Knowing how to melt honey correctly so that it does not lose its useful properties is very important. Otherwise, this bee gold remains only a sweetness that no longer has medicinal characteristics. After pumping, honey remains liquid for several months, and then the natural crystallization process begins.
Crystallization
Do not worry if honey is candied. Saccharization, or crystallization, is the transition of curative sweetness from a liquid form to a solid or strongly dense. The way this process proceeds is affected by:
- Grade and its components.
- Amount of water present.
- Glucose level.
- Temperature at which storage takes place.
Please note: can be sugared as a natural medicinal bee, as well as a fake. However, if the process is not observed for a long time, this indicates the presence of foreign components in the product in large quantities.
Facts about Saccharization
- If honey contains more than 20% water, then the process of saccharization slows down and you can observe the product in the liquid state for a long time. This is a confirmation that the sweetness you have acquired is likely to have been diluted and of poor quality.
- If the surface of the product layer is liquid, and in the deeper layers the crystallization process goes faster, it means that the medicinal agent of the bees is still immature and has an increased humidity. The liquid layer on the surface is fructose and the more it is, the longer the product maintains a liquid state.
- Sucrose and glucose serve as crystallizing components. Melecytosis and glucose affect the rate of saccharization, but if the glucose content does not reach 30%, then this process is absent.
- If the storage temperature fluctuates, then the hardening of honey is accelerated.
- If the mineral substances are contained in this product in large quantities, the crystallization occurs gradually, no layers are formed.
Please note: store the product best in a container of glass or ceramics at a temperature of 21 to 27 degrees, do not store honey in the refrigerator.
As it is not worth drowning candied honey
Of course, honey is in solid form is not very convenient, so there is a logical question - how to melt it. But first we'll look at what methods are wrong.
- Myth 1. Honey with hot tea or milk. A piece of thick honey can be added to hot tea or milk, or even better, there is such honey, washed down with these drinks. This is not recommended, since the product, like heating, can lose its healing properties.
- Myth 2. Some talk about how to melt honey in a microwave oven. This is the easiest and fastest way. The main thing is not to keep it there for long. This method is also not suitable, because honey will lose its natural qualities, changes in its structure will begin.
The question of whether or not to heal the medicinal product of beekeeping and how to do it correctly is by no means an idle one. If you are seriously concerned about preserving the beneficial qualities of natural nectar, we recommend to find out what happens to honey during the heating process to a certain temperature. We described this in detail in the article: Is it possible to heat honey, that is the question.
Attention: at a temperature of 40-50 degrees, the product starts an irreversible process, warming it at such a temperature, you destroy all the useful substances.
Safe methods
Melt honey in a water bath
Perhaps this method is acceptable, but you must make sure that the water temperature does not exceed 40 degrees. Put a jar or a bowl of honey in a bowl or a larger pan, and pour the last water of the appropriate temperature to the bottom. More safer for useful elements in the product( but also a slower way) is to put the jar with honey not directly into the water, but on a metal mesh over a pot of water, or into a second smaller pan.
Advice: do not heat all honey at once, postpone only the amount that you eat in the near future. After a while, honey can thicken again - this is normal. Do not reheat several times.
Heating near the battery
This is the best way how honey is made liquid at home. Observe the distance from the battery from 10 to 40 cm( depending on how hot the battery itself is, than hotter - the further the jar is placed).Of course, this method is the slowest, but if you are more important than useful qualities, rather than aesthetic appearance of the product, then it will suit you.
However, the most useful honey is honey in its natural state.
Dekristallizator
This is a special device that is used to heat honey. Beekeepers buy it to make the sale of honey more successful, because many buyers prefer to buy this sweetness in a liquid state. Dekristallizator honey( or a warmer) is specially created in such a way that when heated the product does not lose useful properties. Due to the solid heating surface, the vessel with bee gold undergoes a uniform temperature distribution. The device is equipped with a sensor that turns off immediately when the indicators reach a "dangerous mode" for the healing elements.
If you decide to buy this sweetness at a time when it has been several months since pumping out( end of summer), and before you a liquid consistency, ask why. So you will find out whether this natural remedy is natural( it can not be liquid, for example, in winter or at the end of autumn) and whether it has lost the necessary healing qualities( after all, unscrupulous second-hand dealers or beekeepers can be caught for whom the main thing is to selltheir goods and which will resort to normal heating).
Now you know what your actions can be if honey is sugar-coated, what to do is recommended and what is not. Adhere to simple principles and keep useful gifts of nature in pleasant sweetness.