Why honey cannot be heated: truth and myths, advice from beekeepers and nutritionists

Most beekeepers agree that honey should not be heated. Due to high temperatures, the composition of the natural antibiotic changes for the worse. The heating also affects the taste - the exquisite sweetness and aroma are lost.

What happens to honey after heating

To heat natural honey above 60 degrees means to turn your own valuable bee product into a useless syrup with your own hands. Moreover, a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius is already an undesirable threshold.

Benefit is lost

Adding honey to hot tea leads to the loss of its beneficial properties. Vitamins, valuable enzymes are destroyed - everything that is responsible for unique healing properties.

Hot honey is useless for the treatment and prevention of colds, it will not help in the treatment of other problems. But a teaspoon of fresh product before breakfast can significantly strengthen the immune system and prepare the body for changing seasons.

Taste goes bad

The connoisseurs of delicate taste will immediately notice the difference: the usual product, even for a long time standing in the closet, preserves bitterness, grassy, ​​floral, coniferous and other notes - the heated honey cannot be compared.

Allergy Risk

And more: honey and products containing it are known allergens. After heating to 45-60 degrees, the likelihood of allergic reactions increases.

The truth about the dangers of heating

When honey is heated, among other effects, a toxic substance is formed called oxymethylfurfural (OMF). He stands out as the main danger to human health. With an overdose of this substance, serious intestinal disturbances are possible.

OMF is created by heating due to the breakdown of fructose, which is found not only in honey, but also in other sweet foods. According to GOST, the concentration of oxymethylfurfural does not exceed 25 mg per 1 kg in honey, for the production of countries with a hot climate, this indicator increases to 40 mg.

This is a very, very small dose to talk about immediate harm to health, poisoning and oncology. For comparison, in carbonated drinks, the content of OMF reaches 300 mg, and even this is not considered dangerous. And in roasted coffee beans, the amount of OMF is 80 times higher.

The concentration of OMF was not regulated to protect against carcinogens, but to control production so that safe temperature conditions were observed during product processing.

Thus, the danger of a heated bee product is exaggerated. You can only get poisoned with regular use of a hot product in large quantities. And in order for the elixir to turn into poison, you have to heat it to very high temperatures, which is impossible at home.

How to eat honey

So, what should not be done with the beekeeping product, so as not to reduce its benefit:

1. Contrary to popular belief, hot tea with honey is not an elixir for health, but just a sweetened drink. Boiling water quickly destroys beneficial enzymes and vitamins.
2. Honey loses its useful properties when added to the dough: baking in the oven is exposed to high temperatures, usually 180-200 degrees.
3. Do not heat frozen honey in the microwave. Hardening or crystallization is a natural phenomenon: this is how fructose manifests itself. This happens if the freshest product is poured into cans. Experienced beekeepers prefer to pack up the sweetness when it "sat down", that is, a little thickened.Such honey costs longer unchanged. To "dissolve" honey, it is heated in a water bath to about 30 degrees.
4. You should not keep honey in heat, above 28 degrees - this can make it ferment (white coating on the surface will not be crystalline, but foamy).
5. Leaving the jar in direct sunlight is not recommended anyway: in hot weather the temperature in the sun can exceed 40 degrees.
6. And even more so, do not boil, boil honey. There are many ways to use it for health and beauty without heating.

Output: a heated product is not dangerous, but not useful. If you feel like it, then add it to hot tea, to the dough for flavor, and to the marinade for meat and fish. Just keep in mind that it will be just a sweetener, not a valuable ingredient for improving nutritional benefits.

Is it possible to freeze

Freezing, like boiling, will not bring the product anything good. And even refrigerated storage will destroy valuable compounds in the product.

How much honey is stored
The optimal temperature range for honey is from 21 to 30 degrees Celsius, so a dark kitchen cabinet is quite suitable. There, the sweet will stand, not crystallizing for a long time, from a year to two. purityis.decorexpro.com/en/ recommends keeping the main supply in a large sealed container, and a small “current” volume in a small glass jar with a lid (for example, from tomato paste) - this will extend the shelf life.

How to eat honey

Even properly stored large quantities of honey can harm your health. Observe the dosage: for an adult, 200 g of product is enough. The norm for each person is set individually depending on age, need for certain substances and health status.

If you like sweet drinks with honey, then make sure that the temperature of your tea does not exceed 30-35 degrees at the time of adding the beekeeping product to it. You can dilute honey with warm water, berry juice, milk, coffee, cocoa, etc.

Tip
Shop honey often undergoes pasteurization, that is, heating. Prefer a fresh apiary product if you want noticeable health improvements.

Other ways to eat honey without exposing it to high temperatures:

1. It is very tasty to mix honey mass with nuts, berries, fruits, dried fruits, citrus zest.
2. Add it to warm porridge for breakfast.
3. Spread on toasts instead of jam or jam.
4. Dress salads with honey, mixing it with lemon juice and vegetable oil.

Tip from purityis.decorexpro.com/en/: Honey is a natural preservative; butter can be stored in it at room temperature. Mix the two products and use them for breakfast sandwiches.

We distinguish a quality product from fakes

Such an expensive product, like freshly rolled honey, is often faked: mixed with crystallized and heated. In order not to fall for the tricks of unscrupulous beekeepers, check the product before purchase according to the following rules:

1. Fresh pitching honey has a pronounced sweet aroma and taste. Heated old honey has a faint odor.
2. Fresh honey has a uniform consistency, it is liquid, but viscous. The fused product is characterized by increased water content.
3. Try a spoonful of honey, hold it in your tongue: you will find additional tart or sweet notes in a fresh product, pleasant warmth will appear in the throat. Old and warmed up does not have facets of taste, it is just sweet.
4. If you understand the shades of different types of honey, you can catch the seller: the old molten honey will be darker than its fresh counterpart.

Finding high-quality honey in regions where beekeeping is not common is quite difficult, but you can always use mail services. Honey is really a valuable product, along with rare vegetable oils, nuts, fruits and berries, and you can make the most of it. Keeping and using it is very simple.