Will real honey crystallize? The truth is this

Will honey crystallize? The truth is this

In recent years, as fake honey has become more and more common in the market, many citizens are reluctant to buy honey for consumption. Recently, it has been circulated online that real honey will crystallize while fake honey will not, and this can be used to determine the authenticity of honey. Is this method true? Let’s take a closer look at whether real honey will crystallize!

Honey is a natural nutrient with complex ingredients, containing more than 180 ingredients including water, carbohydrates, acid compounds, vitamins, minerals, proteins (biological enzymes), aromatic compounds, etc. The complex composition gives honey a unique physical property: crystallization.

After Ji'antang's new honey comes out of the beehive, it is usually in liquid form. As the temperature and humidity of the storage environment change, most of the honey will gradually crystallize, changing from liquid to a viscous paste. A high degree of crystallization may even cause lumps to form.

Many consumers who do not know the truth will think that this is spoiled, or even think that it is fake honey, caused by the addition of white sugar. In fact, honey that is actually mixed with white sugar is not easy to crystallize. Honey that is easy to crystallize is pure honey.

Honey Why does honey crystallize?

The crystallization of honey is a physical change phenomenon, just like the freezing of water. Its chemical composition and nutritional value do not change, and it will not affect the quality of honey.

The crystallization of Ji'antang honey is actually caused by glucose in honey, which mainly depends on the ratio between glucose and fructose (not easy to crystallize) in honey, that is, the percentage of glucose in reducing sugar. Generally speaking, when the ratio of glucose to fructose is 1:1, crystallization is slow; when the ratio is 1:2, crystallization generally does not occur; when the ratio is 1:0.9 and the glucose content is higher than the fructose content, crystallization is very fast when the temperature is suitable!

Temperature also affects the speed of honey crystallization, which is also the most intuitive. When the temperature drops to 13-14 degrees, most honey begins to slowly crystallize, and the crystallization speed of honey accelerates at 4-6 degrees.

Because honey comes from different sources, the degree of crystallization varies. Some honeys are very difficult to crystallize, and only appear semi-crystallized or become viscous under low temperature conditions. For example, the crystals of linden honey are fine, while the crystals of tung oil honey are coarse. Honey from the same source has a high degree of Baume (an index reflecting the proportion of nutrients in honey) with tight and delicate crystals, while honey with a low degree of Baume has loose crystals and coarse grains.

How to identify real and fake crystallized honey?

In order to make profits, some unscrupulous vendors artificially create crystallization in low-quality honey (such as immature honey with low Baume degree). This crystallization usually comes from sucrose and can be comprehensively identified using the following two simple methods:

① Take a little crystallized honey, put it on the tip of your tongue, and then hold it in your mouth. If you can feel it gradually melting naturally, it is natural crystallization of honey. If it melts very slowly and feels too hard and gritty, it may be problematic honey.

② Take a little honey and put it on the back of your left hand. Then use the back of your right hand to gently massage the back of your left hand. You will feel the crystals gradually disappear from small particles, and the feeling of contact with the skin gradually changes from fine sand to smooth. This is natural crystallization (you can also rub it between two fingers).