Even a child knows that honey is not only a tasty delicacy, but also an excellent medicine that helps against many diseases.
- They treat coughs, colds, even pneumonia.
- Constant use of honey improves blood composition.
- Thanks to honey, the body is being healed and the state of health improves.
- It has a slight soporific effect.
- A solution of honey with water helps with overnight incontinence.
- It lowers blood pressure.
- They are treated with colitis, constipation, hemorrhoids.
Therefore, in almost every family there is at least a small stock of honey. But very often a jar with this truly useful product is on the table or on the shelf next to the jam, cookies, and sugar. Or it is poured into the outlet, and in this form it is stored until it ends.
And many do not even think about the fact that, leaving the honey on the table, they turn it from a tasty and healthy product into a usual sweet, rich in carbohydrates.
But it is not enough to be able to properly store honey - you need to learn how to choose it in order not to buy low-quality or even fake.
How to choose honey
- When buying, first look at the consistency of honey. At the end of the summer they sell liquid honey, as it is still young. And closer to winter, honey thickens, begins to crystallize, which does not affect its quality. But if the seller offers liquid honey in the winter, then it should be alerted. Because such a consistency can only say one thing: honey or warmed up to give it a presentation, or even fake.
- The product should not foam or be cloudy. This honey is still unripe. It is poorly stored and may soon ferment.
- You can not buy honey from random sellers, especially those who go through the apartments, offering this product. As a rule, the price for such honey is much lower, which should also alert. After all, good honey can not cost a penny.
- You need to buy honey from trusted sellers. It is advisable to know at least elementary information about the product: where it was collected, how it was stored, what kind of honey it is, because the medicinal properties of the product collected from different plants differ. For example, buckwheat lowers blood pressure, lime - struggles with the common cold, and sunflower is useful for those who have problems with the thyroid gland.
- When you come home, you can also check the quality of honey. It is enough to stir it in water. Real honey dissolves well, leaving no residue or film on the surface. The falsifiers learned to forge it using sugar, starch, even lime. If a little vinegar is dripped into a teaspoon with honey, the product will immediately show the presence of lime. And if you drop iodine and at the same time the honey turns blue, it means there is starch in it.
So, the experiments ended well? Now you need to learn how to store honey so that it does not squander its useful properties.
Storage containers
From the packaging in which the product will be stored, depends on its further quality.
- Nowadays, the most common container for honey is glass jars. They are comfortable, they are easy to clean, they do not absorb extraneous odors. But if the honey is in a glass container, then you need to take care that the bank does not stand in the light. After all, light has a detrimental effect on vitamins and those beneficial substances that make honey a medical product.
It is enough to hold the honey in a transparent jar for several days, especially in the sun, as it will become an ordinary sweet dessert.
Therefore, if honey is stored in a jar, it must be removed in a dark place where no light falls.
- In addition to glass containers, plastic containers are also suitable. But when choosing them, it is imperative to look for the plastic to be food grade. Otherwise, if you come into contact with non-food plastic for a long time, harmful or even toxic substances will pass into honey, and this may adversely affect health.
Also, plastic containers must be new, because if odorous products were stored in them, the plastic absorbed their smells, and getting rid of them is very difficult. But honey copes with it perfectly and quickly absorbs them.
- We have recommended tanks made of stainless steel, aluminum, enamel.
- Honey is well stored in ceramic dishes. There is no light on honey, ceramics do not oxidize, do not emit harmful substances. The main thing that such ware was well closed.
- The following condition is tightness. It is not enough to cover the jar with a nylon cap or parchment. The lid should be made of durable material and tightly twisted. After all, honey strongly absorbs all extraneous odors, which also adversely affects its quality.
- Large volumes of honey are sometimes stored in the old fashioned way - in barrels or barrels covered in wax from the inside. But you need to choose the right type of wood from which the packaging is made. Do not use barrels made of coniferous wood, as well as oak. The first give it a resinous taste, and the second will spoil the color - it will darken.
- It is impossible to store honey in zinc, iron, copper dishes, as when interacting with these metals, honey is oxidized, and also unhealthy substances pass into it.
Temperature condition
In order for honey to retain its medicinal properties, not only light, but also high temperature is contraindicated to it. Of course, it can be stored at room temperature, but if it does not exceed 20 ° C. And in apartments most often it is 23-25 ° C, especially in the kitchen, where, by the way, the product is located.
If in the light it simply ceases to be therapeutic, losing many active substances, it can deteriorate in the heat. If the honey is unripe - ferment, and if aged, it will change the taste not for the better.
The optimal temperature for storage is from -6 to + 10-15 ° C. And this temperature is kept either in the refrigerator or in the cellar. In the pantry, too, good conditions, if it does not adjoin the kitchen or stove.
Low temperature does not affect the properties of the product. But when freezing honey is so thicker that it becomes hard. And it creates a lot of inconvenience. After all, then it has to be defrosted in hot water or a microwave. He, of course, becomes again liquid, but at the same time loses most of its useful properties. Therefore, they try not to resort to this method of storage.
What should be the humidity
Humidity also affects the quality of honey. If the room is high humidity or very dry, then it can deteriorate.
The optimum humidity in the place where honey is stored, should be 60%.
This microclimate can provide a refrigerator. But, as mentioned above, the jar of honey must be tightly closed so that it does not absorb the smells of those products that are stored there.
How to store honey in the cellar
Honey can be stored in the cellar, if it maintains optimum humidity and the right temperature.
But it is necessary to equip a separate place, there should not be any odorous products: fish, smoked meat, sauerkraut or cucumbers.
Total: ideal storage conditions for honey
- The room temperature should not be lower than -6 ° C and not higher than +20 ° C.
- Humidity favorable for honey storage is 60%.
- Honey is stored in a dark place.
- Tara with honey should be sealed.
It is under these conditions that honey can be stored for several years without losing any healing properties or taste.
