always runny. The reason for its hardening is that crystallization is a natural process necessary for the preservation of the product and is an indicator of its quality.It is affected by the percentage of glucose and fructose, the volume of water, the time and temperature of storage.

Since these parameters are different for different varieties of honey, the start time of crystallization will be different. The mass of rapeseed, sunflower, buckwheat, meadow grasses hardens the fastest. Under normal storage conditions, the product will become solid after 2 months.

On average, liquid honey should become thick within 2-6 months, but for some varieties, the period may be longer, it all depends on the plants from which the bees collected nectar. For 2-6 months, honey from linden, sweet clover, thistle, angelica, sainfoin, and goutweed hardens. For more than six months, a product from acacia, chestnut, honeydew can remain liquid.

Why honey stays liquid

If time has passed, but it still remains liquid, this may be due to the fact that the pitching was carried out at the wrong time, and he had not yet had time to mature in the combs.The reason may be in the high water content, from which the sweetness will be liquid for a long time, as well as in impurities, which also prevent hardening. The water content is what separates fresh honey from unripe honey. It is necessary to start the first pitching and subsequent ones only after all insects have sealed the combs. The product crystallizes poorly if the bees were fed with sugar, which is sometimes practiced by beekeepers.

To distinguish fresh from unripe, you can conduct a test: type in a special spoon and scroll. The first will hold on to the spoon, the second will flow in a trickle. An unripe product cannot be stored for a long time, it is likely that fermentation will begin, and it will be unfit for consumption. Fermentation can be seen in the bubbles of carbon dioxide and the characteristic smell.

Physical characteristics of honey and how to distinguish fake?

The shelf life is influenced by two parameters - hygroscopicity and viscosity.Hygroscopicity depends on the composition, viscosity, state of aggregation. The indicator increases if the composition contains a lot of fructose and mineral elements. Fresh mass is more hygroscopic than solid. The ability to absorb water is also affected by air humidity. Storage at more than 66% humidity leads to excess moisture content, at values less than 58% moisture evaporates from the surface of the mass.

Honey varieties are divided into groups according to viscosity: very liquid, liquid, thick, sticky, gelatinous. Freshly pumped is 4 times less viscous than cooled to room temperature.

Falsified honey can be distinguished from natural honey by a weak aroma, unexpressed taste (characteristic astringency will not be felt in the mouth, only sweetness). Real honey is thicker and will drip more slowly from a spoon than fake honey.

Can honey stay liquid when stored properly?

Minimum shelf life is 1 year, but sweet product can last longer.Two factors affect shelf life and quality - humidity and temperature. Honey is stored in jars with lids so that moisture does not affect them. It is best to choose clean dark glass jars so that sunlight does not spoil the product. If storage takes place in transparent jars, then you need to make sure that they are in a dark place.

It is much more important to choose the right temperature for storage. Honey is stored for a long time in the temperature range from minus 6 to 20 degrees Celsius. If the room is warmer, the shelf life decreases, the product loses useful substances. Honey can freeze without harm to itself (you can keep jars in the refrigerator), but in the heat it melts and becomes liquid. Temperature fluctuations, alternation of hardening and melting reduce the quality of the product. The same applies to intentional warming up, which is used in falsification.

Whether honey will be liquid or thick depends on its "age", the type of plants from which it is collected, the conditions of collection and storage.If in all respects it is fresh, recently harvested, it will be liquid, but viscous. After a while, it naturally begins to harden. Hardening is necessary to preserve nutrients and extend shelf life.

Any honey, if it is properly stored, sooner or later crystallizes. In this form, it is suitable for consumption for several years.

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