For a long time, people appreciate and love the product that bees produce, its taste and healing properties.
Consider the main characteristics of buckwheat honey, its composition, useful and harmful qualities. And, of course, the use of honey in various fields.
About buckwheat honey
One of the most useful is buckwheat honey made from nectar of buckwheat flowers. Bees extract nectar from honey flowers and process it into honey. Buckwheat nectar is collected in the abdomen of a honey bee. When the abdomen is filled, the bee returns to the hive. During the flight, part of the moisture is removed from the nectar. It is absorbed into the bee’s body through the walls of the honey ventricle. And also nectar is enriched with enzymes that produce the salivary glands of the insect. A bee unloads nectar into its honeycomb. And further refinement takes place in the hive. Bees carry nectar from cell to cell higher. Remove water. When buckwheat honey has no more than 20% moisture, the bees seal it (close it with a wax lid). Such honey is considered ripe and can be stored for many years without spoiling. It is desirable to take such honey from bees.
Downloaded buckwheat honey has a dark color, similar to the color of brewed strong tea. The color of honey is dark in color due to dyes called anthocyanins, tannins and melanoidins. The tone may vary slightly from reddish to yellowish. It depends on the buckwheat with which the nectar was collected.
The aroma of buckwheat honey is unique. It has a tart taste, a bit of a tickle in the throat. Fans of this type of honey will never confuse this taste with the taste of other honey. The aroma of honey is very bright. The aromatic substances contained in it give it a characteristic smell: ethers of alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, organic acids - only about 200. Basically, fresh buckwheat honey has a pronounced smell, but with time the aroma weakens, as aromatic substances evaporate from honey.
Dosed buckwheat honey has a viscous consistency, it can be compared with the density of sugar syrup. Ripe honey of buckwheat sits (crystallizes) quickly enough. This is a natural process. The crystals of honey can be large and small, it depends on the glucose content in the product. The more glucose, the larger the crystals. Glucose forms crystal embryos and begins to overgrow with sugars. Thus, crystals grow. Excessive, non-crystalline glucose grows into crystalline stars. A characteristic cage mechanism for coarse honey, such as buckwheat honey. As a result of cages, the color of honey changes to a lighter color. It becomes approximately dark yellow, light brown or brown.
Buckwheat bread and honey plant. In Russia, this culture grows in Transbaikalia, Southern Siberia, and the Far East. But best of all, it grows in the Volga and Ural regions, in the south of Russia. Buckwheat honey is very much appreciated. Beekeepers hunt for this particular type of honey, because it is always in demand by the consumer.
How to recognize buckwheat honey
Important question! With the modern pace of life, it’s hard to keep track of the quality of the products. But, more important than health !? How not to make a mistake in choosing buckwheat honey? What you need to know when buying it?
Of course, the quality and expertise of the product is checked by special organizations. Such as "Public Consumer Expertise", "Rospotrebnadzor" and others. But, there are ways in which you can check the quality of buckwheat honey at home.
The simplest recipes for checking buckwheat honey:
• Maturity test. The viscosity of the honey should be sufficient so as not to drain from the spoon when it is rotated strongly. And you can put honey in a spoon and pour it back into the bowl, not with a thick stream. Ripening honey will form a hill, slowly spreading. For example, it is impossible to check the fireweed, white-acacia and lime in this way, they have a liquid consistency. It is important to check at a temperature of 20 degrees. plus, minus 5 degrees. At high temperatures, all honey, including buckwheat, will flow, liquefy.
• Chalk admixture test. It is necessary to dissolve buckwheat honey in water in a ratio of 1: 2. If the water has become cloudy, then there are no impurities in honey. If a precipitate precipitates, then you can drop two drops of vinegar 70% into the precipitate; if the precipitate foams, chalk is present in honey.
• For the content of flour or starch. In buckwheat honey, drop iodine, a few drops. If in this place it turns blue then it has this admixture.
• Natural buckwheat honey sits by the end of September. Do not sit by this time, unlike buckwheat, heather and acacia.
• A good and best way is to determine diastasis. Diastase is an enzyme found in honey. This method will help to identify whether there is diastasis in the product. To check, you need a solution of one percent starch, iodine. In a solution of honey in water in a ratio of 1: 2 add a little starch, put for an hour in a water bath. Remove from heat, cool. Dripping two drops of iodine. If the resulting mixture turns blue, then buckwheat honey is not natural. The blue color indicates that there is no diastase in honey. This method is good for checking exactly our type of honey. Because linden, sunflower, acacia, and clover honey has a very low diastase level. In this way, it means that these honey can not be checked for quality.
• And finally, a delicious test. Bread check. Everyone at home, of course, has bread. It is necessary to spread honey on bread and wait a while. From the side where the honey was spread, the bread will become stale. If honey is not natural bread can remain soft.
The benefits of buckwheat honey
The main and necessary elements of our nutrition are proteins, fats and carbohydrates. In this type of honey they are 0.5 g, 0 g, 76.8 g, respectively. Calorie content is 309 kcal per 100 g. Compare calorie content with other honeys. Sunflower honey 320 kcal per 100 g, May honey 330 kcal per 100 mg. Weight Watchers, follow a diet, do not forget, different honey - different calories. Good luck!
The benefits of buckwheat honey in the presence of beneficial vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids in it.
Vitamins, in mg per 100 g: vitamin C 65, riboflavin 0.28-0.6, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid 0.51-1, vitamin B 0.4 mg, folate, food folic acid 0.03, folic acid DFE, choline, betaine 0.0007, pyridixine 0.01.
Minerals in mg per 100 g of product: calcium 14, iron 800, magnesium 3, phosphorus 100, potassium 36, sodium 10, zinc 94, copper 59, manganese 34, selenium, fluorine, sulfur 1, cobalt 0.3, iodine 2 mg .
Enzymes: invertase, amylase, lipase, diastase, catalase, acid phosphatase.
Amino acids: tryptophan, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, cystine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, valine, arginine, histidine, alanine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, serine.
Buckwheat honey also contains bactericidal substances and biogenic stimulants. All these components help the body not to get sick, maintain vitality, speed up metabolism and even increase life expectancy. Bactericidal activity is due to the presence of phytoncides in buckwheat honey, which have bactericidal properties and enzymes involved in oxidative reactions with the release of active oxygen, which acts antibacterially.
The use of buckwheat honey
• Buckwheat honey is suitable for creating cosmetic masks for face and hair. It improves the condition of the skin, its appearance, and gives hair silky and shiny. Buckwheat honey has a very strong effect on hair. Due to the content of more iron in it than in other honeys. Iron affects hemoglobin. The latter affects the transport of oxygen. As a result, the hair follicles feed more oxygen, become stronger and stronger.
• Buckwheat honey is used for massage. Honey massage effectively cleanses the skin, making it supple and smooth. Because honey contains B vitamins, which our skin lacks so much. Honey is also used for massage against cellulite. Such cosmetic procedures allow a woman to look younger and more attractive.
• In cooking, honey is used both for the preparation of marinades for meat dishes, and for the manufacture of desserts. Marinades are known to have a pleasant taste and smell. It is buckwheat honey that has a very bright taste and a pleasant strong aroma. It can be added to drinks to give a piquant sweetness.
• Buckwheat honey is also used to treat: heart and blood vessels, musculoskeletal system, colds and respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal tract, liver and biliary tract, nervous system, urological diseases, urogenital system inflammation, eye and ear diseases.
Harmful buckwheat honey
• Buckwheat honey contains a lot of glucose and less fructose. Therefore, it is not acceptable for people suffering from diabetes. It will lead to an exacerbation of the disease, because the glucose contained in buckwheat honey is absorbed very quickly and enters the bloodstream. Here the harm of buckwheat honey is obvious. You can only eat honey with a lot of fructose. Such honeys include acacia honey and even linden honey.
• An allergy to buckwheat honey can be a protein in the composition (globulin protein, albumin, prolamin). It differs from proteins in other colors because it is made from buckwheat flowers. And as a result, allergies to other honey may not be.
Yes, buckwheat honey, like a host of other food products, has little harm. But the benefits of this product are very, very significant. In general, the benefits of buckwheat honey are obvious.
