Unlike sugar, which contains very few vitamins and minerals, and no fiber, honey is a real depositary of useful substances. Besides fructose, sucrose and glucose, it contains 32 chemical elements (potassium, calcium, manganese, chromium, sodium, nickel, silicon, magnesium, iron, copper, silver and others), vitamins (C, K, E, F, B Group), and also enzymes, organic acids, and proteins.Honey possesses antibacterial properties, it removes toxins from the body, increases resistance to infections, and has a bracing effect. Honey helps to treat colds and flu, neurosis and insomnia, headaches and increased fatigue. It improves metabolism, the work of liver, stomach and intestines, heart and blood vessels, respiratory system, and even skin and hair condition.
Choose "Right" Honey
There are many sorts of honey. You need to try some of them to see which one is more to your taste. There are lime, fruit, cornflower, mustard, acacia, heather, chestnut, mint, buckwheat, clover, dandelion, motherwort, cotton, sage, apple and other varieties of honey. They differ in the place of collection, flavor, color (light, medium, dark), and other characteristics. Of course, only specialists deal with all these details and nuances.
But an ordinary consumer is quite capable to distinguish the high-quality honey from the fake.
- Stir a spoonful of honey in water. It must dissolve completely. If any kind of impurity appears on the surface, then the honey has a poor quality.
- A good honey is dripping from a spoon as an unbroken stream. If it is dropping and sprays, then it was diluted with sugar syrup.
- Heat the honey to 20°C, stirring with a spatula. Then remove the spatula and begin to turn it. Mature honey will "wind" the spatula, and immature honey will drain off. In such honey there are much less nutrients than in mature honey, and thus almost twice as much fluid, so it quickly turns sour.
- Put a piece of bread in the honey for 10 minutes. If honey is real, the bread will turn hard. And if the honey is diluted with sugar syrup, the bread will soften. In winter honey should not be runny. Most likely, the product was somehow diluted or warmed.
Where and How to Store Honey?
Honey can be stored for a very long time. This product is advised to be stored in a dry, well ventilated place at temperature not above 20°C. It is better to put it into a clean glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.
You can store honey in airtight containers made of wood, enamel, nickel, or ceramic. But it is impossible to keep honey in containers made of zinc, copper, lead, iron, and alloys of these metals in conjunction with which honey makes hazardous substances and loses its aroma and taste.
This gentle product absorbs foreign odors quite well, so do not put it next to strong-smelling substances. You should not store honey in the light, otherwise it will lose its medicinal properties.
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