The color of honey speaks about its origin and what plants it is collected from. This also affects its characteristics, properties, taste and aroma, shelf life, and consistency. Let's consider what colors bee products come in, what determines the color of bee honey, whether the product can change color and why this happens. What artificial honey looks like and how to distinguish it from natural one.
What colors does honey come in?
The color of the bee product can be different: light - from whitish to yellow, dark - from dark yellow to brownish.Dark varieties are obtained from chestnut, rowan, buckwheat, heather, forbs, forest flowers, hawthorn, angelica, and milkweed.
Light ones are obtained from acacia, sunflower, May or meadow flowers, linden, cotton, clover, and coriander. The same shade can be obtained from the flowers of phacelia, fireweed, cornflowers, sainfoin, sweet clover, rapeseed, lavender, sow thistle, and burdock. After crystallization, any of them lightens a little; this is a natural process.
What determines the color of honey?
Color depends on substances contained in pollen and nectar collected by insects from flowers. Anthocyanins give the product dark shades - brownish and reddish. The same shades can be formed from the interaction of metals with flavonoids. Various shades of yellow and light green color are given to the product by carotenoids in combination with glucose. The darkening of honey is due to oxidation; the darker the mass, the greater the acidity.
The natural color of the product is related to the composition of the nectar, the properties of the soil on which the plants grew, and the duration of honey collection. It also depends on the productivity and type of plants, as well as on weather conditions during the collection period.
With prolonged sampling, the liquid becomes transparent. The shade depends on the age and breed of insects - bees with different proboscis lengths choose flowers from which it is easier for them to collect nectar.
Why does honey change color?
When heated under the same conditions, it can change color, this is affected by the amino acid composition. So, for example, clover practically does not change, but buckwheat becomes even darker. The most noticeable changes occur with honeydew honey. Freshly pumped is darker at first, but also changes color over time, becoming lighter after crystallization.
What does artificial honey look like?
The product is obtained from sugar-containing raw materials by hydrolysis with organic acids, usually citric acid. The product is made from cane sugar, corn, berry and fruit juice; tea infusions, medicinal herbs or artificial dyes are used to add color. The mass is evaporated until the required density is obtained.
Such a product contains almost no vitamins, it does not contain useful substances, enzymes, and cannot be used as a medicine. Contains up to half glucose and fructose, a third sucrose and up to 20% water. It looks more liquid than natural, it crystallizes only partially, so it is not intended for long-term storage. It is used in confectionery for baking cakes and buns as a cheap substitute for bee products.
By the color of honey you can determine which plant it comes from. Experts determine this by appearance. The type of plant determines the properties of the product and its medicinal qualities. Therefore, if honey is used not only for nutrition, but for treatment, you should pay attention to its appearance. If it is different from the typical one, it may be a fake.
