Crystallization is nature’s way of preserving honey, the reason for crystallization is largely due to the composition of honey.
Honey contains natural sugars that have been processed by the bees and 20 percent of water. The glucose separates from the water to form crystals because of the saturation of the honey.
After crystallization, the honey still remains the same and is still rich in nutrients. You will be able to enjoy it after it thaws.
Honey that is foamy and isn’t a light brown color has gone bad:
To a very large extent, the color of honey is dependent on the flower the bees suck the nectar from, the taste and scent also depends on the flower.
Soil, climate, and region also go a long way in determining the color and scent of honey.
Warmer temperatures, the type of storage method and age will also play a role in darkening the color of honey.
The foamy substance that appears to float at the top of honey Is just air, tiny air bubbles escape to the top of the honey to coat its surface, so if you see a foamy substance floating atop your honey, do not be afraid for it is just escaped air.
Honey is medicinal:
For hundreds of years, honey has been used medicinally.
Due to its anti-bacterial properties, it can be used for treating cuts, infections, ulcers etc. a very interesting quality of honey is the fact that It has every single nutrient needed to keep man alive e.g. water, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that give the body the needed energy.
If you’re familiar with the importance of antioxidants in the human body, your appreciation of honey would increase. Antioxidants are very effective at improving the functions of the brain
There are different flavors of honey:
Honey comes in different varieties due largely to the region the bees are located, the type of flowers pollinated etc. common honey flavours include; buckwheat, clover
and even eucalyptus honey that has a slight menthol flavor.
A beautiful thing about honey is; they don’t just gather nectar from just one type of flower, they move from flower to flower pollinating as they go.
Filtered honey is not as authentic as unfiltered honey:
When you request raw unfiltered honey, you find some grains and foamy substance in the honey (pollen grains, wax, air bubbles etc.).
These substances are extraneous in nature and do not necessarily give the honey added nutrients, sometime, they could even be a nuisance when licking the honey.
Filtered honey is honey that has gone through filtration which is done to remove extraneous particles and gives a clear liquid. It should be noted that the filtered honey is just as good as the raw honey direct from the hive.
Honey on metal is destructive to the metal:
This myth like the “honey never spoils” myth is partially true. Honey having a certain percent of acidity can corrode metals. But that is if the metals have had long continuous exposure to the honey.
It is advised that honey be stored in non-metallic containers to avoid them corroding. You can safely scoop honey with your teaspoon without it having any effects as long as it doesn’t stay too long in the honeypot.
It is suicide for a bee to sting:
This is another very popular myth about honeybees. It is believed that when a bee stings an animal or a person, it leaves behind its barb.
While this isn’t necessarily wrong, it isn’t exactly true either, at least not many cases.
What really happens is; whenever a honeybee stings a person or an animal which is very rarely, the stinger which is the barb is lodged in the victim’s skin, tearing the bee’s abdomen from the bee since the barb is a part of the bee’s abdomen.
The bee dies few minutes after it loses its abdomen. In some cases, the barb or stinger doesn’t get stuck in the skin which means that the bee wouldn’t die if it can its barb out of the victim’s skin without losing its abdomen in the process.
The chances of a bee getting its barb stuck is dependent on the relative hardness of the victim’s skin.
Therefore, if a victim has a very soft or moderately soft skin, the bees stinger/barb wouldn’t get stuck in the skin allowing the bee a second chance at life.
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