Candied honey, recovery methods
Candying, or crystallization, is a natural property of natural honey. At the same time, sugar crystals are formed in it, gradually settling to the bottom. During crystallization, the product does not lose its healing properties, but sometimes honey hardens so that it can be cut with a knife. Returning honey to a liquid state is not difficult.
Candied honey, recovery methods
Restoration of candied honey
You can make sugar-coated honey runny and runny again by heating it. It is better to do this with a water bath. Take two saucepans of different diameters, pour water into a large one and put on the fire. When the water boils, place the smaller one in a large saucepan so that the water level does not reach the bottom and the saucepan itself is securely fastened to the handles. Place a bowl of honey in a small saucepan and reduce heat, and keep the honey in a water bath until it begins to melt. Remember to keep an eye on the water level. As soon as the honey becomes liquid again, remove it from the heat and let it cool. You do not need to heat honey for a long time: if there is a lot of it, it is better to put it in several jars and heat them separately. Be sure to melt the honey over low heat – strong heating will deprive honey of all its useful properties. If you have the opportunity, check the temperature of honey with a special thermometer – it should not exceed 45 degrees. At a higher temperature, the substances that provide honey with its medicinal properties will be destroyed.
It is impossible to prevent honey from becoming sugared – of course, if the honey is natural. If the honey purchased in the fall has not begun to be candied after three to four months, most likely, you have been sold a fake or this honey has already undergone heat treatment and has lost most of its useful properties.
The speed of honey sugaring also depends on the weather and the season: if it is harvested in a hot summer, it will be sugared faster. Honey collected in cold, humid summers crystallizes more slowly than usual. May honey remains liquid for a long time
Different types of honey are candied at different rates:
– honeydew is candied most slowly, sometimes it does not crystallize at all. It is a rather rare variety, it has less pronounced bactericidal properties and can have an unpleasant aftertaste that can be easily removed by heating. – Acacia crystallizes very slowly, very light and transparent; – honey from cruciferous melliferous plants (radish, colza) crystallizes very quickly, sometimes in a few days; – clover candies slowly, has a very pleasant aroma; – buckwheat crystallizes slowly, sometimes for a year or more.
Most of the commercially available honey is harvested from the flowers of many plants and is a natural honey mixture, candied in a few months. To slow down the crystallization of honey, store it in a warm room (not in the refrigerator) and in a hermetically sealed container, preferably glass, enamel or ceramic.
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