How is honey formed? Is it better for honey to be crystallized or not?

Honey comes from nectar. Good honey is translucent light yellow and has a viscous texture. When you pick it up with a spoon, there will be continuous long filaments. Natural honey also contains rich active enzymes and yeasts. If it is not sealed well, it will easily deteriorate. Do you know whether it is better for honey to crystallize or not? How is honey formed? The following is a sharing of relevant common sense from Encyclopedia Knowledge Network.

Contents of this article

1. How is honey formed?

2. Is it better for honey to crystallize or not?

3. Can honey be heated?

How is honey formed?

Honey comes from nectar. Worker bees collect nectar and store it in honey sacs. After returning to the nest, they pass the juice into the hive, and the housework bees in the hive turn it into honey. Good honey has a thick texture, and when you pick it up with a spoon, there are long continuous filaments. Eating it has the effects of moistening the lungs and relieving coughs, calming the nerves and beautifying the skin.

1. Formation process

Honey comes from nectar. Worker bees collect nectar from the nectaries of different plants and store it together with digestive juices in honey sacs. After returning to the hive, the worker bees pass the juice to the worker bees in the hive. The worker bees evaporate the water in the nectar and turn it into honey.

2. Identification method

Real good honey is translucent light yellow in color and has a sticky texture. When you pick it up with a spoon, it will form long continuous filaments. Fake honey is made of syrup, has a dark color, low viscosity, and will appear as intermittent drops when you pick it up. It is relatively brittle and hard when you chew it.

3. Nutritional value

The main components of honey are glucose, fructose, protein and enzymes, which can moisten the lungs and relieve coughs. People with sore throats can relieve their symptoms by drinking honey water. Honey can also nourish the skin and calm the mind, protect the liver, promote gastrointestinal motility, and relieve indigestion.

Is it better for honey to crystallize or not?

Good crystallization of honey indicates that it is real honey. Honey crystallization is a normal phenomenon when honey is stored. Most pure honey will crystallize. Honey is a saturated solution of glucose and fructose. When it is at a suitable temperature, the grape crystals will continue to increase and become a crystallized state. Generally, the temperature for honey crystallization is about 13 degrees.

Look at the glossiness and viscosity. Good honey is clear and shiny like oil. There is little vibration when you shake the honey bottle. After you stop shaking, the honey hanging on the wall of the bottle will slowly flow down.

Use a small spoon or toothpick to stir some honey and stretch it outwards. Real honey can usually be pulled into fine and translucent honey threads, and the threads will automatically shrink and become a ball after breaking.

Natural honey can be stored in a sealed state in the natural environment for a long time without deterioration. However, it is highly hygroscopic and contains rich active enzymes and yeasts. If it is not sealed well, it will easily deteriorate.

Can honey be heated?

It is not recommended to heat honey. Since honey contains rich nutrients and active substances, these substances are sensitive to temperature and will be severely damaged when exposed to high temperatures. Not only will the nutritional value be greatly reduced, but the taste will also be very different from before.

Honey is a supersaturated solution of sugar. It will crystallize at low temperatures. The part that will crystallize is glucose, and the part that does not crystallize is mainly fructose.

Honey is a yellow-white viscous liquid that is collected by bees and naturally fermented from nectar.

The main component of honey is sugar, of which 60% to 80% is glucose and fructose that are easily absorbed by the human body.