Facts about honey: Honey is one of the most important foods or spices in Indian food and for medicinal properties. There are various uses and benefits of using honey in a normal diet plan. For centuries, people are using honey for various purposes. Honey bees, which are considered the only creator of honey, collect nectar from almost thousands of flowers to make small amounts of honey.
Not everyone has access to these honey bees, so there are various companies that are selling honey in bottles and pouches so that everyone can benefit from this special ingredient. It has been said for a long period of time that there is nothing sweeter than honey in this world. In this pandemic time, honey holds the same position as Face Masks and Respirators because honey helps in building immunity.
If you haven’t yet tasted honey in your lifetime, then you are seriously missing a great sweetener in your life. Honey is also used to provide sugar for various food ingredients that lack natural sugar. The best part about honey is that it never stinks and stains. It can be used lifetime and forever if stored properly. In this article, we will be discussing some of the frequently asked questions that are generally asked by many viewers. We found these questions answerable so here we are coming up with this article which will deal with every dilemma of yours regarding honey. So let’s start.
Facts about honey: List of FAQs about Honey
In this section, we will be answering some questions regarding honey and its production.
Q1. Can you please let me know the difference between store-bought honey and natural honey squeezed directly from honey bee wax?
Ans1. Well, there is a very slight difference between naturally squeezed honey and store-bought honey. The honey which you buy from the store is usually pasteurized honey i.e., it is heated at a very high temperature to kill another organism present (if any) inside it. This pasteurization and ultrafiltration usually result in the removal of all the useful nutrients present in honey. It also always gives you liquid honey which can never stink. Inside the store, honey is usually a blend of honey from various countries like Canada and India. These two countries are one of the largest producers of honey in the world market. Canada stands number one for giving white grade honey which is usually taken out of the hive and filtered to remove all the debris. White honey is usually considered the best honey because it is unprocessed, unheated, unblended, totally pure honey. But this white honey solidifies after a certain period of time because of some chemicals present down there inside it.
Q2. What to do if honey solidifies? Is it still edible?
Ans2. Well, yes. As we have mentioned in the introduction, honey comes among such foods which never stale or stink. You can consume it after 100 years. If it gets solidified, still there is no harm in consuming this solidified honey but remember to sanitize your hand with the Hand Sanitizer. The task of converting solidified honey into liquid is quite simple. The only thing which you have to do is to put the solidified honey in a jar of hot water for a while. This will reconvert the honey into its original state.
Q3. Can you please tell me for how many years we can consume honey?
Ans3. The answer to this question is quite simple. Honey lasts forever if you have stored it properly. Yes, that’s true. Honey comes in the list of those foods which last forever and can be consumed in any form.
Q4. Facts about honey: How to store honey?
Ans4. Storing honey is a simple task. You do not need any space in your fridge to store honey. You can always keep it at room temperature away from direct contact with sunlight for a very long period of time. If you want to increase the creaminess of your honey, then you can store it in your freezer and then thaw. Make sure that the bottle cap or the lid of the container is always tightened because the most admirable fact about honey is that it can easily absorb odors and moisture if came in direct contact with air. You also have to make sure that you should avoid your honey coming in direct contact with sunlight.
Q5. What flower’s nectar is present in my honey?
Ans5. This is quite difficult to answer because honey can be made from any flower’s nectar. Usually, the main flowers included in the formation of honey are canola, wildflowers, alfalfa, sweet clover, and sunflower.
Q6. Tell me something about beeswax
Ans6. Beeswax is the home of bees in which bees usually collect their honey. Beeswax is a very versatile product that can be used in the production of various health and beauty care products. Some products which are made from beeswax are soaps, lip balms, lotions, and other cosmetics. Beeswax also plays a major role in the formation of butter oil, candle, shoe polish, and baking molds. Beeswax is 100% natural ingredients that also hold medicinal properties. A mixture of beeswax when mixed with certain types of medicines can cure various diseases.
Q7. Can we eat Beeswax?
Ans7. Well, yes you can eat beeswax but the only condition is that you should eat beeswax only a very small amount. Consuming large quantities of beeswax can cause problems inside the body.
Q8. What is Raw Honey?
Ans8. The honey which is not pasteurized, processed, and filtered is considered raw honey. The best part about raw honey is that it always retains its vitamins, minerals, pollen, and other essential nutrients. Raw honey solidifies after a certain period of time. Honey has amazing health benefits but still, it is not recommended for infants younger than one year because of some bacteria present inside them. Raw honey contains useful bacteria that can harm infants.
Q9. Facts about honey: Can we feed honey to infants?
Ans9. No, we cannot feed raw or pasteurized honey to infants younger than one year. It is because these infants lack some digestive abilities to digest honey which can create many problems. However, feeding honey to infants above one year of age is totally recommendable because it will be very beneficial for them.
Q10. Does honey have antioxidant properties?
Ans10. Yes, honey has antioxidant properties. It not only boosts our immune system but also enriches our body with minerals like iron, zinc, calcium, and potassium. Because of its antioxidant properties, honey also holds its value in the medicine area. Honey is also enriched with some rare vitamins like Vitamin B6, thiamine, niacin, pantothenic, and other vitamins. It also includes some amount of phosphorus, magnesium, and selenium.
Q11. Can you apply honey on external wounds?
Ans11. Yes, you can definitely apply honey on external wounds. In fact, it will treat your wounds faster because it holds antimicrobial properties. Honey also has antiseptic properties which will allow you to keep your external wound safe from any external bacteria.
Q12. Can you use honey as a beautiful face mask for glow?
Ans12. Yes, definitely you can use it as a facemask for glowing skin. As honey is enriched with antioxidant properties, you can apply it to your face for rich and glowing skin.
Q13. Facts about honey: How is honey made?
Ans13. Honey can only be made naturally with the help of honey bees. They collect nectar from thousands of flowers and then place that nectar into cells of a honeycomb. The wings of honey work as fans that evaporate excess water from the honeycomb which finally results in making honey. There is one fact that will amaze you and that is, one worker bee can only make 1/12th tablespoon of honey in her entire lifetime. They usually fly 55,000 miles to make one pound of honey. You will also be amazed by the fact that everyone has a different taste because the taste of honey depends on the flowers honey bees have visited.
Q14. How is raw honey better than processed honey?
Ans14. Raw honey is always better than processed honey because it retains its natural vitamins which make it even healthier. Pasteurized honey lacks pollen, vitamins, enzymes, and antioxidant properties which are only present in raw honey. Raw honey also helps is taking you out from seasonal allergies.
Q15. Facts about honey: Types of honey available in the market?
Ans15. Well, there are many types of honey available in the market. Some of them are liquid honey (extracted from honeycomb), crystallized honey (solid honey which is good for spreading on toast, need to be warmed to turn back into liquid), comb honey (it is honey that is still present in the honeycomb to extract it fresh), Chunk honey (This is the liquid honey which in the form of the chunk).
So, here are some of the FAQs about honey. Comment down if you liked the article.
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