High-quality honey contains many valuable vitamins, minerals, micro- and macroelements. Thanks to this, the product is in high demand, especially during vitamin deficiency and cold season. However, unscrupulous beekeepers often sell fakes to people by selling unripe honey. This beekeeping product has a lower vitamin content and is stored too quickly.
What it is?
This term refers to a natural rather than an artificial product. However, its key disadvantage is considered to be the high moisture content. This negatively affects the shelf life of the substance.
Immature honey is obtained by pumping it out of the hives ahead of time - before it ripens to the desired consistency and is saturated with useful substances. Of course, such a beekeeping product is not harmful to health. However, it has a very short shelf life. After 1-2 months, the mass begins to ferment and foam.
How to determine the immaturity of honey?
To determine the maturity of a substance, experts recommend paying attention to its viscosity. As a rule, it is inversely proportional to water content. To check the viscosity, it is recommended to take the mass from the container. If you put a spoon in the jar and take it back out, you will feel as if all the honey is rising to the top.
The viscosity of centrifugal honey also indicates its maturity. If you put the product on a spoon and start twisting it, the mature and thick product will literally wrap around the spoon. At the same time, unripe ones will begin to drain. It is worth noting that the speed of rotation of the spoon is in no way reflected in the results.
If the honey is not ripe enough, the substance will begin to flow in intermittent streams from a spoon raised 35 centimeters in height. In this case, the mature mass flows down in a continuous stream. It is the viscosity that prevents it from breaking.
The weight of 1 liter of honey is also considered a sign of maturity. Without packaging, it should weigh more than 1.4 kilograms. Unripe honey will weigh less than 1 kilogram.
Another manifestation of an unripe product is the heterogeneity of its structure, or the separation of substances in the container. This composition does not pose a health hazard. At the same time, it crystallizes much worse. Sometimes partial crystallization is observed at the bottom. At the same time, the mass on top remains liquid and can begin to ferment.
Beneficial features
Unripe honey contains a lot of moisture - significantly more than 20%. Therefore, it contains few useful substances and does not have a healing effect. However, the fresh product does not pose a health risk. If the honey has stood for a while, it should not be consumed. After just 1 month of storage, the product will begin to foam and ferment.
What to do with unripe honey
Sometimes there are situations when a beekeeping product needs to be quickly collected. In such a situation, there is a risk of getting unripe honey, which will lead to rapid fermentation. Beekeepers estimate the amount of moisture using a refractometer.
If the humidity is 1-2% higher than the standard, the product should be brought to standard parameters. To do this, you need to keep it in a closed container for 1 month. In this case, the temperature should be +15-20 degrees. If the humidity during pumping of the product is 23-30%, it is recommended to bring it to maturity.
To reduce moisture content, do the following:
- Leave the mass in a special small container or settling tank for 2 weeks.
- Scoop out any liquid that has risen to the surface.
- Leave the container open. In this case, gauze should be placed on top. It needs to be changed several times.
- Turn on the electric oven and fans. This will make the air in the room drier. The temperature should be +35-40 degrees.
- During evaporation, stir the product 3-4 times a day.
It will take several days to bring the substance to the required humidity. As a result, it will acquire the desired consistency. At this stage, the mass must be transferred to a clean container and tightly closed.
Harm and contraindications
Unripe honey is considered the safest counterfeit. It has a natural composition and differs from a high-grade product only in its early harvest.
At the same time, unscrupulous sellers try to improve the appearance and consistency of the fake. To do this, they use various thickeners, the main one of which is starch. It may cause allergies in some people. Other dangerous components include chalk and gypsum. They accumulate in the body and harm the kidneys.
