Artificial honey is a sweet sugary substance that is formed without the participation of bees. It is prepared from various ingredients, and the taste is only vaguely reminiscent of a flower bee product. This sweet product is a good substitute for natural honey for allergy sufferers who cannot consume natural honey due to individual intolerance. You can prepare the mass yourself using different recipe options.
Why do you need artificial honey?
Artificial honey is used only in cooking. It is not used for medicinal or cosmetic purposes, as it lacks most of its beneficial health properties. It is used in the manufacture of confectionery products, instead of natural honey. It is also sometimes added to baked goods or candies as an analogue of regular dry sugar or sugar syrup.
Composition and calorie content
The artificial honey product does not contain those substances that are present in the substance produced by bees. The formula of this molasses consists of:
- 48% fructose and glucose;
- about 30% sucrose;
- up to 22% water;
- 80% carbohydrates;
- 3% additional impurities.
The calorie content of artificial honey is approximately 304 kilocalories per 100 grams of product.
Production process
The product is industrially produced from different types of sugar. It can be obtained from vegetables or fruits:
- beets;
- watermelons;
- corn;
- melons;
- grapes;
- reed
To give the mixture a characteristic honey color, various natural additives are used. Most often it is tea, saffron, or St. John's wort decoction. Artificial colors are used less often, and sometimes a small amount of natural honey is added to molasses.
The manufacturing method of the product in question is called acid hydrolysis. It involves the additional use of organic acids, most often citric, less often lactic. The raw materials are pressed to obtain juice, which is subsequently evaporated. This process continues until the raw material acquires the desired color and consistency.
Recipes at home
You can buy artificial honey or make it yourself. To get a delicious product, use any recipe you like.
Sugar
Due to the low cost of raw materials, such a product is made from beet or cane sugar. Ingredient ratio:
- sugar – 70 grams;
- boiling water – 30 milliliters;
- citric acid – 1 gram;
- instead of citric acid, you can take formic acid in the amount of half a gram;
- baking soda – 0.8 grams.
To mix the ingredients, prepare a porcelain cup or a special beaker. Pour sugar into a container and dilute it with boiling water. Stir the ingredients until a viscous mass is obtained, then pour into a saucepan and bring to 80 °C. Simmer the mixture over low heat for 2 hours, remembering to stir it constantly. Cool the finished honey and pour into jars.
From elderberry
You can also make honey from plant materials. And, in particular, from elderberry, which will give the mass a piquant taste and characteristic color.
Take a 0.5 liter jar with tightly compacted elderberry inflorescences. Move the raw materials into a saucepan, where you first pour 1 liter of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the stove and leave the broth until it cools. Leave it for 12-15 hours, then strain.
Add 3 kilograms of sugar to the resulting liquid, bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for an hour over low heat. Stir the mixture regularly, and when it thickens, turn off the heat and add 1 teaspoon of citric acid. Stir the “honey” so that all ingredients are evenly mixed, and when it cools, use as intended.
Crimson
To make such a healthy product, mix 2 kilograms of sugar with half a liter of water. Boil the syrup, regularly skimming the foam from its surface. Add 4 kilograms of pre-prepared raspberry syrup, bring to a boil and remove the foam again.
Remove the container from the stove, add 25-30 grams of lactic acid and 50 grams of heliotrope essence to the still hot mixture. Mix everything thoroughly, pour into jars, let cool and then roll up the lids.
From yellow cherry plum
This type of plum makes an excellent tonic analogue of honey. Consuming the mixture helps normalize appetite and improve mood. Fill 1 kilogram of cherry plum with half a liter of water. Cook until the fruits give up all their juice. Cool the broth, strain through cheesecloth or a sieve.
Pour sugar into the liquid in a 1:1 ratio. Simmer the mixture over medium heat until it becomes thick and smooth. Your cherry plum honey is ready!
Watermelon
An alternative name for such a product is nardek. To prepare it, take a ripe, largest and sweetest watermelon, and use a wooden spoon to separate the pulp from the rind. Rub it through a sieve, then through cheesecloth. Boil the watermelon mass, cool, then strain again. Place the container on the fire again and simmer the liquid until thick.
From melon
Fragrant melon honey is prepared as follows:
- remove the crust from the surface of the fruit, remove the seeds from the pulp;
- pass the fruit through a meat grinder;
- strain the juice through cheesecloth;
- cook the resulting liquid until it has reduced in volume by six times.
Now cool the mixture and pour it into sterile jars.
Pumpkin
Choose only fully ripe vegetables. Cut off the top and remove all the seeds. Pour sugar inside, cover the pumpkin with the cut “hat”. The nectar that will appear inside the vegetable in a week will be pumpkin honey.
Fruit
Fruit artificial honey is also called bekmes.It contains no sugar and can be made from completely different fruits. But the principle of receiving treats is the same in any case. Let's look at it using grapes as an example.
Strain the juice from 1 kilogram of fruit through cheesecloth. Cook over medium heat until the volume of liquid is reduced by three. When the juice acquires the consistency of jelly, the “honey” is considered ready. You can prepare this delicacy from one or several types of fruit at once.
From acacia
To prepare a tasty and healthy treat, take:
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 2 medium sized lemons;
- 1 kilogram of acacia flowers;
- 2 kilograms of sugar.
Rinse the acacia flowers, let the liquid drain and fill with water. Cut the lemon into cubes and add to the flower mixture. Place the pan on the stove, bring the ingredients to a boil and simmer for another 20 minutes over low heat.
Strain the liquid through cheesecloth, add sugar and cook for 2 hours. Pour the cooled honey into sterile jars and seal with lids.
How to distinguish from natural?
An artificial product can be distinguished by the following criteria:
- lack of viscosity characteristic of natural bee products;
- maintaining its original consistency without the onset of the crystallization phase;
- lower cost compared to genuine honey;
- absence of sore throat after eating “counterfeit”;
- dominance of the base without any floral or herbal aftertaste.
Artificially produced honey can be recognized by its taste. It resembles caramel or even burnt sugar. It also foams noticeably when poured onto a plate or into a cup.Using these little tricks, you can easily understand what kind of honey you are looking at - genuine or artificially obtained.
Contraindications
The sweet product, unlike natural honey, is not contraindicated for use if you are allergic to bee products. But it also has prohibitions on use, including:
- intolerance to sweet products;
- obesity;
- diabetes mellitus of any type and severity;
- problems with tooth enamel;
- allergy to additional components used to obtain the product.
During pregnancy, taking such sweets is not prohibited, but its use should be done with caution.
Storage Features
After preparation, the mass should be poured into sterile jars of different capacities. It is necessary to seal the containers with nylon lids or thick paper, wrapping it with an elastic band. It is not recommended to use metal lids so as not to provoke the development of oxidative processes.
The air temperature for storing such honey should not exceed +25 °C. It is recommended to place the jars in the refrigerator or dark pantry. If stored properly, the shelf life of the product will be 9-12 months.
Artificial honey is in many ways inferior to natural bee products. But it also has its own area of application, having pleasant organoleptic characteristics. And if you prepare it yourself, using natural fruit or vegetable additives, the sweetness will acquire not only a pleasant taste, but also a number of beneficial properties.
