Honey looks like a viscous and aromatic mass of liquid or crystallized consistency, transparent or white, yellow or brown, or even brown. This is one of the oldest products known to mankind. Traditionally, honey is produced by honey bees from nectar collected from flowers. However, today there are other known ways to get this sweet treat. Everyone knows what honey tastes like. But how rich is its range? The classification of honey according to various criteria will be presented in our article. Let us dwell on what are the sources of its production and which of the species is considered the most useful.
Natural and artificial honey
The first classification feature allows you to select a product in a separate group that has virtually nothing to do with beekeeping. The classification of honey by origin divides it into:
The first type is obtained in a natural way, and the second is obtained at the enterprises of the food industry as a result of heating a solution of sucrose with lactic or other acids, followed by the addition of natural honey to the mass. Moreover, the concentration of the latter usually does not exceed 8-10%.
Natural honey is obtained as a result of fermentation by bees of nectar of flowers or paddy. It has the greatest nutritional value and has healing and bactericidal properties. The chemical composition of honey is not constant. It depends on the type of honey plants with which bees collected nectar, as well as on the time of year.
Types of honey by source of collection
It is worth noting that all the types of honey classification presented below are related to the product of natural origin.
Depending on the sources of collection distinguish:
- Flower honey. The presented variety is a product of the collection and processing of nectar of flowers collected by bees. Flower honey is monoflore and polyfleur. The first bees are extracted from nectar of flowers of one species (buckwheat, linden, acacia, etc.), and the second - from different honey plants (meadow, steppe, etc.).
- Honeydew honey It is obtained as a result of fermentation by bees paddy and honeydew. This honey has the highest content of mineral elements. But in Russia, unlike the countries of the far abroad, it goes only for processing in the food industry.
- Mixed honey. This product is a mixture of flower and stock species in one or another ratio.
Species of botanical origin
Depending on the honey plant, the classification of honey involves dividing it into the following varieties:
- Acacia honey. This variety is among the best. In a liquid state, honey from nectar of acacia flowers is transparent, and after sugaring it immediately turns white.
- Barberry. This type of honey is a product of processing nectar of the flowers of common barberry, growing in the Crimea and the European part of the Russian Federation. It is characterized by golden yellow color and delicate taste.
- Buckwheat honey has a dark red or brown hue and a specific taste. It is characterized by an increased amount of iron in the composition.
- Chestnut is a low-grade honey collected by bees from a chestnut tree, having a bitter unpleasant aftertaste.
- Lime. Among beekeepers, it takes the second place in the content of useful substances after buckwheat. The taste is intense, the aroma is strong. In appearance, this honey is almost transparent amber or light yellow in color.
- Sunflower honey tastes good in a liquid state. After a transition to another state, it becomes viscous, less attractive and acquires a light yellow tint. Sunflower honey has a high enzyme activity.
- Clover honey belongs to high-grade species. In the liquid state, it is almost transparent, and after crystallization becomes white. It has a pleasant taste and aroma.
- Heather - this low-grade honey is obtained from the nectar of pink flowers of common heather. It has a viscous consistency, crystallizes slowly and has a tart, bitter aftertaste.
- Donnikovy - natural honey of white color with a delicate taste and pleasant aroma.
- Fruit - honey collected from flowering fruit trees. This variety has a high glucose content.
By botanical origin, there are more than fifty different types of honey. They differ in color, taste, aroma and composition of minerals.
Classification of honey by the method of obtaining
On this basis, the following types of honey are distinguished:
- centrifugal;
- pressed;
- cell phone.
Each variety has its own characteristics.
Centrifugal honey in the classification is defined as the most common of the above types. It is removed from the honeycomb using a honey centrifuge called a honey extractor. It may be liquid or crystallized.
Pressed honey is extracted from the honeycomb by the pressing method and only if it cannot be extracted using the honey extractor. This species includes heather product.
Honeycomb is sold in frames, sections or in separate pieces. A product in a sealed honeycomb is valued especially highly.
Classification for practical use
On this basis, honey is divided into the following types:
- medical;
- food;
- Confectionery
- non-food (poisonous).
The latter species is obtained after processing nectar collected from the flowers of plants such as azalea, swamp heather, ledum, andromeda, hellebore. This type of honey is not on sale. It causes poisoning in people, similar to intoxication. For this, he is also called drunk honey.
Transparency and color, taste and smell
Natural honey can vary in color from light yellow to dark brown, as well as brown, depending on the honey plant from which the nectar was collected. The classification of honey by color also allows you to determine its appearance. For example, light varieties are obtained from nectar from flowers of acacia, linden, sunflower, and dark ones from milkweed or buckwheat.
When examining honey, its other indicators are also evaluated. For example, the aroma can be mild to strong. Quality honey is odorless. The taste should also be bright and pleasant. There should not be extraneous flavors.
What is the most healthy honey?
As for the classification of honey by utility, the first place must rightly be given to buckwheat honey. It contains about 37% glucose and 40% fructose. It contains a large amount of minerals, especially iron, and proteins. It contributes to an increase in hemoglobin level, purification of blood vessels, renewal of blood, regeneration of damaged tissues.
The next place in terms of usefulness, according to beekeepers, belongs to linden honey. It contains, in addition to glucose and fructose, volatile antimicrobial substances. It will help with angina, laryngitis, bronchial asthma. Linden honey is an excellent laxative and expectorant.
The third most useful product is acacia. It is perfectly absorbed by the body of adults and children, without causing allergic reactions. Acacia honey is suitable for dietary nutrition because it contains digestive enzymes.
Melilot honey is considered equally useful for the human body. It contains coumarin, a blood thinner. Regular use of this product is the best prevention of heart attacks and strokes.
Classification of honey in commodity science
The product presented above is in great demand among buyers. In accordance with the commodity nomenclature, according to which the classification of goods (sugar, honey, and starch, etc.) is performed, it is included in group 04 of heading 0409, along with dairy products and bird eggs. This position includes natural honey produced by bees or other insects. It is important that this be a product that does not contain sugar or any other additional substances. The word "natural" is indicated in the title necessarily.
The classification of artificial honey relates it to heading 1702.
Other classification features
Regionally, honey is distinguished between Bashkir, Altai, Far Eastern, Caucasian, Central Asian and others.
According to the density (consistency), there is liquid and sugared honey (crystallized). The first is fresh, pumped out of honeycombs in the current season. The second type is honey, formed naturally through the crystallization process. For sugaring, the product obtained from different honey plants will require unequal time. For the longest time in the liquid state, forbs remain. Sunflower honey crystallizes the fastest.