It turns out that bee honey is not always the usual processed flower nectar for us.
There is also a pad. These are sweet sticky secretions of insects that live on leaves and branches: aphids, leaflet fleas, and mealybugs. From all this, honeydew is obtained. What it is? This unusual product will be discussed in this article.
Kinds of paddy
To determine and understand what honeydew is, you must first understand its origin.
There are times when the usual most suitable honey plants for bees are absent. In this regard, they begin to collect a pad - sweetish discharge, which can be either animal or plant origin.
In the first case, this is a discharge of insects (mostly aphids) that feed on plant sap. In the second, it is honey dew and sweet plant secretions formed on coniferous and deciduous trees (aspen, willow, oak and linden).
To better understand how honeydew is obtained, what it is and whether it is useful, you should consider its types.
According to the source of occurrence, honeydew honey is divided into 2 types:
1. A fall of animal origin.
Aphids, eating the juice of different plants, secrete a kind of "by-product" with a high sugar content. In the hottest weather, as noted above, the bees begin to collect this sweetish coating from the leaves. Most often, mixed fees are found when a little pollen is contained in the pad.
2. The fall of plant origin.
It contains carbohydrate secretions of some tree species. They appear especially actively in the heat, which allows bees, without stopping their work, to wait out these unfavorable conditions for some time.
Honey characteristics
How to identify honeydew honey? This is easy to do with the following characteristics:
1. By color, which varies depending on the source:
• Honey dew collected from deciduous trees gives the honey a fairly rich brown color.
• Honey from coniferous trees has a greenish light shade.
• The fall of animal origin gives the product an almost black color.
• A pad mixed with pollen forms a light golden honey.
2. By aroma. There are products with a slight and subtle smell, and in some varieties it is completely absent.
3. By taste - pleasant and sweet, with a small bitterness.
4. By consistency and crystallization. The peculiarity of honeydew is a thick and viscous consistency. When mixed with pollen, it becomes thinner. The crystallization of this honey is slow. And many varieties do not crystallize at all, but simply delaminate or form an opaque mass similar to a soap solution.
Honey composition
Amazing honeydew. Its benefits are understandable, even if you just look at its composition. It is very different from the usual beekeeping products. For example, animal origin, honey contains many protein breakdown products, and plant origin, the pad contains a huge amount (over 90%) of carbohydrates.
Honey on average contains more than 65% glucose and fructose, about 15% sucrose and a large amount (about 11%) of polysaccharides, including dextrin and melicitoses, as well as 3% proteins. Minerals and nitrogenous substances, lipids, and organic acids are found in large quantities in honey.
Honey honey: useful properties
The considerable content of elements of animal origin makes this honey useful for humans. It has the following beneficial effects on the body:
• Due to its high phosphorus and potassium content, it perfectly strengthens the skeletal system.
• It is an excellent tool for the prevention of most of the "age-related" diseases, perfectly rejuvenates the body.
• Prevents the development of atherosclerosis, strengthens the cardiovascular system, promotes faster recovery from strokes and heart attacks.
• Restores strength after increased mental and physical stress.
• Has a good prophylactic property against colds, strengthens the immune system.
• Good effect on intestinal motility.
• It has a rather favorable effect on blood, and therefore is used for anemia.
Here is such a wonderful honeydew. What is this we have learned. Below we will tell you how to store it.
Storage Features
The fall absorbs moisture from the air quite intensively. Therefore, in order for this product to retain its properties longer, it must be stored in a carefully closed container (glass or ceramic), in a cool, dry place (not in the refrigerator). You should not take this product in large quantities - you need to purchase only the necessary quantity for the coming months.
Due to the unusual source of origin, this beekeeping product, as noted above, contains some elements of protein origin. In addition, it does not contain volatile products contained in plants and in their pollen, which are able to protect the varieties of honey customary for people from different bacteria. And protein particles are a favorable environment for the development of microorganisms. Although a small admixture of flower pollen is contained in honeydew, the amount of these volatile products is not enough to impede the process. This is the reason that the honeydew sour quickly.
Benefit and harm
There is a positive point: this honey, in comparison with other similar products, can be consumed by people with increased body weight and suffering from diabetes. Although the carbohydrate content of this honey is high, it helps to improve and speed up the metabolic process, the elimination of harmful cholesterol compounds and toxins.
Honeydew can cause harm. It, like other beekeeping products, can cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, before using honeydew, you should check the body's response to it, applying a small amount for the first time.
The healing properties of honeydew honey are detected only when used correctly. It is advisable to use it without mixing with anything. Fawn honey can be added to herbal tea, but it should only be warm (no more than 60 degrees) to maintain beneficial properties. It can be used in food no more than one tablespoon per day.
In European countries, honeydew honey is most valuable compared to other similar products. In Russia, he is not so popular because of his unusual taste and color. Nevertheless, one should not neglect such a valuable natural medicine.
Conclusion
As you can see, in addition to the usual, there is also honeydew. What is it, it became clear. And how does this product obtained in different territories of the country differ?
In Western Europe, bees mainly take honey dew, and in Russia, for the most part, it comes from the fall, from which a low-quality second-class product is obtained, which does not have much popularity.
It turns out that the place of origin affects the quality, value, composition of honey and determines its properties, both beneficial and harmful.