Why honey hardens: causes of thickening and what lumps mean, is it fresh

Crystallization is the natural process of honey hardening. It is accompanied by a change not only in the consistency, but also in the color of the bee product. Because of this, customers tend to believe that they were sold low-quality sweets. But in fact, there is usually no reason to think so. To understand this, you should know why honey crystallizes and hardens, and when this stage normally occurs.

Why does honey harden quickly

Most honey varieties begin to harden soon after picking. They change structure or color, but this does not affect their organoleptic and beneficial properties. Reasons why the product becomes thick as a stone and "takes" grains:

• Low fructose with a predominance of glucose.
• Storage temperature. If it is low, this leads to faster sugaring of honey. To prevent this from happening, you should not store sweetness in a room where the air is warmed up to values above +21 ° С.
• Availability of additional inclusions. It has been proven that honey, which contains particles of pollen, wax, perga or propolis, hardens faster.
• Amount of water. The more it is present in the substance, the slower the crystallization process proceeds. Or vice versa: low moisture content causes intense sugaring of the product.

Note! Stirring honey causes the destruction of glucose. Consequently, the settling and crystallization of the mass is inhibited.

When should the real product thicken?

If the honey thickens too quickly, don't rush to suspect something is wrong. After all, you already know that certain factors influence the process of crystallization of a substance.Often, honey begins to crystallize closer to winter, but sometimes this process begins as early as September or October. That is, 2-4 months after collecting honey.

Also keep in mind that the start and duration of this process is determined by the specific variety of sweetness. For example, a substance made from acacia pollen retains a liquid consistency for a long time, or even does not go to the crystallization stage at all.

The following types of bee products crystallize faster than others:

• buckwheat;
• sunflower;
• meli;
• fake;
• rapeseed.

These are the most popular varieties of honey, which are characterized by slow or intense crystallization. And by the ability to sugar determine how natural a bee product is.

How to distinguish a real product by crystallization?

Candied should not be considered a process that spoils the exquisite qualities of sweetness. On the contrary, your doubts and suspicions should be caused by just a liquid product, in which lumps do not form for a long time. Of course, if we are not talking about the varieties described above, which are naturally characterized by a liquid consistency and a low tendency to crystallize.

Remember that candied honey is almost impossible to fake.

Therefore, if the bee product has hardened, you can buy it without fear. But how to check for authenticity the sweetness that does not crystallize? To do this:

• lower the spoon into the mass and immediately remove it: if the bee product is genuine, it will drain onto a plate, forming a “slide” at the highest point, and its remains will spring back up;
• put a little liquid substance on the paper and set it on fire. The natural bee product will not spread, and will not become more liquid from exposure to high temperatures.

Be confident in your choice, buy authentic honey. After all, only it contains the entire set of useful substances necessary for the body to work he althy.

Which honey is never candied?

Sugar lumps do not form in the following honey varieties:

• acacia;
• chestnut;
• sainfoin;
• Cyprian;
• heathy;
• honeydew;
• polyfloral honey;
• clover.

Without crystals, most polyfloral honey varieties remain.

But the most popular of them is May. If the previously mentioned types of bee products can still be periodically covered with sugar lumps, then this variety retains a liquid consistency for a long time.

Long term storage rules

Only with proper storage, honey will retain its beneficial composition and healing properties. The basic rules are written in the table:

In a dark place, the bee product is stored longer, fully retaining its useful properties, composition, consistency.4HumidityHigh humidity adversely affects the organoleptic properties of honey. Therefore, it should only be stored in a dry place.

	Storage condition	Details
1	Capacity	Wooden containers are ideal for honey. If it is not possible to use it, the mass can be placed in a plastic container or glass container.
2	Air temperature	The rate of crystallization and preservation depends on it product of its composition. The optimum temperature indicator is from +15 °С to +21 °С.
3	Lighting

As you can see, everything is simple, nothing supernatural. Follow these simple guidelines to keep the honey in your home fresh and he althy.

Myths about crystallization

The main myth about honey is that the crystallization process can make it less beneficial to he alth.In fact, this is not true - the hardening of the product does not affect its chemical composition in any way. It just goes from one physical state to another. Moreover, crystallization is considered a kind of guarantee of suitability, quality and preservation of the usefulness of sweetness.

Another erroneous opinion - the appearance of a white coating on the surface of the substance indicates that the product is spoiled. In reality, such a crust appears due to the crystallization of glucose. Her appearance does not at all indicate the unsuitability of sweetness. To get rid of light lumps, just collect them with a wooden spoon or melt the sweet mass in a water bath.

The hardening of honey is a completely normal, natural process. It does not have a negative impact on the bee product, although it sometimes does not look very appetizing. However, it is sugaring that is often a sign of naturalness and high quality sweetness, so you should not be biased about this.

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