What is the healthiest honey? We understand the varieties of honey and its beneficial properties. Types of honey: which is the most useful

And you don't know what to choose? We will tell you what varieties of amber delicacy are and how they differ from each other.

Classification of honey by botanical origin

Natural honey can be floral, honeydew or mixed. It is possible to accurately determine whether a delicacy belongs to one of the three types only in special laboratories. flower honey obtained when bees process plant nectar.

honeydew honey formed when insects collect honeydew and honeydew. Honeydew is secreted by the cells of trees and shrubs in the form of a sweetish resinous substance. And honeydew is a thick liquid secreted by aphids and other insects that feed on plant juices.

This type of honey is not suitable for bees to eat due to the high content of minerals, but it is very useful for humans. The dessert is distinguished by a dark shade, a dense and thick texture and a slight bitter aftertaste. It is almost never found in its pure form in Russia.

mixed honey varieties are a natural mixture of flower and honeydew honeys.

Types of flower honey

Honey collected from plants of the same species is called monofloral. It bears the name of a honey plant (linden, hawthorn, fireweed, sunflower, buckwheat, acacia, etc.). A product collected from various plant species is called polyfloral honey (prefabricated, flower). Its name comes from the place where the honey was collected.

How to distinguish varieties of honey according to the place of collection?

Caring bees work in natural areas with various zonal and landscape features. Depending on where the apiary stood, the following groups are distinguished (each of them includes several varieties of honey):

1. field honey. This is a common and very affordable type of polyfloral honey, which is collected most often in the steppe and forest-steppe areas. It has a pleasant aroma of wild herbs.
2. meadow honey. Extracted from plants of plain and alpine meadows. It is valued above the previous one, since it is more difficult to assemble it.
3. Taiga honey. An elite type of honey with amazing qualities and aroma. He comes from apiaries in the taiga zones. Many of the honey plants for such a delicacy grow only in this area.
4. mountain honey. Apiary lands in the highlands require a lot of work, so this honey is more expensive than the rest. The value lies also in its unique composition.

Dark or light?

According to color qualities, light and dark honey varieties are distinguished. The pigments come from the flower from which the nectar is collected. TO light varieties include sweet clover, linden, acacia and other varieties of honey with a light pleasant taste. Dark varieties(buckwheat, heather, chestnut, etc.) are distinguished by a thicker, richer taste with spicy bitterness. It is believed that there are more vitamins in light honey, and trace elements important for the human body (iron, manganese, copper) and protein compounds - in dark honey.

Varieties of honey by consistency (viscosity)

Freshly extracted honey can be liquid(clover, acacia) and more thick(coniferous, heather). It is also known that honey collected in humid weather is thinner than that obtained in a dry summer. When stored after 1-2 months, honey gradually becomes cloudy and candied, becoming dense and sometimes even hard. Candied honey can have a fine-grained structure (crystals less than 0.5 mm) and coarse-grained (crystals more than 0.5 mm). Due to the increased content of colloidal substances, protein compounds and polysaccharides, honey from the flowers of acacia, sage, cherry and honeydew is sugared more slowly; faster - alfalfa, buckwheat, sunflower, sainfoin.

We choose honey according to the method of extraction and processing

On a technological basis, honey is divided into

• centrifugal,
• cellular,
• sectional,
• pressed.

Centrifugal honey is pumped out using a honey extractor. Comb honey, completely pure and mature, is sold in natural packaging - in honeycombs. Sectional comb honey is enclosed in special plywood or plastic sections. Pressed honey is obtained by squeezing - the honeycomb breaks.

Choosing the treasured jar in the store, everyone certainly wants to buy the best honey. However, there is no single answer to the question: what kind of honey is better, tastier and healthier? Remember, depending on the variety, the bee delicacy will have a different taste, aroma and differ in the list of healing properties. Before you pay the seller, read the description of the variety you like. The presence of a certificate of conformity will also give confidence that the product is not falsified, corresponds to the honey plant declared on the label, the place and time of collection.

We wish you delicious and healthy purchases and longevity!

The concept of "honey" has a very unusual meaning - in translation, the word means something mysterious, enigmatic, endowed with some kind of magical properties. And this is not surprising, because this product is able to cure any ailments, cope with serious diseases, and also endow with vitality, beauty and wisdom. What are the varieties of honey? The answer to this question will be detailed, since this product is also classified depending on its origin and preparation technology.

The varieties of this product are classified according to several criteria, but the main ones are technological, regional and floristic.

Floral or floral honey

It can be floral and honeydew, depending on the source from which insects collect pollen. Flower honey can be monofloral (collected from one type of plant) and polyfloral (made from several types of honey plants). Absolutely monofloral varieties are extremely rare - honey from forbs does not differ in taste and aroma from other varieties from this category. Depending on the type of bee pastures, flower honey can be meadow, forest, steppe, fruit, taiga, mountain, etc.

regional honey

The product is classified according to the place of origin. Far Eastern linden, Altai or Bashkir honey - all these names speak of the place of bee pastures and production technology. The collection method and production technology determine another classification of the product: depending on the method of production, honey can be centrifugal and trigger.

Bees pour it into special cells, which are sealed with wax - this is how honeycomb is obtained, which comes to the consumer in a pure and mature state, without impurities and preservatives. The product is sterile - so say the data of bacteriological studies.

The centrifugal method of obtaining is as follows: bee products are pumped out of the combs in a honey extractor.

Other varieties

What are the varieties of honey? It turns out that there are many varieties. So, it differs in color, taste and aroma. Honey can be dark, light or medium shade between them. Absolutely colorless, light and completely transparent, like water, varieties of a sweet product are also known. For example, honeycombs filled with acacia honey seem empty, although in fact they contain the most valuable and delicious product - white varieties of honey. There are also species that, when crystallized, acquire a slightly greenish tint.

Some argue that dark honey is a first-class product, as it contains a large amount of mineral salts, manganese and copper, which is important for health.

There is also a gradation depending on organoleptic indicators. The most fragrant is tobacco honey, having felt the smell of which, it is impossible to confuse it with any other kind.

To date, connoisseurs of a healing product know several types of this product. To understand what varieties of honey are, it is worth getting to know its main varieties.

Buckwheat honey

It is considered one of the best varieties. Due to the special taste that tickles in the throat, it is almost impossible to confuse buckwheat honey with any other variety. How to distinguish buckwheat honey?

It is characterized by a darker shade that varies from dark yellow to dark brown. Hardworking bees, pollinating buckwheat flowers, produce a natural product that has healing properties. Molasses is distinguished by a high content of useful trace elements and amino acids, which means that the benefits for the body are obvious.

It is used to treat leukocytosis, bronchitis and hypertension, beriberi and stomatitis, skin and colds. In addition, buckwheat honey is effective as a means of restoring protein metabolism. The product is widely used in cooking - it is often used to make confectionery and delicious compotes.

Linden honey

A distinctive feature is the almost complete absence of color and an incredible aroma. Linden honey can only have a slight light amber hue. Another characteristic feature is high organoleptic characteristics. Linden honey is very tasty and fragrant - the aroma can be heard even from a closed jar.

Molasses has healing properties and is distinguished by a delicate taste that pleasantly tickles in the throat and leaves a mild aftertaste. Linden honey collected in the Far East differs in all respects from the product obtained in other regions of the country.

Linden honey is an indispensable natural medicine and an effective prevention of viral and colds. The product is used to treat bronchitis, asthma, diseases of the liver and stomach, kidneys and intestines. It has also become widespread in cosmetology - masks based on it moisturize and nourish the skin well.

Acacia honey

It is considered the most famous variety of a sweet product. From one hectare of a flowering plant, you can collect up to 1500 kg of honey, and from just one bush, a bee colony can produce about 8 kg. The mature product has practically no color - it is transparent, but at the time of crystallization it acquires a slightly white tint. By the way, it becomes white not earlier than one year. A distinctive feature of this variety is the equal ratio of sucrose and fructose.

Acacia honey is an effective remedy for the treatment and prevention of nervous diseases, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and kidney diseases. In addition, molasses is used to strengthen the nervous system and treat insomnia.

heather honey

It is an ideal product for those who prefer a slightly bitter taste. It has a tart, slightly bitter taste. The color range varies from dark yellow to brown with a red tint. It slowly crystallizes (the process can take a whole year) and is characterized by increased ductility.

Over time, the product acquires the consistency of a jelly, inside which a huge number of bubbles form. One has only to mix it in a jar, as the honey will again become liquid and homogeneous. Heather honey, reviews of which eloquently testify to its healing properties, is rich in minerals and has a whole range of healing properties. It is used to reduce appetite, to prevent cardiovascular diseases, and also helps to strengthen the nervous system and forget about insomnia.

chestnut honey

Useful properties and contraindications of the product have not yet been thoroughly studied, accompanied by numerous disputes and contradictions. Nevertheless, this variety has no less value and uniqueness than other species.

It has a slightly bitter taste, with a characteristic tart note, and a pronounced chestnut flavor. High viscosity, rich dark shades and slow crystallization are other distinguishing features of the sweet product. Chestnut honey has pronounced antimicrobial properties, helps to cope with diseases of the nervous and cardiovascular systems, and is also effectively used to treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Bees collect fragrant nectar from white and pink flowers of decorative horse chestnut, resulting in an incredibly tasty and fragrant product - chestnut honey.

• Promotes healing of wounds and skin lesions.
• Used as an effective remedy for the treatment of respiratory organs.
• Normalizes blood pressure and improves heart performance.
• It helps to strengthen the immune system, and is also used as a prophylactic for colds.

Chestnut honey also has some disadvantages:

• The product should not be consumed with individual intolerance (after all, any variety of this product is a fairly strong allergen).
• People suffering from pathological blood diseases and diabetes should also eat honey with great care.

At its core, chestnut bee products are a universal natural antibiotic, whose bactericidal effect is several times higher than the effectiveness of most drugs.

Fireweed honey: useful properties and contraindications

Ivan-tea honey contains a large amount of vitamins and minerals that are simply necessary for the human body. The appearance of the healing product is embarrassing even for true connoisseurs of sweet treats. The fact is that the natural products of striped workers have a yellowish, and sometimes greenish tint, and the consistency of heavy cream. And the ability of fireweed honey to quickly crystallize, while changing its shade to a lighter one and forming small grains of white color, completely confuses adherents of traditional medicine.

In fact, these are the unique features of this variety, thanks to which beekeeping products received a second name - “snowy”. Special attention deserves the qualities possessed by fireweed honey.

Useful properties and contraindications:

• Used as an analgesic and vasodilator.
• An excellent prophylactic for the treatment of colds and viral diseases.
• It is used to treat peptic ulcers and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Natural raw materials that help to forget about insomnia and calm the nervous system.

The product obtained from a medicinal plant is undesirable for people with diabetes mellitus and individual intolerance to bee products.

sweet clover honey

This is one of those varieties that has an incredible variety of colors. Its gamut varies widely: from light amber to white with a slight greenish tint. Sweet clover honey has a great taste, which is harmoniously set off by a slight bitterness. This variety of bee products is highly valued across the ocean due to its unique properties and qualities.

The aroma of sweet clover honey is impossible to forget - sweet and tart at the same time, it has a pronounced vanilla smell.

The product from sweet clover is widely used in folk medicine - it is used in the treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases and to normalize metabolic processes in the body, as well as an effective vasodilator. In addition, it is a good sedative of natural origin, which helps to cope with insomnia. Its use as a propolis compress is an effective remedy for sore muscles and joints, as well as the right solution to relieve tension from tired legs.

Dandelion honey

Speaking about what sorts of honey there are, one cannot fail to mention the true embodiment of summer - an amber product collected by striped workers. Dandelion honey has a thick texture and fast crystallization, a pronounced aroma and an unsurpassed taste that eloquently conveys all the sunny shades of summer. Perhaps no bee product is more associated with warm days than dandelion honey.

Useful properties and qualities:

• An effective remedy for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Therapy for anemia.
• An effective product that improves appetite.

Many also harvest because this product is incredibly tasty and fragrant.

Not useful honey

The fact remains that there are also poisonous varieties of honey. Xenophon of Athens, an ancient Greek writer and commander, described one case in which it was said that the soldiers who tasted honey from Colchis seemed to be sick. Some complained of nausea, dizziness and vomiting, others, frankly, suffered from diarrhea, and several people even died as a result of poisoning with a sugary product.

For the first time, poisonous honey was discovered in 1877, in the Batum valley. Local beekeepers used only wax, as the sweet product caused signs of acute poisoning (dizziness, nausea and vomiting). The fact is that this area is characterized by a large population of rhododendron - a plant that contains a large amount of an alkaloid dangerous to the human body. Natural, collected by bees in the northern and middle parts of Japan, also does not differ in healing properties. The hotsutsayi plant related to contains dangerous substances that should never be eaten. In addition, the flowers of azalea, aconite, sepal heather and wild rosemary growing in the Far East are raw materials for poisonous beekeeping products. For example, just 100 grams of honey can cause severe hallucinations and loss of consciousness.

Unusual varieties of honey

A sweet product is obtained from a wide variety, and sometimes unusual honey plants. Surely few people know that there is also rose honey. No, this is not a tomato variety - it is a valuable product obtained from a delicious plant. Wild rosehip flowers have absorbed the most valuable thing that this plant can give - rose honey is effective in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, it is widely used to prevent colds and viral infections during the season, and is also used as an exquisite dessert on cold winter evenings. Rosehip honey is a storehouse of vitamins and valuable substances necessary for the human body and enhancing its protective functions.

Pumpkin and carrot honey are another varieties that are distinguished by their unusualness and uniqueness. Bright carrot honey is natural vitamins for the eyes in its purest form. The product has a golden color and is characterized by fairly rapid crystallization. It is used most often for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Honey from Bashkiria

The sweet product from Bashkortostan is famous all over the world. Beekeeping products are very rare and expensive, but this is due to the amazing and truly magical properties that local honey has. And the point is not only in the unique plants growing on the territory of Bashkiria - a great merit belongs to the Burzyan bee, which easily tolerates frosts, which means that it works much more than its relatives.

Bashkortostan received the status of "land of honey" long before the arrival of the Turkic tribes. Even the name speaks eloquently about the sights of this region - Bashkortostan is translated as "bee" and "head". Beekeeping has been developing on the territory of the republic for several hundred years - archaeologists managed to find buried beekeeper equipment and rock paintings, indicating that even in those distant times, especially valuable and useful honey was collected on these lands.

There are no analogues to Bashkir honey all over the world. Finding a truly high-quality and natural product is quite difficult - you will have to go to the Republic of Bashkortostan itself and visit one of the fair exhibitions for it. Of course, such a product will not be cheap, but its quality more than pays for all the costs. By the way, abroad, real Bashkir honey is served exclusively in elite restaurants.

The unique properties of molasses are due to the special climatic and natural features of the region, thanks to which frost-resistant molasses creates a real natural medicine that allows you to cope with any ailment. The raw materials for the production of Bashkir delicacy are rose hips, dandelion, St. John's wort and feather grass, thyme, chamomile, oregano and sage.

All the beauty and range of taste of honey with a wild character

Wild bee honey is a unique product in all respects, speaking of which, the good Soviet cartoon about Winnie the Pooh immediately comes to mind. It is not surprising that this clumsy bear cub wanted to get some honey, which was made by wild bees, by all means.

What is good about this product? The fact is that wild bees differ from domestic individuals - they are not so capricious and spoiled by human attention, they tolerate frosts more easily and are less susceptible to various diseases.

Wild honey is also of particular value because it is collected only once a year - as a result, the product has time to ripen well and collect all the most valuable qualities and useful properties. Wild honey, the price of which is significantly different from home-harvested molasses, has a tart taste with a characteristic bitterness, dark color and high viscosity.

The high cost of wild bee production is also due to the fact that insects are on the verge of extinction - their habitats are protected at the state level in order to prevent interbreeding with domestic individuals and preserve the gene pool. Wild honey is made from plants created naturally, which means that the healing properties of this product are many times higher than those created with the help of man.

Honey has long been targeted and used as a natural medicine. The unique healing properties of plants, combined with the industriousness of bees, harmoniously intertwined in this amazing product that helps get rid of various diseases. Real honey is a storehouse of vitamins, a source of health and vitality, a valuable raw material for cosmetic procedures, as well as an incredibly tasty delicacy that everyone will like.

Honey is one of the healthiest sweets. But, I think few people were interested in what types of honey and their properties are. But between them there is a significant difference in the effect on the body. Therefore, we have prepared for you a wonderful review and demonstration photos of different varieties of honey!

Sweet clover honey is obtained from the herbaceous sweet clover, which belongs to the papilionaceous subfamily. And moths are part of the larger legume family. Sweet clover is a very good and productive honey plant, capable of producing up to 200 kg of honey per hectare (subject to the maximum collection of bees). Donnikovy honey belongs to light varieties. When pumped out of the honeycombs, it has a fairly liquid consistency and an amber color.

Like most herbal honeys, this one "sets" (i.e., crystallizes) about two months after being harvested. Then the honey acquires a fine-grained structure. It crystallizes carbohydrates contained in honey - glucose, fructose and sucrose. The size of granules in sweet clover honey can be half a millimeter in diameter. Or even a little more. Those. the variety in the settled form belongs to coarse-grained. At the same time, the chemical composition of honey and its medical qualities do not change. Only the flavor range changes a little.

Honey becomes more saturated, plays longer on the tongue. When sweet clover honey begins to crystallize, its viscosity increases several times. So, honey fresh from the honeycombs is very fluid. It flows easily from container to container. But the "shrunken" sweet clover honey is easily able to hold a tablespoon in an upright position. Both transparency and color change. Honey becomes completely opaque. The amber color is gone. Instead, honey acquires a color from snow-white to cream. The taste qualities of sweet clover honey distinguish it from most other varieties.

This variety has a pronounced taste of vanilla and mint with barely noticeable notes of lemon balm. The sweetness of honey is moderate, soft.

In general, sweet clover has a slight sedative effect, so honey from it calms well. Helps relax. The listed taste qualities are most fully revealed in the crystallized form of honey. Therefore, for use directly with tea, it is better to buy "shrunken" sweet clover honey. But for the preparation of dessert dishes and pastries, it is better to take fresh, unaged sweet clover honey (liquid and amber color).

Buy this variety, like any honey in principle,
preferably in large specialized
departments or even individual stores dedicated to beekeeping, gifts of the forest, etc.

Since in supermarkets, instead of sweet clover, they often sell rapeseed honey, which in appearance and smell is close to “shrunken” sweet clover. Or even a fake, i.e. some cheap honey surrogate with the addition of light dye, sugar syrup and vanillin. Revealing real sweet clover honey is quite simple. The real smells of vanilla quite a bit.

If a strong smell of vanilla hits your nose, then you almost certainly have anything in front of you, but not sweet clover honey. Fresh, liquid sweet clover honey has a thicker sweet smell than crystallized white honey.

Sweet clover honey is a powerful immunostimulant. With prolonged regular use, the risk of colds is significantly reduced. At the same time, this variety of honey is recommended as an additional therapy for various autoimmune diseases and tuberculosis.

Regarding how sweet clover honey affects the functioning of the cardiovascular system, opinions differ. On the one hand, it has a sedative effect. But on the other hand, it contains coumarin, which can increase blood pressure. Therefore, each person who has problems with the heart and blood vessels should approach the issue of using sweet clover honey from an individual point of view.

Linden honey is distinguished by the highest degree of transparency and a very bright amber color, which can sometimes turn into light green. At the same time, this variety in fresh form has a small degree of viscosity. Therefore, fluid. However, even one variety obtained from honey plants of the same species may differ. Both in appearance and taste. In this case, much depends on the climate in which lindens grow. On what basis. And what kind of fertilizers do they receive.

So, a bright amber color indicates that honey was produced in the Far East. But in Bashkiria, linden honey is almost colorless. The most famous areas for the production of linden honey are the Far East, the Republic of Tatarstan, Bashkiria and a number of regions of the Russian Federation (Voronezh, Lipetsk, Kursk). Linden honey is sometimes also called July honey, since lindens bloom at the turn of June and July. It is much less prone to crystallization, since it is obtained from wood collection, and not from herbal.

However, when settling, it also changes color and viscosity, becoming thicker and more opaque. Similar to "shrunken" sweet clover honey. But if it is better to buy sweet clover honey in a crystallized form, then lime honey is recommended to be used in a fresher, liquid form. Because in this case, the taste gamut will be more fully revealed. And the set of healing properties is the same. The taste bouquet of most varieties is revealed precisely in the "shrunken" form. But this does not apply to linden honey. This variety crystallizes in three months.

By the way, the timing of crystallization of different varieties is another way to check if you bought real honey.

Another method involves microscopic examination of the honey extract. The fact is that pollen and / or nectar of a honey plant always gets into honey. And according to this criterion, the reliability of the variety can be determined. So, in linden honey, out of all the pollen contained in it, 80% should be the pollen of linden flowers. Linden is considered literally the best honey plant in the world. At least in terms of the amount of honey received. One average flowering tree in good weather with a maximum collection of bees is capable of producing about 20 kg of linden honey.

And one hectare, on which flowering lindens grow densely, can produce a ton of honey. Linden honey, located in honeycombs, contains approximately 36% glucose. Over time, the content of this carbohydrate may increase. In addition to glucose, honey contains other carbohydrates, minerals, tannins, enzymes, vitamins and a number of essential amino acids (arginine, histidine, leucine, lysine). Linden honey contains a lot of fructose.

This explains its weak crystallization (it crystallizes, first of all, glucose). The smell of linden honey is quite tart, with a light woody aroma, in which notes of camphor are woven. Terpene linden ether is responsible for the characteristic smell. As well as sweet clover, this variety has its own special, specific taste. A distinct sour taste with a very slight bitterness is mixed here with the classic honey sweetness. This is due to the content of tannins and esters, which are more in varieties obtained from trees.

Linden honey goes very well with various types of green tea.

The usefulness of this honey is difficult to overestimate.

Essential amino acids play a key role in all metabolic processes of the body (protein, fat, carbohydrate, mineral). This product contains a lot of vitamin E (a powerful antioxidant - a blocker of oxygen free radicals).

Linden honey helps to increase sweating, and also has an expectorant effect. In combination with the tonic properties that are characteristic in principle of any honey, linden honey is often used as a therapeutic agent to prevent colds and alleviate their symptoms. But linden honey is especially favorable for the health of the cardiovascular system. At this point, this product is definitely recommended for all hypertensive patients and core patients. Linden honey is also beneficial for the health of the retina.

In terms of taste and aroma, honey obtained from herbs is very diverse. For example, from meadow grasses. The diversity is due to the fact that there can be many honey plants. For example, sweet clover, clover, thyme, sage, dandelion, cornflower, thyme and others. One of the honey plants may prevail over the others. Or all types of herbs can be distributed equally. Meadow honey has a light yellow color with a creamy tint.

And in terms of consistency, even freshly picked, it is quite thick and opaque. Sometimes meadow honey is brown. This type of honey also varies in taste. In general, it has a pronounced sweet taste.

The aftertaste and additional notes depend on which honey plant turned out to be more.

As well as additional medical properties, except for those that are characteristic of any honey in principle.

So, meadow honey, in which thyme honey plant prevails, is an excellent tool for preventing intestinal disorders. Grassland thyme honey of all meadow honey subspecies is best for alleviating cold and flu symptoms. Sage honey plant promotes healing of the skin. If the prevailing honey plant was dandelion, then such honey will be light yellow in color. It has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. Clover meadow honey well prevents allergy attacks and partially relieves pain.

A distinctive property of meadow honey is fast crystallization in dynamics (about three weeks). Those. over time, honey almost does not change its density. This variety is harvested almost all summer - until the end of August. Apiaries can be arranged in any region where there are meadows. Strictly speaking, meadow honey is a subspecies of flower honey. The difference is where the honey plants grow. In the meadow, in the forest, in the mountains, in the steppe.

Like any flower honey, meadow honey contains a large amount of glucose, fructose, glycosides (they give astringent, bitter notes), esters (responsible for the smell and mint / vanilla notes) and organic acids (give sour taste). And there are many plant enzymes (enzymes), vitamins and trace elements.

The proportions of all these substances can vary significantly. And not only between varieties of flower honey collected from different regions (forest and meadow, for example), but also between the same variety, but of different collection periods.

For example, meadow honey in June can differ markedly from meadow honey in August. If only because different plants have different flowering periods. Accordingly, in one period one honey plant will prevail, and in another - another. Therefore, it happens that meadow honey has a light yellow color and a mild sweet taste. And it happens that the same meadow honey is brown, and the taste reveals a mixture of sweetness with bitterness.

Buckwheat honey immediately highlights its color - dark brown with a reddish tint when draining. This is due to the high percentage of minerals and tannins. It is liquid in consistency. It should flow easily from a spoon like syrup. Crystallized buckwheat honey, as well as linden, is better not to take. The greatest benefit and the brightest taste qualities of buckwheat honey are observed in the liquid state. Despite its low viscosity, buckwheat honey is almost opaque due to its rich, dark color.

Buckwheat honey uniquely identifies not only its appearance, but also its flavor and aroma properties. The smell of buckwheat honey has characteristic notes of caramel and roasted cereals. On the palate, burnt caramel is clearly mixed with honey sweetness. Plus, you can taste a very faint aftertaste of buckwheat. Due to the relatively high glucose content, this variety crystallizes quite quickly. And since it is better to take it in a fresh, liquid form, then you should go to the store for buckwheat honey during the period of its collection. Or right after. Those. in July-August.

For the same reasons buckwheat honey is not the best option as honey for the winter. Here it is recommended to give preference to honey from herbs or sweet clover. In terms of microelements, buckwheat honey is distinguished by the highest level of iron content. Which is quite obvious, since there is a lot of iron in buckwheat itself. Also in this variety a lot of zinc, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus. The high concentration of iron makes buckwheat honey an excellent remedy for anemia and fragility of the walls of blood vessels. This is an excellent remedy for dealing with neuroses and insomnia.

These are the main types of honey, now you know the whole range of their properties and will be able to make the most useful choice for yourself when buying. Be sure to check out our recommendations!

How to properly store honey, general health-improving recipes with honey and more about its healing properties and how to choose, read.

According to botanical origin, natural bee honey is divided into flower, honeydew and mixed (a natural mixture of flower and honeydew honey).

Flower honey is obtained as a result of the collection and processing of flower nectar by bees. It can be monofloral, i.e., from the nectar of one (or predominantly one) plant, and polyfloral (combined) - from the nectar of several plants.

Monofloral honey is determined by the type of the main nectar plant. It can be lime, buckwheat, acacia, sunflower, etc.

Linden honey is characterized by a light yellow or light amber color. It has a pleasant delicate aroma of linden flowers, which include farnesol and other terpenoid compounds. Honey from the flowers of small-leaved linden, growing in the forest-steppe zone of the European part of Russia, has a strong aroma with a slight bitterness. In the broad-leaved forests of the Far East, bees get honey from the flowers of the Amur and Manchurian linden. Such honey has a delicate aroma of linden flowers without bitterness. An even more delicate aroma is characteristic of honey collected from large-leaved and white lindens, common in the southern zone of the country. In liquid form, honey is transparent, like water, with a greenish tint. Linden honey crystallizes at room temperature within one to two months into a fine-grained fat-like or coarse-grained mass.

Buckwheat honey is distinguished by its color palette - from dark yellow to dark brown with a reddish tinge, it has a pleasant, sharp, specific taste and a peculiar aroma. In the crystallized state, honey is dark yellow or brown in color, fine or coarse-grained.

Sunflower honey has a light golden color that intensifies when exposed to sunlight. Upon crystallization, it becomes light amber, sometimes with a greenish tinge. It has a pleasant, somewhat tart taste and a subtle faint aroma of sunflower. Farnesol, alpha-terpinene, alpha-pinene and other terpenoid compounds were found in honey.

It crystallizes very quickly - within a month after pumping out of the combs. The crystals are large, clearly visible to the naked eye; a looser layer of glucose crystals, the “foam,” often forms on their surface.

Fireweed honey of light color with a greenish tinge, becomes white upon crystallization. It is characterized by a delicate taste and aroma. In liquid form, honey is transparent, like water, crystallizes very quickly into a fat-like or fine-grained mass.

Acacia honey is white in color with a greenish tint, has a delicate and delicate aroma. Honey contains robinin, acacin (glycosides of flavonic origin), volatile oils. Acacia honey may not crystallize for a long time (from one to two to three years) at room temperature. It crystallizes as a fine-grained mass, acquiring a color from white to golden yellow. It has good taste qualities. With prolonged storage, a darker intercrystalline liquid appears on the surface.

Cotton honey is distinguished by its color: transparent, like water, or extra white. It has a delicate and peculiar aroma, pleasant taste, crystallizes into a coarse-grained mass for two or more months. Freshly harvested by bees has a taste characteristic of the juice of the plant itself, which disappears as the honey ripens. Mature honey has a delicate, but peculiar taste and aroma.

Clover honey comes in two varieties. White clover honey in liquid form is white, transparent, with a greenish tint, delicate and delicate aroma. Honey contains flavonoids, volatile oils, phenolic compounds, resins, coumarin derivatives. During crystallization, it takes the form of a white fat-like mass, has a slightly pronounced aroma of clover flowers, and good taste. Crystallizes within one to two months.

Red clover honey is red-yellow in color and crystallizes relatively slowly. The taste and aroma are the same as those of white clover honey.

Sainfoin honey is white in color, sometimes with a greenish tinge, with a delicate and delicate aroma, pleasant, moderately sweet taste. It crystallizes into a fine-grained or greasy mass within one to two months.

Heather honey is characterized by dark amber or red-brown color, strong specific aroma, tart taste. This honey is very viscous, pumped out of the combs with great difficulty or not pumped out at all. With stirring or shaking, its gelatinous consistency is destroyed and it becomes liquid, but thickens again during subsequent storage. It slowly crystallizes. Microscopic examination of crystallized honey shows needle-shaped crystals, which distinguishes it from other types of honey.

Raspberry honey is a light honey of the highest quality. In liquid form - white or transparent, like water, in crystallized form - white with a creamy tint. It crystallizes into fine and coarse-grained mass. Honey has a delicate aroma of raspberry flowers and a delicate taste of berries.

Sweet clover honey has a color from white to light amber extra in liquid form and white in crystallized form. It crystallizes slowly, forming a coarse or fine-grained white mass. Sweet without aftertaste, the aroma is somewhat reminiscent of vanilla. With abundant release of nectar, this feature in the aroma becomes less noticeable.

Coriander honey has a dark color, characteristic specific aroma and taste. It contains terpenoid compounds that give it a specific aroma.

It crystallizes within one to two months into a coarse-grained or greasy mass.

Other types of monofloral honey are also obtained in small quantities - chestnut, mustard, rapeseed, phacelia, mint, tobacco, onion, etc. However, they are not widely used.

Polyfloral honey is defined as flower prefabricated. Polyphoric honey, depending on the place of collection, can be mountain, meadow, steppe. The characteristic of flower honey is inconsistent. Since different plants bloom in different periods of the year in the same field, meadow, honey has different properties. Its color can be from light and light yellow to dark, aroma and taste - from tender and weak to sharp, crystallization - from greasy to coarse-grained.

Stone honey is deposited by wild bees in rock crevices. It is light in color, has a pleasant taste and good aroma, contains a lot of glucose, is low hygroscopic, hard like candy, and is inseparable from honeycomb wax.

Honeydew honey is obtained as a result of the processing of honeydew and honeydew collected from the leaves and stems of plants by bees. Pad is a sweetish, thick liquid secreted by aphids, mealybugs and other insects that feed on plant juices. Pad appears on the leaves of trees and shrubs, sometimes falling in small drops (hence the name) to the ground. In large quantities, it occurs on linden, maple, poplar, hazel, etc.

Honeydew is called sweet discharge from the leaves of trees and needles of spruce, pine without the participation of insects. The formation of honeydew is enhanced by sharp fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity. Honeydew and honeydew are collected by bees in the absence of nectar in the area of ​​departure, usually in hot, dry weather.

Honeydew honey is determined by species of deciduous and coniferous trees. Honeydew honey from coniferous trees (spruce, fir, pine) has a color from light to dark amber, viscous viscous, sometimes unpleasant, bitter or sour taste and a peculiar aroma. This type of honey contains volatile oils and resins rich in gamma-pinene, beta-pinene, phellandrene, limonene, anisealdehyde, tertiary terpene alcohols and other compounds. It crystallizes slowly into a fine-grained or coarse-grained mass.

Honeydew honey from deciduous trees (oak, ash, etc.) is viscous, viscous, with a peculiar aroma, dark in color. The crystallization of this honey is the same as honeydew honey from coniferous trees.

In our country, it is accepted that honeydew honey is of lower quality and belongs to second-class honey. For humans, this honey is completely harmless; it is not suitable for feeding bees.

Poisonous honey, which is sometimes collected by bees in the Caucasus, the Far East and Siberia, is unsuitable for human food. It causes poisoning in humans, very similar to severe intoxication, which is why it is also called "drunk honey." Bees collect poisonous honey in the Caucasus from the flowers of rhododendron, azalea, cup-flowered heather, mountain laurel, andromeda, aconite, nectar or pollen, which may contain glycosides - andromedotoxin, rhodotoxin, mellitoxin. In the eastern regions, bees collect it from marsh plants of rosemary, hellebore. In the presence of a bribe, bees do not visit poisonous plants, so poisonous honey occurs in small quantities and not annually. The poisonous properties of honey can be neutralized by heating it.

Mixed honey is formed as mixed or as honeydew, depending on the predominant source from which it is obtained.

According to the method of obtaining honey can be centrifugal, pressed and honeycomb.

Centrifugal - liquid or crystallized honey, extracted from honeycombs using a honey centrifuge (honey extractor). This is the most common type of honey.

Pressed honey, such as heather, is obtained from combs by pressing and only when it is impossible to extract it in a honey extractor. In such honey, an increased content of wax and wax-like substances is found.

Comb honey in sealed combs can be in the form of frames, sections or individual pieces. It is especially highly valued, but trade in such honey is impractical, since it does not find the use of wax.

According to the areas of growth of nectar-bearing plants, honey is divided into Bashkir, Caucasian, Far Eastern, Central Asian, etc.

Depending on the origin, types of honey are known that cannot be considered natural. These include sugar honey from fruit juices, vitamin and artificial. They should be considered as counterfeits of a natural product.

Sugar honey is a product of sugar syrup processing by bees. Sucrose, which is the syrup, undergoes hydrolysis under the action of bee enzymes. The resulting sugar honey, like natural honey, consists mainly of a mixture of fructose and glucose. During ripening, maltose and some other sugars are synthesized. As a result of processing, bees introduce enzymes (including diastase), ash elements, vitamins and bactericidal substances into it. However, it does not contain aromatic substances and other valuable components that pass into honey from flower nectar. According to the main physical and chemical indicators and organoleptic properties, it is difficult to distinguish this honey from natural flower honey. The special production of sugar honey and its sale under the guise of bee honey is falsification and is prosecuted.

Honey from sweet fruit juices is obtained by bees at a time when there is no nectar flow, and bees take juice from ripe raspberries, grapes, cherries, etc. Some beekeepers feed a specially prepared syrup from fruit or vegetable juices with added sugar and get it like this called express honey. The honey obtained in this way differs from the natural one by a high content of mineral salts, acids, substances indigestible in the intestines of bees, etc.

Vitamin and medicinal honey bees produce from sugar syrup with the addition of syrups and juices rich in vitamins (blackcurrant, carrot, etc.). However, the increased content of vitamins in such honeys is not detected, since the bees change their amount to the level of their need. According to the main indicators, this honey is no different from sugar and is a fake.

Artificial honey is obtained from sugar without the participation of a bee. In appearance, it is similar to bee honey, but differs from it in chemical composition, and, consequently, in nutritional and medicinal value. For its preparation, sugar is dissolved in a syrup containing about 80% solids, a small amount of citric or lactic acid is added and the solution is heated. In this case, sucrose is hydrolyzed into an equal amount of glucose and fructose. Commercially produced artificial honey contains at least 60% invert sugar. It can also be flavored by adding 10-20% natural honey or essence.

Artificial honey has a sweet taste, good digestibility, can be used as a table product in the manufacture of confectionery and other products. It enters the trading network packaged in glass jars under the name “Artificial honey”.

The medicinal properties of honey have been known since ancient times. As well as various areas of human life in which honey and its derivatives are used: medicine, health improvement, maintaining the health of young and old people, cosmetology, and also as a very tasty and nutritious food product.

Indeed, honey is the most valuable complex of all nutrients necessary for the human body.

However, not everyone knows about the types of honey. Actually, this is not surprising - after all, there are dozens of types of honey! But it is necessary to know the brief characteristics of individual types of honey not only in order to expand your horizons, but also for its correct use, since each type of honey has its own compositional characteristics. The scope of a particular type and variety of honey depends on the composition.

Let's take a short trip to the land of honey. Each type of honey has its own color, its own texture, characteristic features.

Types of flower honey

• Honey collected from plants of one species is called monofloral, and its name comes from the name of this plant (lime, buckwheat, acacia).
• Collected from several types of plants, honey is called polyfloral (or prefabricated flower); its name in this case comes from the place where the honey was collected (mountain, field, forest).

So, the most widespread types of honey, depending on the plant from which it was collected, and their brief characteristics:

• Acacia honey - is used mainly as a tonic and sedative, for nervous diseases and insomnia. It is considered one of the most useful varieties. The honey itself is very light and transparent, crystallization occurs slowly. It has a delicate aroma and delicate taste.
• Hawthorn honey - useful for tachycardia, heart disease and hypertension, with an increase in thyroid function. The taste is bitter, the aroma is specific. Dark honey.
• Buckwheat honey is most useful for anemia, because it contains a large amount of iron. It also contains a large amount of vitamins and microelements, therefore this honey is often recommended for beriberi, improving the permeability of capillary walls. The color of this type of honey can be dark yellow, dark brown. It has a pleasant aroma and tart taste.
• Field honey is an excellent sedative for the nervous system, helps with diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Field honey is recommended for insomnia and headaches.
• Sweet clover honey - has a diuretic, expectorant, analgesic effect, thins the blood, improves blood circulation. It is one of the best varieties of honey. More common white and light amber. The taste is delicate, the aroma resembles the smell of vanilla.
• Clover honey - excellent in the treatment of colds and lung diseases as an expectorant and diaphoretic. This honey is transparent, has a delicate aroma and delicate taste.
• Forest honey - especially useful for respiratory diseases.
• Linden honey - has excellent nutritional and medicinal properties, is used in the treatment of colds and inflammation of the digestive tract, diseases of the gallbladder and kidneys.
• Meadow honey is an excellent antimicrobial and general tonic.
• May honey is recommended as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent.
• Sunflower honey - used for influenza, neuralgia, liver diseases.
• Chestnut honey is an excellent remedy for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes.
• Mustard honey - useful for diseases of the joints, skin, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
• Fruit honey - collected from the flowers of trees during their flowering period. In the fresh state, it is transparent with a red-yellow tint, becoming light yellow after crystallization.
• Mountain honey - the price for ecological cleanliness. It has a bitter taste and strong aroma.
• Rapeseed honey is especially useful for lung diseases, asthma, does not cause allergies. It has a weak aroma and sugary taste.
• Raspberry honey is a light golden honey with a pleasant smell and taste reminiscent of the taste of raspberries. It is in high demand in the treatment of women's diseases, respiratory tract.

We have listed only a small part of the types of honey. Each of them has its own characteristic feature in taste, aroma, color and medicinal qualities.

Characteristics of honey

Honey is the product of the nectar partially digested in the bee's crop. Natural honey has a pronounced sweet taste. The smell (or aroma) of honey depends on the characteristics of a particular plant.

Honey contains:

• Water - 13-23 g;
• Fats - 0 g;
• Proteins - 0 g;
• Carbohydrates - fructose, glucose, sucrose - 82.4 g;
• Vitamins - E, K, C, group B, folic acid, provitamin A-carotene, pantothenic acid;
• Trace elements - calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, sodium.

Honey is divided according to:

• botanical origin;
• Trademark;
• geographical origin;
• Smell and taste;
• Transparency and color;
• Consistencies.

By origin, honey is:

• floral - formed as a result of the collection and further processing of nectar, which is secreted by nectaries of both flowering and non-flowering plants ;
• honeydew - formed when bees collect honeydew (sweet secretions of aphids) and honeydew from the stems and leaves of plants. This type of honey contains more minerals and dextrins than flower honey.

Depending on the consistency, honey is divided into the following types:

• Liquid - fresh honey has just such a normal state after pumping it out of the honeycombs. It can have a different degree of density, which depends on a lower or higher water content in honey and partly on air temperature.
• "Shrunk" (or crystallized) - honey is formed naturally from liquid honey. Dandelion honey "sits down" most quickly; honey collected from herbs “sits down” 2-3 months after its collection. Crystallized honey does not lose its beneficial qualities.

Also, honey is divided by its color, which depends on the plant from whose nectar honey was obtained:

• light color;
• Dark color. At the same time, there are many different shades of honey from pure white to red-brown.

artificial honey

This type of honey is made from beet and cane sugar, corn, watermelon juice, melon. This type of honey does not contain enzymes in its composition and does not have a characteristic aroma. A little natural honey is added to artificial honey for the appearance of a “honey” aroma and tinted with a decoction of tea or saffron.

This type of honey is obtained by acid hydrolysis of beet or cane sugar. Or by evaporating the juice of watermelon, melon, grapes. Upon evaporation, a mixture with a characteristic yellowish tint is obtained. It retains the content of fructose, glucose. As a result of all the necessary processes, honey is obtained, which has a large amount of carbohydrates, easily digestible minerals.

sugar honey

Often in the markets they try to sell a fake of artificial honey - sugar honey. It is made from ordinary sugar syrup; for color and smell, honey and tea broth are added to it. Such fake "honey" is often the cause of poisoning.

In order not to become a victim of deceivers and be able to distinguish natural honey from fake, read a few tips to help distinguish natural honey from a fake:

• Real honey does not contain a lot of water in its composition, therefore a piece of bread dipped in such honey will not soften;
• Natural honey can be screwed on a spoon, artificial honey cannot;
• When mixing 50 g of distilled water and 50 g of honey, the impurities contained here will sink to the bottom or float to the surface.