The benefits and harms of honeydew honey

If we buy honey on the market at the beginning of autumn or in the hot August summer after the no less sultry July, then most likely we are dealing with honeydew honey mixed in floral. Although buckwheat and sunflower also bloom late, the product of these melliferous plants is easily distinguishable by smell, color and taste. Honeydew honey has its own distinctive features.

In this article we will analyze what honeydew honey is, let's talk about its animal and plant origin.

Honeydew honey: what is it?

Honeydew honey has many colors and shades. It depends on the type of plants and insects from which the honeydew is taken, weather and climatic conditions. It is amber or dark greenish in color, if the source of the pad is the needles of trees.

But in most cases it is dark brown or black in color.

This is the first sign by which it is distinguished when purchasing. In its structure and consistency, this honey is similar to tar. It is viscous, stretchy.

In all other cases, its sweetness is little felt, but a smack of bitterness appears. Sometimes its taste is unpleasant and repulsive.

It is characterized by increased hygroscopicity, therefore it quickly turns sour. It is not suitable for long-term storage. Crystallization is slow, sometimes it is absent or the liquid fraction settles.

In the days of tsarist Russia, they were forbidden to trade, since it was believed that this is a product of low grade and quality. The phrase “fish without fish and cancer” is about honeydew honey. But this is about the choice of the bee. If she has to choose, then she will give preference to flower nectar.

In Western Europe, honeydew honey is valued more than flower honey because of its beneficial properties. We traditionally give preference, like bees, to a flower look.

Ingredients: vitamins and minerals

The composition of honeydew honey is different. Depends on the pad from which the bees take the bribe. For example, honey collected from a pine needle contains 5-6 times less phosphorus than from a honeydew of ash leaves.

The same goes for potassium content. It contains phytoncides, which are natural antibiotics. There are also many mineral salts (iron, cobalt, phosphorus, manganese). According to these indicators, this variety exceeds the flower one, which is why it is so valuable to humans.

Honeydew honey contains a lot of polysaccharides... In addition, it contains fructose, sucrose, glucose, and other sugars. Many free amino acids are present. Such honey contains 3-4 times more proteins than flower honey. 100 grams of the product contains 324 kilocalories. This is a high figure.

Benefit and harm

Provides invaluable benefits to the body. It has antiseptic and bactericidal properties, and is an excellent antidepressant. He recovers strength increases the overall tone of the body.

It is useful for a weakened body, especially for children after an illness or to increase immunity. It is used in traditional and alternative medicine, cosmetology.

The structure collapses, it delaminates, loses color and attractiveness... The taste also changes towards higher bitterness.

Contraindications for use

Due to its calorie content and high amount of minerals, it is taken in moderation. Allergy sufferers are not advised to take this strain, as it can harm the body. The same applies to people with diabetes.

Daily intake is limited to one tablespoon three times a day. That is, the dose for an adult is 110-130 grams.

About honey plant

In periods that are too dry, bees take honeydew for a bribe. It is of plant and animal origin. In the first case, it is a sweetish transparent liquid that is secreted by plants (leaves and shoots).

Some call it "honeydew". If you saw droplets of a colorless liquid on the leaves of trees in the morning, then this is not dew, but plant dew. It is also of animal origin. These are the waste products of insects that feed on plant sap, for example, plant lice.

But a bee, even in the absence of honey plants, will refuse to take honeydew if its composition does not exceed 4% sucrose and there is no sufficient amount of aromatic substances.

Storage conditions

Honeydew honey is poorly stored. This is due to its chemical composition and increased hygroscopicity. Therefore, we are not talking about long-term storage.

If you decide to stock up on them for future use, the storage requirements are common to all varieties. The main thing is that the temperature regime is observed, and the humidity is within normal limits. In addition, direct sunlight is undesirable.

For short-term storage, we set the temperature around 15 degrees Celsius. For long-term storage - in the region of 7 degrees with a plus. We keep the air humidity at 60%. We use glass containers. As an exception - plastic.

Healing properties

Honeydew honey is used in medicine after operations to restore a weakened body.

In case of blood loss, he will also be of great service to restore it. For those who have joint pain or suffering from sluggish intestines, this type of honey is recommended. He will help better than anyone else.

Honeydew honey is a specific sort in every sense. Along with the disadvantages (it is poorly stored, does not have a pleasant aroma and delicate taste), it has healing properties, thanks to the minerals, phytoncides and polysaccharides present in the composition.