The best gift, of course, honey! (© Winnie the Pooh) With proper storage, honey will not lose its taste or benefit over time. But improperly stored honey can very quickly turn into a useless and even harmful product. How to store honey at home?
Storage conditions for honey in the apartment
In order to preserve all the beneficial qualities of honey, he needs to create optimal conditions. Cell honey is best stored: in a natural “packaging” of wax, the product is able to remain tasty and healthy for decades. And yet, most often we keep home pumped honey in a liquid or semi-liquid state.
What conditions need to be created in order to provide conditions for the long-term preservation of the useful and taste qualities of a bee product:
• darkness;
• cool;
• dry air;
• neutral odors.
Direct sunlight destroys a fair share of vitamins and nutrients, so you need to keep honey in a dark room or in a closed cabinet. If the product spends 2-3 days in the sun, it will not cease to be a source of carbohydrates, but will completely lose its healing properties.
The temperature in the bee hive ranges from 5-15 degrees. Therefore, when storing honey in a city apartment, you need to try to create similar conditions. When overheating, the process of destruction of nutrients and vitamins begins, honey darkens and accumulates harmful decay products.
High humidity in the room is an undesirable factor. The optimal environmental conditions for this indicator are from 60 to 80 degrees. In a city apartment, the humidity is about 70 degrees, which is quite normal.
Honey absorbs extraneous odors very well, so you can’t keep it next to strong smelling products or substances.
Where to store honey at home
So how to store honey at home? Where is the most favorable place for a jar of healing product? In fact, there are several such places:
• dry refrigerator;
• glazed loggia or balcony;
• winter refrigerator;
• a kitchen cabinet located on the outer wall away from the hob and heating devices;
• pantry in a cool room, located on the north side.
The most convenient and reliable option is a stably working refrigerator. Storage of honey on a shelf of a household unit allows achieving three of the most important conditions for long-term storage of a bee product: darkness, dryness and coolness. It remains to make sure that odorous products and dishes like garlic donuts are not stored next to honey, and everything will be all right.
What to store honey
The best utensils for storing bee honey - clay. It is no coincidence that it was traditionally used by our ancestors. Clay containers do not let in the sun's rays and keep cool. However, today it is difficult to find such a thing. What else can you store honey?
One of the simplest and most convenient options for an apartment is glass jars. Glass does not oxidize, does not emit toxic substances. the only drawback is transparency. Therefore, honey cans should be stored in the dark. In addition, dark glass containers should be preferred if possible.
As for the plastic, it is ideal for the short-term storage of a small amount of honey, intended for everyday use. It is better not to keep a large volume of the product in it, since over time the material deteriorates and ceases to be safe. In addition, plastic will also have to be protected from light.
Wooden utensils are an excellent option for storing a bee product. It is environmentally friendly and opaque. It must be remembered that dishes made of coniferous wood will give honey a characteristic smell and bitterness, so you need to refuse it. But linden, birch, beech wood are ideal.
Large volumes of honey are usually stored in metal containers. The metal must necessarily be of high quality, since during oxidation, honey becomes hazardous to health. Do not use containers containing lead, zinc, copper.
How much honey is stored at home
Fresh honey is transparent, has a liquid consistency and a sharp spicy aroma. But after a month it begins to thicken, and this is normal. Subject to all the rules, honey is perfectly stored at home for at least a year. The useful and palatability of the product is not lost.
If honey is kept in a room at a normal temperature from 23 to 25 degrees, then the shelf life will be no more than six months.
Honey is stored in honeycombs for the longest time. It must be cut into pieces and carefully lowered into a clean container with a wide neck. Close the container tightly and send for storage. Shelf life is one year. If the honeycomb is additionally filled with fresh liquid honey, and the lid is poured with molten natural wax or paraffin, then the honey will be perfectly preserved for ten years.
Honey Storage: Useful Tips
It is not worth storing honey in an apartment for more than two years. The product loses its beneficial properties and tastes bad.
If honey is stratified into two fractions, this is normal. The bottom layer is glucose, which has crystallized. The upper liquid layer is fructose. To return the product to its normal appearance, the layers must be thoroughly mixed.
Aluminum containers for storing honey are not suitable. Aluminum is oxidized, its oxide is secreted into honey and, when consumed, accumulates in the body.
