Beekeeping products are in great demand among people. Honey in combs is a healthy and tasty delicacy that is offered to the buyer in the form of small pieces wrapped in plastic. When choosing it, you should focus on the shade of the product. To do this, you need to know why honeycombs are dark in color, whether it is worth buying such honey and whether it will cause harm when consumed.
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Why are honeycombs black?
New honeycombs are light-colored, with thin translucent walls. They are used by insects to store sweets and hatch insects. Over time, shells accumulate in the honeycomb, which the pupa loses, turning into an adult, and remains of feces.They paint the shells of hexagonal bee cells dark.
Over time, the walls of the honeycombs become thicker, they no longer contain enough honey, and the insects appear small. Such honey storages should be replaced with new ones. In old honeycombs with honey, the remains of medicines accumulate, which the beekeeper uses to treat insects from diseases; this also changes the shade of the bee hexagons; working individuals spend a lot of time cleaning them.
Queen bees prefer dark-colored honeycombs because they retain heat better, but they lay eggs worse in dark brown and black cells. Experienced beekeepers note that if 30% is replaced annually, the problem with old honey storage facilities will disappear.
Is it possible to eat them
Honeycomb honey is used as a delicacy and is used in folk medicine due to its beneficial properties. It affects most systems of the human body:
- used for anemia;
- improves the condition of mucous membranes;
- used for colds and fevers;
- normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
- helps strengthen the immune system.
Only light-colored specimens are eaten, ranging from yellowish (almost white) to rich yellow. The darker the hue of the hexagons and the sweetness in them, the faster it thickens and sugars. Dark honeycomb can be harmful to health due to accumulated toxins and will not provide any benefit. Therefore, you should refrain from buying and eating such a product. The exception is black honey, made from black cumin, which is commonly found in Egypt.
It must be remembered that the product can cause an allergic reaction in a person; it is contraindicated for people who are overweight and have diabetes. It is not given to children under 3 years of age, and pregnant women should use it with caution.
