Heather honey properties, benefits and contraindications of the famous honey

Heather honey is a very valuable variety of dark honey. Heather honey is rich in minerals, has good antimicrobial properties on a par with manuka honey, and all this miracle bees collect from ordinary heather flowers in the wooded and swampy areas of Northern Europe and northwestern Russia, in Belarus and Ukraine. Honey is truly unique, which differs from other varieties of flower honey in color, taste, aroma and properties. Let's find out a lot of interesting facts about heather honey, its benefits for the body.

Content

• 1 Features of heather honey
• 1.1 What heather honey looks like
• 1.2 Heather honey color
• 1.3 Aroma of heather honey
• 1.4 Taste of heather honey
• 1.5 Composition of heather honey
• 1.6 Crystallization of heather honey
• 1.7 Heather honey calories
• 1.8 When heather honey is harvested
• 2 Useful properties of heather honey
• 2.1 Heather honey as a source of vitamins and antioxidants
• 2.2 Antibacterial properties of heather honey
• 2.3 Heather honey for sore throat and cough
• 3 Healing properties of heather honey
• 3.1 Heather honey for women
• 3.2 Heather honey for men
• 3.3 Heather honey for children
• 4 Is it possible to heather honey during pregnancy
• 5 Heather honey in cosmetology
• 6 Heather honey in cooking
• 7 Contraindications to the use of heather honey
• 8 How to choose heather honey
• 9 How to distinguish natural heather honey from a fake in appearance

 

 

Features of heather honey

Heather honey - bees make it from the nectar of white, pink, purple small flowers of an evergreen branching shrub of common heather (Galluna vulgaris).
It cannot be said that other varieties of honey, such as chestnut honey, coriander honey, angelica honey, linden honey, buckwheat honey are less valuable, but heather honey is absolutely different from other varieties of flower honey, it has a special taste, color, aroma and texture. The healing properties of heather honey are unique.
Compared to other varieties of honey, heather honey contains more minerals and proteins. Heather honey is not suitable for wintering bees. It should be noted that real heather honey can be obtained from Central Russian or dark forest bees, only they evaporate excess moisture from honey to an acceptable level.

What does heather honey look like?

Heather honey looks completely different from any other variety of flower honey. Let's take a closer look at the color, taste, aroma, texture and crystallization of heather honey.

Heather honey color

Heather honey is dark, dark yellow, reddish brown or reddish brown. The color of heather honey depends on many reasons, on the soil where the heather grows, on the weather during the honey collection, on the heather itself (heather has white, pink, purple flowers and the color of the honey depends on what flowers the bees collected nectar from), and also on what honey plants bloom at the same time as heather. It happens that heather begins to bloom at the end of linden blossom, and they bloom for a short time at the same time and some part of the linden nectar can get into the heather, which will change the color and taste of heather honey. But most often, bees receive mixed flower honey, with an admixture of blueberries, rhododendrons, strawberries, cranberries.

Aroma of heather honey

The aroma of heather honey is sharp with a vegetable or flower-vegetable smell of heather. During storage, the specific aroma in honey becomes more expressive and strong.

heather honey taste

Heather honey is strictly for an amateur, someone really likes this kind of honey, and someone cannot tolerate it because of its specific taste. Unlike other varieties of honey, the taste of heather honey is tart and bitter. After its use, a rather strong aftertaste remains. The longer heather honey is stored, the richer its taste becomes.

Composition of heather honey

The composition of heather honey is highly dependent on the place of collection of honey and is characterized by the following indicators
pH value : 4.2
% heather pollen in honey: often below 45% due to special honey extraction techniques.

The content of fructose in honey is high, about 40 - 45%
Glucose content in honey 31% - 32.5%
Sucrose in honey: 0.16 - 0.59 g / 100 g
Fructose/glucose ratio: 1.40 ± 0.07
Glycemic index (GI) : between 49 and 55
Electrical conductivity: 0.50-0.81 mS/cm, one of the highest among flower honeys other than chestnut honey.
Total protein content: high
Phenol content: high
Diastasis: 24.4 to 51.9 ± 14.7 Gote units
Invertase: 120.5 U/kg.
Proline: 506.1 mg/kg.
Acidity level: high.
Free acidity (meq/kg): 22.7 to 42.3.

 

 

Heather honey crystallization

Heather honey has the ability to thicken into a jelly-like jelly with a large number of air bubbles that can rise to the surface. With stirring or shaking, the gelatinous structure of heather honey is destroyed, and it again becomes liquid, but later thickens again. After crystallization it becomes reddish-brown. When viewed under a microscope, heather honey crystals, unlike other varieties, have a needle-like shape. Heather honey is less hygroscopic than other flower honeys.
Heather honey has the ability to quickly thicken in combs, becomes jelly-like and viscous, so it is poorly pumped out in a honey extractor. Many beekeepers have a question how to pump out heather honey? Heather honey is often used as comb honey.

heather honey calories

Heather honey is a part of so many dishes, so it is important to know the calorie content of heather honey.
Calorie content of heather honey is 329 kcal per 100 grams of honey.

When is heather honey harvested?

Heather blooms in August - early September, so heather honey is pumped out in August, early September. Some beekeepers prefer to pump heather honey unsealed, that is, not ripe, because of the difficulty in pumping heather honey, for the same reason, no one leaves heather honey in cases for a long time not pumped. Therefore, if heather honey appears on sale in June-July, then this is clearly a fake. Freshly pumped heather honey can only be in August, early September.

 

Useful properties of heather honey

Heather honey has special properties, it is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants. It has good antimicrobial properties.

Heather honey as a source of vitamins and antioxidants

Heather honey is a valuable source of minerals. Minerals in heather honey contains over 0.5%, which is 2-3 times higher than in other varieties of flower honey. The minerals contained in honey are in the form of organic compounds and this facilitates their absorption by the human body.
The health benefits of heather honey are mainly due to its high antioxidant activity. The high amount of antioxidants in heather honey helps in scavenging free radicals generated from metabolic reactions and interactions with external pollutants. Removing these free radicals prevents aging and also improves overall health.

The sum of antioxidant substances (including polyphenols) is 2.64 mg/100 g of product. The average content of gallic acid in heather honey is (3.43 mg/g).

Heather honey is characterized by a high content of enzymes, easily digestible protein (about 1.6%), vitamins A, B2, B6, C, PP, biologically active elements, flavonoids with antibiotic action, high water content and high electrical conductivity.

Antibacterial properties of heather honey

Heather honey is also very effective as an antibacterial and antimicrobial agent, which is believed to be even better than the hyped manuka honey used to treat serious bacterial infections such as MRSA, as well as various wounds and infections.

The antibacterial activity of heather honey is due to low acidity, high osmolarity, hydrogen peroxide content and other components such as polyphenolic compounds.

Heather honey for sore throat and cough

Heather honey is used in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract and oral cavity. It is used in adjunctive therapy for the treatment of bronchitis due to its expectorant properties. Helps to relieve asthma attacks and cough during colds.

Healing properties of heather honey

Healing properties of heather honey are very high.
Heather honey has a strong diuretic and anti-inflammatory effect, and is recommended in the treatment of prostate. They are used as an aid in diseases of the kidneys, urinary system, and respiratory organs. Heather honey is a good antiseptic. It helps well with bronchial asthma, an excellent blood purifier and choleretic agent.
Heather honey is useful in the treatment of various kinds of neuralgia and anxiety, insomnia.

Due to its properties, heather honey is especially recommended for all diseases of the urinary tract and diseases of the kidneys, renal pelvis and prostate gland. The use of heather honey brings a positive effect in the treatment of cystitis, urinary problems, edema and kidney stones. In addition, heather honey has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties. Expanding the vessels of the kidneys, improves diuresis and removes toxic metabolic products. It is also used to treat respiratory problems: long-term inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth, throat and tonsils. It has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects in diseases of the stomach and intestines. It is recommended for nutritional deficiencies, as it supports the digestive processes and absorption of nutrients. It has a regenerating effect and helps restore the beneficial bacterial flora of the intestine during constipation and diarrhea. In addition, it stimulates the immune system, which may be due to the higher content of bee and vegetable proteins in heather honey. In the literature, one can find reports on the use of heather honey in the treatment of skin diseases, incl. regular acne.

Heather honey for women

Heather honey for women is useful as an alternative natural source of vitamins and trace elements that are important for maintaining health and strengthening the immune system. It is useful for use in anemia, blood problems and vascular pathologies. It is used as a sedative for various neuralgias and nervous tension.

Heather honey for men

Heather honey for men is used in the treatment of the prostate, and also as an aid in diseases of the kidneys, urinary system. When taken systematically, honey improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, regulates the secretion of gastric juice. Helps cleanse the bile ducts, improving liver function.

Heather honey for children

Heather honey tastes tart and bitter, so children don't like it very much. Moreover, you should not give heather honey to children at an early age.

Is it possible to heather honey during pregnancy

If there are no contraindications, then heather honey can be taken during pregnancy. The mineral composition and vitamins of heather honey will help the woman's body. Honey will help to strengthen the body during the period of seasonal infections, normalize sleep and emotional background.

Heather honey in cosmetology

Heather honey is popular in cosmetology, it is used in various masks, scrubs, creams. Due to the fact that it saturates the body with microelements, narrows pores, improves complexion.
Heather honey is also actively included in various diets for weight loss. Since it perfectly saturates the body with minerals and trace elements.

Heather honey in cooking

Heather honey is widely used in the traditional cuisine of Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales. Heather honey is actively used in cooking in other countries, it is added to the dough for gingerbread, in dishes that are prepared from lamb, ham, chicken. Heather honey goes well with coffee, cheese, yogurt, ice cream.
Heather honey gives coffee an interesting smoky flavor, and when heather honey is added to yogurt, a special, refreshing taste is obtained.

Contraindications to the use of heather honey

Heather honey should not be consumed by people who are allergic to honey or heather. Those who suffer from diabetes should remember that the glycemic index of heather honey is 49-55, the rate of absorption of the product is average. Containing more than 40% fructose, heather honey has been shown to have a low glycemic index, making it a better choice for patients with type 2 diabetes than traditional white sugar.

How to choose heather honey

Heather honey is a rather rare variety of honey, you need to understand that heather thickets do not mean that bees will collect honey from it, so some beekeepers travel 300 km to get heather honey. Although next to their apiaries there are very large areas of heather, which, however, never give honey. In addition, beekeepers can not always pump it out correctly.
Therefore, in the market it is worth paying attention to the quality of honey that you will buy, as well as its naturalness.
Some beekeepers, for ease of pumping heather honey, pump it out immature. Such honey will not be stored and will soon ferment. Therefore, when buying heather honey, pay attention to its consistency. Honey should not be too liquid.
Heather honey is heterogeneous, it is a gelatinous mass, consisting of separate layers.
Notice the air bubbles in the honey. Heather honey usually contains a lot of air bubbles and pollen.
Heather honey, obtained by pressing, is more valuable than honey pumped out in a honey extractor. This is due to the fact that when pressed, a lot of pollen gets into the honey, which increases the healing and beneficial properties of heather honey.
Air bubbles form in pressed heather honey, and since it is gelatinous-jelly-like, the bubbles remain in it for a very long time and some mistake them for carbon dioxide bubbles that occur during fermentation.
Heather honey without bubbles can only be obtained by pumping out unripe honey on a honey extractor from combs, followed by ripening in an open container at a temperature of 20-30 degrees for 7-10 days.
However, we must remember that heather honey is the only honey that is quite thick, but contains a relatively large amount of water - up to 23%, while other varieties of honey contain 16 - 20% water. Therefore, if the beekeeper or the seller makes a mistake when receiving honey or during its storage, the honey will really ferment, in this case, if you see that the lid of the jar is swollen or the honey has signs of fermentation, you do not need to buy honey.
In order to distinguish air bubbles in heather honey, whether it is a sign of good heather honey or signs of fermentation, it is necessary to look at how the air bubbles are arranged in the jar. If the air bubbles in the jar of honey are evenly distributed over its entire height, this means that you have high-quality heather honey in front of you. But if the air bubbles are concentrated closer to the top of the jar, this means that the heather honey was pumped out immature and fermentation begins in it.

How to distinguish natural heather honey from a fake in appearance

If you do not take into account freshly extracted honey, then standard methods for determining the naturalness of honey will not work.
If you know what the aroma of heather flowers is, you can unmistakably identify heather honey by this aroma.
Real heather honey in a jar can also be tested in the following way. Tilt the jar and if within 2 minutes the honey does not spill, then it is real.
Real heather honey almost never crystallizes, but remains in a jelly-like state.

It is difficult to mix with other varieties of honey, as a result of which it is almost impossible to blend. When examining heather honey under a microscope, it reveals a huge amount of needle-shaped crystals that are not found in any other variety of honey.
But the consumer will not be able to distinguish a high-quality fake.
So the best way to buy real heather honey is to find a real beekeeper who values his name and buy honey directly from him. In modern conditions, buying honey and delivering it to you is not difficult. In this case, you will have 100% real heather honey.