When buying honey, it is important for a person who is far from beekeeping to purchase a quality product. Many people wonder why honey turns white during storage and a crystalline coating appears on the surface. What to do with such a product, whether it can be eaten or should it be thrown away, whether it loses its beneficial qualities, today’s detailed story is about this.
Why does honey turn white?
Plaque in a jar of honey does not look very aesthetically pleasing, which is why many people are scared when they find a container with white crystals on the surface among their supplies. You should not be alarmed, since this is a natural process of glucose release during storage of the product.
If honey retains its usual taste and aroma, it has no signs of fermentation (foam on the surface, bubbles and the characteristic smell of mash), which happens when buying an unripe product, then it is of high quality, without impurities. The formation of a whitish layer on the surface indicates low humidity of the delicacy: the lower the humidity, the higher the quality of the product.
If honey turns white on top, this means it has been stored correctly. Glucose crystals form bizarre shapes that look like flowers or large snowflakes. Beekeepers sometimes call this coating frost patterns.
Process Features
The formation of a whitish coating is called blooming; a layer forms on the surface of the product or in places where the product comes into contact with the walls of the container. It may appear at the bottom or in the thickness of the bee sweetness. Plaque is especially noticeable when storing honey in glass jars.
Sweetness consists of:
- fructose;
- glucose;
- sucrose;
- vitamins (C, K, B1, B2, B6);
- folic acid.
Bee gift with a high glucose content crystallizes faster, the crystals are large. The second factor in the flowering of sweetness is the presence of dextrins. This is the general name for polysaccharides formed by the breakdown of starch contained in flower nectar. Their quantity in the product increases if the bees collected honeydew or honeydew.
A white coating forms near the walls of the dish, crystals may appear deep in the product, and when heated they completely dissolve. The less sweet water there is, the greater the likelihood of flowering. The optimal temperature for storing honey is from -5 to +20 °C.
Store away from sunlight, in a dark place. In a cold room, the crystallization process occurs faster.
There are varieties of bee honey that are very light, almost white (slightly yellowish or greenish) in color. White varieties include sweetness obtained from linden, sweet clover, alfalfa, amaranth, and cotton. The most valuable is the white Bashkir product, which has a large number of beneficial properties and is used in the treatment of colds, throat problems, and increased fatigue.
Is it possible to eat this honey?
Since flowering is a sign of high quality bee sweetness, you can eat it without fear. Heating removes the sugary areas from the honey, but at the same time it loses its beneficial properties. This is why experts do not recommend adding honey to hot tea. If eating it is unpleasant, you can use the bee gift for baking, preparing delicious refreshing drinks, and for cosmetic masks.
Important: when heated above +42 °C, honey loses its beneficial properties.
If flowering does not occur during long-term storage, this is a reason to doubt the quality of the purchased sweetness; perhaps there is too much water in it or the product was sold unripe. If the product is covered with a white coating, this is a sign of correct content and high quality purchase.
Common Misconceptions
Many people believe that the appearance of a white coating in the jar is a sign that the bees were fed sugar, or that these are traces of royal jelly.
The presence of sugar is determined by heating the sweetness. Natural, without added sugar it does not burn. In another case, it changes color to brown and acquires a caramel smell.The presence of starch is checked with a drop of iodine. If it turns blue when added to a product, you should refrain from purchasing it.
Even fresh honey is thick and heavy. The weight of a liter jar is 1.3-1.5 kilograms. If it is smaller, it means the sweetness has been diluted with water to increase volume. Every seller on the market must have an apiary passport; you can ask for it before purchasing, but it is better to purchase the product from trusted people.
Honey is an amazing and healthy product given to us by nature. Scientists have still not been able to completely recreate its composition under artificial conditions. The ability to choose and store it correctly, and not be afraid of natural processes, allows you to enjoy the unique taste.
