Crystallization of honey is a completely natural process if the production and storage of the product took place without disturbances. A pure product in honeycombs, which is stored at a temperature of +20-30 degrees, always retains a liquid consistency. After pumping out the product, it will sooner or later begin to crystallize. So why exactly is honey candied?
How quickly natural honey is candied
The timing of candiing real honey depends on many factors. Among them, it is worth highlighting its maturity, the amount of sugar and moisture, and storage conditions.The type of bee nectar is of great importance. It depends on the type of honey plant from which the bees received pollen. This affects the amount of water, fructose, glucose and other components.
If honey thickens quickly, do not think that it is a low-quality product. These varieties include the following:
- buckwheat – crystallizes within a month;
- sunflower – candied in 2 weeks;
- melilot - crystallization takes 1-3 months, resulting in the formation of a white mass;
- alfalfa – a high-quality product hardens in 20-30 days;
- rapeseed - hardens the fastest, and this happens literally in 3-4 days.
At the same time, there are many varieties that take a long time to sugar:
- acacia - can remain liquid for 2 years;
- May - the crystallization period takes 4-6 months;
- chestnut – remains liquid for almost 1.5 years;
- cherry – remains fluid for up to 6 months.
Crystallization does not always indicate the quality of the product, since it is influenced by many factors. For example, nectar made from sunflower pollen becomes solid in 2-4 weeks. In this case, the mass in the honeycombs is not candied for up to 1 year. A more precise period depends on the type of nectar, the amount of water and storage conditions.
Reasons for the process
The crystallization of the new season's bee nectar is a natural process that sooner or later affects any type of honey. This happens even when storing the mass in compliance with all the rules.
Natural nectar contains the following ingredients:
- sugar - fructose and glucose account for approximately 80%;
- water – approximately 18%;
- vitamins;
- micro- and macroelements;
- proteins – approximately 2%.
Essentially, honey is water with dissolved sugars.Moreover, the composition is so saturated that this necessarily leads to its sugaring. The process begins with the formation of individual grains from glucose. First, it sits at the bottom of the container. After some time, the size and number of crystals increase. They are then distributed throughout the entire container. Fructose remains liquid and is distributed uniformly around the grains.
Myths about crystallization
Many people prefer liquid mass. She looks more attractive. There is a method that slows down the crystallization process. Zero temperature will help maintain the liquid consistency. Useful nectar is stored in similar conditions for 5 weeks. Then the temperature increases to +14-15 degrees. This helps delay the crystallization process for a year.
Some people are sure that if honey is candied, it means it has lost many valuable elements.
But this is not true. During hardening, a physical process of transition from one state to another occurs. The composition of the mass remains the same.
Simple saccharides that are present in the product are considered excellent preservatives. Vitamins and minerals remain in them. Some varieties, which are distinguished by their dense consistency, can be stored for hundreds of years without losing their nutritional properties. Therefore, liquid and candied types of honey are considered equally healthy.
Why doesn't honey crystallize?
The slowdown in the crystallization process may be due to the influence of a number of factors. These include violation of storage conditions, insufficient maturity of the product, overheating.
Unripe honey
After harvesting, honey needs to mature. At this time, its fermentation occurs. This process is accompanied by the breakdown of polysaccharides into simple carbohydrates, and the product loses excess moisture. This process takes more than 10 days.Bees seal the honeycombs with wax. Then the honey can be consumed.
Inexperienced or unscrupulous beekeepers do not wait for the fermentation process to complete and pump out the product. Unripe honey contains too much water, which prevents sugaring. Incomplete fermentation provokes the development of fermentation processes.
It is quite easy to detect unripe honey. To do this, you need to put it in a spoon and look. An insufficiently ripened product will begin to drain completely. The presence of foam in the mass also indicates incomplete fermentation.
Improper storage
Violation of storage rules often leads to honey not being candied. The optimal temperature regime at which bee nectar retains its properties for a long time is +15 degrees. In this case, the possible temperature range is +6-20 degrees. If the parameters exceed +20 degrees, the crystallization process slows down. Honey retains its liquid consistency longer and loses some of its valuable components - primarily vitamins.
At high humidity, the process also stops, since honey is considered a hygroscopic product. That’s why it’s so important to choose the right container for storing treats. It is recommended to give preference to glass and ceramic containers with tight lids. You can also use enamel containers.
Overheating
When heated, solid honey melts. At the same time, beneficial properties and valuable substances are preserved at a temperature that does not exceed +40 degrees.Unscrupulous beekeepers deliberately overheat the nectar. In this case, it will not crystallize.
To identify an overheated composition, it is important to pay attention to the shade. It can be lighter or darker, but always has a brown color. It is important to consider that for some varieties this color is natural. This, in particular, applies to buckwheat and chestnut varieties. In this case, you should pay attention to the smell. Overheating is indicated by the absence of a pronounced honey aroma.
Falsification
The main reason for the lack of crystallization throughout the year is considered to be its falsification. To increase their profits, beekeepers can feed insects with sugar syrup. It is the most difficult to identify such an imitation, since it practically does not differ in composition from the natural product. It also contains fructose and glucose. However, if the bees were fed syrup, the product will not contain enzymes, vitamins and minerals.
Sugaring honey is considered a natural process. It can take a different period of time - from several weeks to a couple of years. This depends on the type of beekeeping product. However, there are a number of factors that slow down this process. This results in a decrease in the usefulness of the product. That’s why it’s so important to be able to distinguish a quality product from a fake one.
