Useful properties of different types of honey. Types of honey, its characteristics and names

Today, different types of honey are known, and their medicinal properties and possible harm have long been studied by scientists. Each variety has its own chemical and biological composition, so each has a certain “trick” in terms of health benefits.

Types of honey and their medicinal properties

Today, this popular delicacy is obtained from various plants, which determines the presence exotic options, and this applies not only to taste, but also to composition.

Types of honey and its medicinal properties:

  1. Acacia. This product has antimicrobial, restorative and soothing properties. It is recommended to eat it primarily for nervous diseases and. It is worth noting positive influence on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys. Acacia honey does not cause allergies.
  2. Buckwheat. This product is rich in iron, so it will be especially useful for anemia. The healing properties of buckwheat honey are due to the presence of various vitamins and minerals, so it will be useful for vitamin deficiency. The product has a positive effect on the condition of blood vessels and the functioning of the stomach.
  3. Lugovoy. This variety is also called “prefabricated”. This honey improves the condition of the nervous system, helping to cope with insomnia and headaches. The product stabilizes the heartbeat.
  4. Chestnut. This variety of delicacy has a pronounced antimicrobial and stimulating effect. Chestnut honey helps increase potency, and is also recommended for use in the presence of gastrointestinal and kidney diseases.
  5. Lime. The medicinal properties of this honey and bee products are due to the presence of various useful substances. It has a healing effect, so it is used to treat burns and wounds, including purulent formations. The product has bactericidal properties, and is also recommended for the treatment of laryngitis and asthma. This type of honey is useful for gynecological disorders, kidney, liver and heart diseases.
  6. Sunflower. This one stands out among other types of honey due to the presence large quantity vitamin A. It also has a pronounced bactericidal property. It is also suitable for topical use, as it has a wound-healing effect.
  7. Pea. An unusual variety obtained from thin-leaved peas. It boasts antipyretic and disinfecting effects, and is also effective for various inflammations.

Since ancient times, such a useful product as honey has played an important role in human life. Many different scientists have researched and studied its beneficial properties, composition and possibility of use in various medical and cosmetological fields. For centuries, the yellow, viscous, tasty honey product remains one of the healthiest delicacies, which can maintain normal human health and immunity at any age. The bee product contains a complex of essential nutrients, and due to its antibacterial property able to fight and prevent various ailments.

In order to use honey correctly, you should know which types of honey can help fight or prevent various diseases. This article will talk about what types of honey there are and their medicinal properties, as well as characteristics various types This product is amazingly produced by bees.

Not all types of honey are yellow in color, and most honey products can be divided into dark and white varieties. But the varieties differ not only in color, but also in their composition.

Dark varieties

Dark varieties include:

This bee treat filled with iron, this is what affects its color.

White varieties

White varieties include:

  • Donnikovy;
  • Crimson;
  • Acacia;
  • Lime.

In most cases, such a delicacy acquires its characteristic white tint after crystallization.

Types of honey and their beneficial properties

Buckwheat

This species is considered one of the most valuable, as it is rich in iron. very useful for blood and its restoration process. Its taste is very sweet, sometimes it can reach tartness with a corresponding smell. Buckwheat honey is dark in color, and crystallization may be both coarse-grained and vice versa – fine-grained.

The healing power of honeycombs lies in the fact that the wax contains particles of pollen and propolis. With regular chewing of honeycombs, the condition of the gums is normalized and strengthened. immune system. The only drawback of this product lies in its high cost.

The characteristics of red honey differ from other types not only in its beautiful color, but also in the fact that it contains a large amount of vitamin A. This delicacy is excellent for maintaining normal vision.

This variety is also considered one of the healthiest for human body. Its color is light, sometimes with a greenish tint, but despite this, it is considered a type of white honey. The smell is delicate and soft with a noticeable note of sweetness, and the taste of this honey is very sweet. This species is highly nutritious and is able to quickly and effectively restore the exhaustion of the body. In folk medicine, linden honey is considered a panacea from many diseases.

This species is extremely difficult to find on store shelves due to its rarity, but manufacturers very often try to fake it. White honey contains white acacia, white clover and linden. It is worth noting that the color of this species can't be snow white, since achieving a “pure” composition is almost impossible, so the presence of a slight tint is normal.

Virtually any honey product that has been collected in early spring, called May. The color of honey can vary, but most often has light yellow shades. Early honey harvest has excellent anti-cold power.

Chestnut

This variety of bee product has incredible the aroma of blossoming chestnuts and a pleasant bitter taste. It is worth noting that the smell remains in it for for a long time, so it is very difficult to confuse such honey with another type. And distinguishing feature this healthy treats is that it has the property of maintaining a liquid state for up to two years. Due to its composition, which includes many trace elements and vitamins, this species is very popular in folk medicine for the treatment various kinds of diseases and their warnings.

Fireweed

Since ancient times, fireweed has been considered a healing herb, and our ancestors used it to treat ailments. is capable of killing inflammatory processes in the human body, and is also a primary remedy that helps effectively fight colds and flu.

The name of this species is due to the fact that bees collect not pollen from the plant, namely honeydew, which forms on the petals or leaves of plants. The color of this type of honey varies, but always dark shade, sometimes even black.

Amazing properties combines such a product due to the fact that wild bees collect nectar, and the technology of aging honeycombs allows us to achieve an increased concentration of vitamins, macroelements and aroma of the product. Eating this wild delicacy strengthens the immune system and increases the body’s resistance to diseases.

Diaghilev

This variety is distinguished by its uniqueness, which lies in its amazing, intoxicating aroma and exquisite taste. Its color is most often dark, but sometimes it can be red. In medicine it is used to suppress spasms in the gastrointestinal tract.

Honey with added royal jelly

Such a product is diluted in order to enhance the properties of ingredients. This species is distinguished by an incredible amount of microelements and vitamins in its composition, thanks to which it is able to fight many diseases. The dilution ratio is 1 part royal jelly to 150 parts honey.

Such yellow honey considered one of the most useful . It got its name, thanks to the fact that bees collect from plants that grow in the fields. You can cure with this honey product great amount diseases.

Donnikovy

Usually they try to get rid of a plant like sweet clover as quickly as possible, since it is considered a weed. But, in the case of bee product Quite the opposite happens, as sweet clover becomes an amazing basis for a tasty and healthy delicacy. Thanks to its antimicrobial properties, the healing of suppurations and various wounds can be significantly accelerated.

Acacia

Useful and valuable product. Its color can be white, yellow or almost colorless. This type is distinguished by its soft taste and smell. Due to its special properties, the product is resistant to crystallization. Acacia honey is very useful for people with diabetes and small children, as it can be absorbed quite quickly in the body.

Sugar

This kind honey product is rare and not very popular. The benefits of the sugar honey product are small, but it is great for making desserts and baking.

Sunflower

The name of honey speaks for itself. This product is for people suffering from organ related diseases respiratory tract and cardiovascular system. And sunflower honey perfectly cleanses the body of toxins and has a diuretic effect. In a liquid state, it does not last long, and upon completion of crystallization it acquires light shades, sometimes even with a green tint.

Bashkir

Bashkir honey has an incredible range of medicinal properties. Honey bees collect pollen from a variety of mountain, meadow and forest herbs and plants, in combination they can have a miraculous effect on human body. The Bashkir honey product has an antimicrobial effect due to the fact that it contains inhibin. Beekeepers of Bashkortostan separate flower and linden Bashkir honey, depending on where the bees carried out pollination. It is worth noting that the bees in this area have incredible vitality, are immune to many diseases and cold, and this insect is also very hardy and produces a large output in a short period of time.

This type of honey product is produced by bees from mountain herbs. The healing power lies in the fact that it contains various rare medicinal herbs, thanks to which the product can acquire different colour, taste and aroma. This variety is considered one of the the best means to treat colds.

Honey is a beekeeping product rich in glucides (glucose, ozana, glucosides). It contains: water, levulose, mineral salts, maltose, sucrose, glucose. Any honey is energy product nutrition. Therapeutic value of this product due to the effects of antibiotics from the bee body, the nature of sugars and the presence of pollen with royal jelly. But honey is different. Therefore, today we will talk about the types, varieties of honey and its medicinal properties.

Honey classification

Types of honey. There are three types of honey: mixed, flower, honeydew.
Flower honey is classified according to its composition: monofloral and polyfloral.

Monofloral flower honey is processed by bees from the nectar of flowers of one plant variety (white acacia, sunflower, linden, buckwheat). Absolutely monofloral honey varieties are rarely found. Polyfloral is made from flower nectar collected by honey bees from various plants. Polyfloral varieties: meadow, forest, mountain, fruit, steppe.

Honeydew honey is produced by bees in dry summers from the excrement of insects (bugs, psyllids, aphids), i.e. not from nectar, but can also be obtained from the nectar of sugary substances of plants (honeydews). In the first case, honeydew honey is obtained from animal origin, in the second - from plant origin. Honeydew was known about in ancient times; it was valued on a par with honey. Modern chemical analysis has shown that honeydew has a large amount minerals than honey But its bactericidal properties are low.

The varieties differ in taste, aroma, composition, and color. But most importantly, each type of honey has certain medicinal and beneficial properties. Light honey is easier to digest, making it more suitable for nutrition and treatment of children. Dark varieties have high medicinal qualities, which have a strong effect due to the large amount of mineral salts. These varieties are suitable for the treatment of many chronic diseases due to the content of copper, manganese, and iron.

Honey varieties, properties

Meadow honey

Color y meadow honey light yellow, sometimes yellow-brown. It is also called “forbs”, “prefabricated”. This variety is made by bees from the nectar of meadow plants, and therefore it is classified as polyfloral. Honey has the aroma of meadow herbs and a pleasant taste.
Main medicinal properties
. Calms the nervous system.
. Helps with indigestion caused by nervous overexcitation.
. Effective for headaches, palpitations, insomnia.

Acacia honey

This variety has a transparent, almost colorless color. It becomes white like milk during the crystallization process, and the consistency resembles cottage cheese with grains.

Medicinal properties of the variety
. Has a general strengthening effect, increases the body's resistance, reduces side effects drug therapy.
. Has a calming effect on neurasthenia and insomnia; causes sound sleep. Acacia honey is a harmless sleeping pill.
. Regulates intestinal function, eliminates constipation, is an antispasmodic for flatulence, intestinal spasms and an antiseptic for diarrhea.
. Useful for diseases genitourinary system. Honey water solution treats urinary incontinence.

Buckwheat honey

The color varies from brown-green to dark brown, with a possible reddish tint. It differs from other varieties in its characteristic and easily memorable aroma, as well as a pronounced taste. At the moment of crystallization it resembles a mushy mass. Buckwheat honey is superior to acacia honey in enzyme activity, the amount of amino acids, iron, and vitamins.

Medicinal properties of buckwheat honey
. Strengthens the heart muscle.
. Helps with cholelithiasis, a tendency to stone formation, renal failure, colic, and liver diseases.
. Replenishes the deficiency of iron and folic acid in anemia, chronic blood loss, vomiting, diarrhea, monotonous and irregular nutrition, and dieting.

Linden honey

The color of linden honey is white, sometimes completely transparent, or light amber, less often greenish or yellowish. It has a strong and delicate aroma of linden flowers and a recognizable specific taste. Within 2 months it crystallizes, turning into a dough-like mass with large or small grains. Linden honey is one of the best honey varieties.

Medicinal properties
. It has a healing effect when treating burns and purulent wounds.
. Has bactericidal properties.
. Used in the treatment of laryngitis, tracheitis, bronchitis, asthma.
. Helps with weakened heart muscle.
. They treat gynecological disorders, kidney diseases, and renal failure.
. Effective for liver diseases.

Sunflower honey

The color of honey is rich golden, the aroma is sweet, the taste is sharp. Crystallization occurs quickly, during which amber colors appear large crystals, sometimes greenish.

Medicinal properties
. Superior to other honey varieties in terms of vitamin A content.
. Bactericidal properties are clearly expressed.
. Helps with first and second degree burns, has wound healing properties.

Barberry honey

The color is golden yellow, the taste is delicate. It is produced by bees from the flowers of the berry bush barberry.

Medicinal properties of barberry honey
. Valuable hemostatic agent.
. Stimulates appetite, helps in the secretion of gastric juice.
. A good anti-scorbutic and vitamin remedy.
. It has antipyretic, choleretic, diaphoretic effects, as well as hemostatic and blood clotting properties.
. It is a uterine remedy that causes contraction of the uterine muscles. Pregnant women should not take!
. Treats sore joints, ligaments, menisci. Used for gout.

Budyakov honey

Colorless, greenish or light amber. Fine-grained when crystallized. Budyakov honey is collected from the pink flowers of a weed that has spiny stems and gray-green leaves - budyakov, or thistle.

Medicinal properties
. Helps with colds, affected mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, and fever.
. Prevents the occurrence of seizures caused by increased temperature, acts as an antipyretic.

Cornflower honey

The color is greenish-yellow, the aroma of honey resembles the smell of almonds, the taste is peculiar, bitter. Cornflower honey is processed by bees from blue cornflower (field cornflower) - a wonderful honey plant.

Medicinal properties of cornflower honey
. Used for inflammation of the urethra. Has a choleretic, diuretic effect.
. Antipyretic, diaphoretic, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory agent.

Heather honey

The color is dark yellow or red-brown, the aroma is weak, the taste is tart and bitter. This variety is very viscous and crystallizes slowly. Bees make heather honey from the nectar of small pink flowers of common heather - a branched evergreen shrub.

Medicinal properties
. Used for gout, it is good for treating joints.
. Replenishes vitamin deficiencies, helps get rid of dystrophy, impaired absorption of vitamins, and loss of vision. Useful during pregnancy.
. Relieves angina attacks.

Mustard honey

Usually golden color, at the moment of crystallization it becomes yellowish-cream. Collect mustard honey with yellow large white mustard flowers.

Medicinal properties of the variety
. Natural pain reliever: reduces muscle pain, involuntary muscle contractions; relieves joint pain and muscle spasms.
. Mustard honey is useful for indigestion and bloating.
. Honey from mustard is used for colds; it has a warming effect.
. It is also effective for female inflammatory diseases and cervical erosion.

Sweet clover honey

The color is light amber or white. Sweet clover honey is first-class. It has a very subtle aroma reminiscent of vanilla. This variety is collected by bees with bright yellow flowers melilot officinalis.

Medicinal properties
. Female and male inflammatory diseases, functional disorders of the genital organs, sexual neurasthenia, mastopathy are successfully treated with its help.
. Helps sweet clover honey for sprains of ligaments and tendons.
. Renders therapeutic effect with inflammation of the respiratory tract.
. An aqueous solution of sweet clover honey will relieve restless sleep.

Blackberry honey

It has no color, like water is transparent. This variety is very tasty. Produced by bees from the flowers of the blackberry bush.

Medicinal properties of blackberry honey
. Has a general strengthening effect.
. Useful for diseases of the stomach, liver, kidneys, bladder, colitis.
. Used for diabetes.
. Has a disinfectant, disinfectant, anti-inflammatory effect.
. It is a cleansing agent for dropsy, liver diseases, jaundice, and skin diseases.

Snakehead honey

Light, transparent, pleasant taste. Honey bees produce snakehead honey from the purple flowers of the essential oil-bearing annual plant snakehead (queenhead), which grows wild in large quantities in Crimea. Snakehead is a valuable honey plant containing high-sugar nectar with a lemon scent.

Medicinal properties
. Used for paralysis, injuries, nervous disorders, and consequences of stroke.
. Cures various infectious diseases, the consequences of polio.

Willow honey

The color is golden yellow; during crystallization, small grains with a creamy tint are formed. Bees produce this variety from the flowers of tree and shrub species (about 100 species of willow).

Medicinal properties of this variety
. A remedy for treating febrile conditions and neuralgia.
. An astringent for diarrhea.
. The medicinal properties of willow honey include its choleretic, hemostatic, and anti-inflammatory effects.

clover honey

Transparent, colorless. One of the best honey varieties. Crystallizing, it turns into a white solid mass.

Medicinal properties
. It is recommended to use clover honey for rheumatism, lung diseases, anemia, gout, and atherosclerosis.
. The anticancer effect of clover honey has been revealed.
. Relieves coughing attacks and whooping cough symptoms.

Lavender honey

Golden color, delicate aroma. Lavender honey is classified as first-class. It is collected by bees from the light blue or bluish-violet flowers of the essential oil perennial lavender plant.

Medicinal properties
. Removes headache, symptoms of insomnia, nervous tension.
. It has an analgesic, antiseptic and calming effect at the same time.
. Treats skin diseases, prevents the penetration of bacteria.
. Regulates organ functions.
. It is used for amenorrhea, hormonal disorders, and restores the menstrual cycle.

Burdock honey

The color is dark olive, the smell is sharp, spicy, very viscous. Produced from small dark pink flowers of hairy burdock.

Medicinal properties
. It has a choleretic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and wound-healing effect.
. Stimulates mineral metabolism.
. Improves the insulin-forming function of the pancreas.
. Used for gastritis, mild form diabetes, constipation, rheumatism.

Alfalfa honey

Various shades - from amber to colorless. Quickly crystallizes to consistency heavy cream, turns white. Has a specific taste and pleasant aroma. Bees collect alfalfa honey from the purple flowers of alfalfa.

Medicinal properties
. Helps cleanse the colon of toxins and has an anti-inflammatory effect.
. Helps with respiratory system disorders, bronchial and asthmatic conditions.
. Effective for arterial diseases and most heart diseases.
. Useful for menopause.
. Increases the body's resistance.

Raspberry honey

Light, has a pleasant aroma, the taste is very delicate. Bees collect raspberry honey from garden and forest raspberry flowers.

Medicinal properties of the variety
. Useful for anemia, atherosclerosis, kidney diseases, stomach diseases, hypertension.
. Raspberry honey phytoncides are destructive to staphylococcus, bacteria and viruses.
. Has an antipyretic effect.

So we talked about the types and properties of honey. Medicine, and especially traditional medicine, actively uses its pharmacological and biological features. However, honey as a medicine and vitamin product is recommended for people of all ages. So eat it for your health!

You can purchase Honey of any grade in our , and,

Most of us, when asked what types of honey he knows, will answer - linden, buckwheat, May, and maybe name a couple of other varieties. In fact, there are many more varieties of sweet treats, and learning to identify them is an art that is not accessible to every professional taster. Unfortunately, unscrupulous manufacturers take advantage of this and sell low-quality surrogates under the brand name of natural products. If you don’t want to fall for their bait, learn to navigate the variety of honey products. And we will help you.

To collect nectar for just 100 g of honey, bees fly a total of more than 450 thousand km and visit about 1 million flowers. Can you imagine the scale of the work?

A little about the classification of honey

Sweet, amber-transparent, viscous substance with divine aroma. Honey is often compared to ambrosia, the legendary drink of the inhabitants of Ancient Greek Olympus. The source for its production is sweet flower nectar and honeydew, which go through a complex path from partial processing under the influence of special enzymes in the bee's crop to ripening in honeycombs.

Based on their botanical origin, the following types of honey are distinguished.

  • Floral is a product obtained after processing flower nectar. If it is collected predominantly from one plant species, it is characterized as monofloral; if it is collected from different types, it is characterized as polyfloral. Monofloral honey is determined by the main honey plant (acacia, sweet clover, fireweed, etc.)
  • Honeydew is a derivative of honeydew or honeydew, a sweet juice secreted by the green parts of the plant. Compared with flower honey, this is a product of lower (technical) quality.
  • Mixed - a natural mixture of the first and second directly in the honeycomb.
  • Blended is also a mixture, but made by people, to equalize certain parameters of natural honey.

A bee cannot be programmed to collect nectar from any one flower; it does not care whether it is a linden tree or a dandelion. To obtain monofloral honey, you need a large array of a specific flowering plant (buckwheat field, linden grove). This does not mean that the addition of nectar from other plants is completely excluded, but the main flower will prevail.

When, for one reason or another, there is little flower nectar (rainy summer or, conversely, drought), bees are forced to collect sweet juice, secreted by the leaves and stems of plants. The admixture of honeydew honey increases in the flower product.

Among the polyfloral types of honey from the so-called forbs, there are:

  • forest;
  • mountain;
  • meadow (field).

IN forest honeys a high percentage of nectar from flowers of trees (conifers, linden, maple), raspberries, oregano and other forest inhabitants. In the mountains there is a lot of acacia, chestnut, and subalpine herbs. Fireweed, bruise, sage, sweet clover, St. John's wort are the basis of meadow (steppe) honeys.

When classifying a sweet product, attention is often paid to the geographic location of the beekeeping farm. Knowing this, you can navigate the main honey plants growing in a particular area and determine how ecologically clean the region is. In demand among Russians:

  • Bashkir honey. Linden, forest raspberries, fireweed (fireweed), thyme, oregano, and meadow herbs grow here in large tracts. There are many varieties of products coming from here. Ecologically, the region is prosperous.
  • Altaic. The region is synonymous with pristine nature, ecological purity, rich plant diversity. Forest and mountain honey is supplied from here, including the famous fireweed, angelica, and taiga honey.
  • Caucasian. Mountain honey based on acacia, chestnut and subalpine herbs, it is famous for its healing capabilities.
  • Far Eastern honey has an unusual delicate taste. It is based on the nectar of Amur and Manchurian linden, Amur velvet, raspberry, lilac, and hawthorn.

Brief characteristics of 12 popular varieties of honey

What determines the popularity of certain types of honey? In fact, there are not many criteria. Taste and aroma play a decisive role for gourmets who consume sweets often and with pleasure, replacing sugar with it. Medicinal properties are important if honey is used in therapeutic purposes as an ingredient medicinal compositions. Price plays an important role - inexpensive and high-quality varieties are sold out even faster than rare, elite honeys.

Taking into account the above, we compiled this popularity rating. When specifying the region, we meant the area of ​​mass distribution of the honey plant, its natural thickets, which make it possible to collect nectar in large quantities. This does not exclude the cultivation of honey plants in other regions.

Acacia

Thickets of acacia and sophora (a closely related plant) are found en masse in the south of Russia, in the Caucasus mountains.

The product is recognizable by its liquid, transparent consistency, not prone to crystallization. Pure acacia honey may not set for several years, but when frozen, it forms a white or golden-yellow fine-grained mass.

The taste is light, not cloying, with a subtle floral aftertaste and aroma. The undoubted advantage of this type of honey is that it does not cause allergies and is recommended to be given even to small children.

Lime

One of the most common species, as linden tracts are found throughout Russia.

The color is light, translucent, after standing a little, it acquires an amber-yellow hue. It is a bit reminiscent of acacia honey, especially when it hardens, but unlike it it crystallizes quickly.

Its taste is soft, but pronounced; at the very beginning, you sometimes feel a slight bitterness, which smoothly turns into sweetness. It smells like linden (or does linden smell like honey?), which in turn helps to easily distinguish a fake. It is famous for its anti-cold and bactericidal properties.

Buckwheat

Produced everywhere where buckwheat is sown. Pure buckwheat honey comes in large quantities from beekeeping farms in Altai, central Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

Belongs to dark varieties, in appearance – dark brown with a reddish tint. Crystallizing, it brightens, acquiring a dark yellow tint and a coarse-grained structure.

It has a recognizable, rich taste with pungent notes and a pleasant bitterness in the aftertaste. Thanks to its unique aroma, it is excellent in baking. It is considered one of the best in terms of healing. The authenticity of buckwheat honey can be easily determined by a sore throat.

May

This is the name given to the earliest spring honey of the first pumping. Produced everywhere from early flowering honey plants - fruit trees, primroses, acacia, hawthorn, peonies. A sort of hodgepodge in which it is difficult to identify the predominant plant.

The color is translucent, has quite liquid consistency, but it should not flow like water - this is a sign of products that have not ripened in the honeycombs, which may ferment over time.

The taste is very sweet, even slightly cloying, with a neutral odor. Compared to more late varieties not so rich, but it is credited with mass useful properties precisely because he is the first.

Donnikovy

This is one of the varieties of white honey, best combination excellent delicate taste and medicinal properties (in the USA, for example, it is considered the standard). Pure sweet clover honey is collected in Altai and Buryatia.

Fresh honey is light amber in color, frozen honey is white. The color may have shades depending on the admixtures of nectar from other plants.

The taste is sweet, with a slight bitterness and vanilla aroma in the trail of aftertaste. It has pronounced analgesic properties, indispensable for insomnia.

Diaghilev

It is a rare variety, especially valuable for its medicinal properties. Pure angelica honey is more often found in northern regions, where thickets of medicinal plants are spread over vast areas.

The color is dark brown with a reddish-amber tint. It sets slowly, acquiring a fine-grained “greasy” consistency and ductility.

It has a rich taste with a slight bitterness and a caramel aftertaste.

Floral (from forbs)

It is also called meadow or field, since there is no prevailing honey plant in it, but there is nectar from many plants that bloom at approximately the same time, for example, oregano, thyme, St. John's wort, plantain, sage. Produced everywhere.

The mixture includes herbs, which in their pure form serve as the basis for both dark and white varieties of honey. When mixed, they acquire a golden color. yellow, more light than dark. Honey from herbs crystallizes slowly, forming a thick elastic mass.

The polyfloral composition also determines the taste - pleasant, rich, often with clearly perceptible fruit or herbal notes, but rather heavy, incomparable with linden or acacia honey. The taste largely depends on which flower nectar was collected more.

Sunflower

Believe it or not, this variety is one of the top sellers on the honey market. Firstly, due to the availability of honey plants, it is widespread, and secondly, it stands out due to its affordable price.

Like honey plant, the product made from it is characterized by a beautiful golden-yellow color, which after crystallization darkens slightly, acquiring an amber, sometimes slightly greenish tint.

Pure sunflower honey has a pleasant taste with tart notes and a fruity trail. You can recognize quality products by a slight sore throat.

Fireweed

Another type of white honey from a plant common in Bashkiria, Altai, in middle lane, Belarus.

Immediately after pumping it has a light yellow, sometimes with a greenish tint. It shrinks quickly, forming a creamy-white elastic mass, reminiscent of cream in thickness. Crystallizes unevenly, forming clots.

It is characterized by a delicate consistency and soft, delicate taste, for which it is even called “childish”.

Heather

Not the highest quality, but an inexpensive variety of beekeeping products. Heather thickets are found in Belarus and the Carpathians.

The color of heather honey ranges from dark yellow to red-brown. When hardened, it forms a jelly-like mass; after stirring, it regains its liquid consistency.

The taste will appeal to lovers of bitter varieties with noticeable tart notes.

Sainfoin

A rather rare and valuable variety in its pure form is produced in Siberia from the plant of the same name in the legume family.

IN fresh very light, translucent with a greenish tint. Doesn't crystallize for a long time. The shrunken mass has a creamy consistency and a fine-grained structure.

Sainfoin honey tastes pleasant, fragrant, with herbal notes and a subtle rose aroma. The pollen that gets into the honeycombs along with the nectar gives the product additional value - it enhances its medicinal properties.

Phacelia

The main supply region is Siberia and the Caucasus, where the plant is cultivated as a honey plant and can bloom up to 4 times a year.

Externally, phacelia honey is very light, transparent yellow, crystallizing, it becomes almost white with a greenish tint, the consistency is similar to soft elastic dough. In its fresh form, if you don’t know, it can be confused with its acacia or linden counterpart.

Thanks to a large amount of fructose, the product has a sweet and spicy taste with light tart notes and an intoxicating aroma.

Every man to his own taste

Experienced beekeepers note that the best varieties of honey are different for everyone. When choosing a treat, we are guided by our own taste preferences, and our body subconsciously strives for what it lacks.

When giving a tasting assessment, they take into account the taste, color, aroma, and consistency of the product. Taken together, these characteristics lead:

  • herbal honey;
  • lime;
  • acacia;
  • melilot;
  • hyssop;
  • clover;
  • lavender;
  • crimson;
  • mint;
  • phacelia;
  • sainfoin.

Some especially value honey that retains a liquid consistency for a long time. This is important if the product is primarily used for baking or other culinary purposes. Examples of such varieties are acacia, angelica, chestnut, heather, alfalfa, and most honeydew varieties.

Sweet delicacy color scheme

The honey palette is surprisingly extensive and depends on the pigments and minerals that enter it along with nectar and pollen. The main color is amber yellow, translucent. But there are varieties, both very dark and light, which when frozen resemble white lard or cream. It has been proven that color is not related to taste - there are many first-class products among white varieties, and, for example, dark amber chestnut, heather honey is considered low-grade.
The most valuable types of white or almost white honey:

  • acacia;
  • melilot;
  • fireweed;
  • clover;
  • crimson.

Some less valuable varieties of honey products obtained from the nectar of rapeseed, rapeseed, alfalfa, and cotton also acquire a white consistency.

From dark varieties the most common:

  • buckwheat;
  • taiga (coniferous);
  • chestnut;
  • angelica:
  • hyssop honey

Dark varieties of the product are considered less tasty, but they are often more flavorful and healthy. They contain more iron and other trace elements, proteins, amino acids, and plant pigments.

Beneficial properties of different types of honey

Now we will say a seditious thing - it is impossible to determine which type of honey is the healthiest. Real natural product, from the nectar of whatever plants it is obtained, it has a similar composition.

It consists of 75% carbohydrates (glucose, fructose and sucrose), a small amount of proteins and starch breakdown products, organic acids, microelements, and vitamins. Experts believe that the usefulness of honey is determined by enzymes that are secreted by the bee while the nectar is in its crop. The longer he stays there (20 minutes or more), the better. That is why, the further a bee flies for nectar, the honey is more healing it turns out.

The value of honey is due to its chemical composition, which is very similar to blood plasma. It contains magnesium, iron, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine, and potassium in almost the same concentration as blood. It is no coincidence that this is almost the only product that is absorbed by 97%, and is absorbed immediately, without the need for breakdown with the help of digestive enzymes.

Among the variety of types of honey, those collected from medicinal plants are considered more healing, since biologically active substances enter them with nectar. And also with additives of other beekeeping products. So, the healthiest honey.

  1. Cell phone. Natural packaging allows you to save maximum useful components, including propolis and pollen, deposited on the walls of the honeycombs. These substances help strengthen the immune system and the body as a whole. Chewing honeycombs is very useful for teeth, gums, and disinfection of the oral cavity.
  2. With pollen. Incredibly useful for children, as it contains growth factors, affecting endocrine system. Normalizes metabolism, stimulates the release of bile and other digestive enzymes. Helps cleanse blood vessels from low-density cholesterol.
  3. Pine (taiga). Indicated for people with asthma, chronic bronchitis, and those who tend to catch colds often. It restores ability to work well and saves from chronic fatigue.
  4. Mustard. An ideal treat for colds and viral infections. Has choleretic properties.
  5. Nardek. Watermelon honey– the best assistant in the fight against flu, bronchitis, and throat problems. Suitable for heart patients, it will help clean blood vessels and increase hemoglobin.
  6. With propolis. The slight bitterness that propolis gives to honey helps cope with ARVI and influenza, promotes tissue healing and cleanses the body at the cellular level.
  7. Uterine. Honey contains royal jelly– a substance consisting of 400 biologically active ingredients. By using useful product strengthen the immune system and normalize blood pressure, protect against stress and stimulate metabolism.
  8. Zabrusny. This is the name given to scarce honey with caps that bees use to cover the honeycombs. They contain natural wax, propolis, pollen. The product is characterized by antibacterial, cleansing, and preventive properties.
  9. On-board or wild bee honey. Contains propolis, royal jelly, bee bread, wax, very seasoned and healthy. Recommended for cleansing the body of toxins, improving the liver and gastrointestinal tract.
  10. Black maple. Rare honey from the Tatar maple, an analogue of the May vitamin product. Indicated for pregnant women as an antiemetic.

Scroll useful species You can go on and on with honey - linden and buckwheat, bird cherry, almond, fig, cedar... Enjoy the sweet treat and be healthy!

Depending on the type, honey can have absolutely special properties, which are important to consider and use correctly both in nutrition and in apitherapy.

Spring flower-rapeseed honey This honey represents the first mixed honey collected from spring flowers and rapeseed. It is a light yellow creamy product with mild aroma and taste. The higher the proportion of rapeseed nectar, the lighter it is. Children and teenagers love him very much. It is versatile in use, although it does not have enough enzymatic activity for medicinal purposes. Rapeseed honey It is well suited for baking as it does not have a pronounced taste.

You can see all types of honey and their properties below.

Dandelion honey If you set up hives among meadows where many dandelions bloom in the spring, the bees will produce excellent honey. It has a very beautiful yellow color, a delicate creamy consistency, and it seems to preserve the unique sweet aroma of these yellow flowers. Dandelion has a supportive effect on the human liver and gallbladder, and honey from the nectar of this plant has the same qualities.

Acacia honey

Acacia honey has the most high content fructose and, accordingly, the lowest glucose content. It is very mild in taste and aroma and is indispensable for people sensitive to acid. It is also ideal for diabetics, since fructose is absorbed more slowly and does not require the immediate release of large amounts of insulin.

But, naturally, diabetic patients need to take into account the consumed amount of this honey when calculating the total amount of carbohydrates.

Chestnut honey

This honey is often simply called chestnut honey, although this is not entirely correct from a botanical point of view and can be a little misleading, since most people think of horse chestnut when they hear the word “chestnut”. But in fact, chestnut honey mainly contains chestnut nectar.

The leaves of the noble chestnut, also called the European or edible chestnut, are used in folk medicine to treat diseases of the upper respiratory tract. Accordingly, honey from it is mainly used in this same area. horse chestnut has therapeutic effect on the cardiovascular system, especially on the venous system, but honey exclusively from its nectar is actually not found.

The color of noble chestnut honey varies from brown to dark brown, like honeydew honey, it is more granular in structure than flower honey, and under certain weather conditions it acquires a bitterish-tart taste, which not everyone likes.

Linden honey

Linden honey has a light yellow color, a delicate creamy consistency and a very pleasant taste.

Like tea from linden color, and linden honey has an antipyretic effect in colds. However, don't wait until you're sick to finally enjoy this delicious product!

Bees cannot collect nectar from all types of clover because their proboscis is not long enough to reach the bottom of some flowers. But with white clover such problems do not arise. Therefore, clover honey is always very light, delicate, creamy, with a mild taste.

It has a slight calming effect, so it is especially recommended for children and adults who suffer from excessive agitation and need calming in order to fall asleep. However, this is not a sleeping pill at all, but only a mild additional help.

Forest honey often means a mixture of honeydew from various trees and nectar from the flowers of blackberries, raspberries and the now widespread impatiens (impatiens family), growing in the forest. Forest honey has a brown color and a spicy, sometimes somewhat tart taste.

It often crystallizes very early, especially if there is melicitose - a trisaccharide that quickly thickens honey - and causes great problems for beekeepers when pumping. It contains more minerals, and there are often more enzymes in it than in flower. Forest honey is recommended to be taken for colds.

It has a rich yellow color similar to the flowers of the plant itself, a creamy consistency and a sweet sunflower aroma.

This honey is especially rich in flavonoids. Tea made from sunflower petals is used to reduce fever, so honey can also help with diseases accompanied by high temperature. But this honey is so tasty that you shouldn’t give it up even after recovery. And it’s even better to feast on it more often and not get sick at all!

This product is brown or even dark brown in color and crystallizes easily. It has a strong spicy flavor and a slightly crystalline consistency.

Heather honey is still very often sold in combs today. This tradition has been preserved since the times when there were sapetkas instead of hives. Sapetka is a non-demountable house in the form of a wicker basket. It is impossible to pump honey out of it, so it can only be sold in pieces of honeycomb. This is the method used to collect heather honey for a long time, and this is partly how it is done in our time. Heather is considered a blood purifier and diuretic, therefore it is used in the treatment of stones in the bladder and kidneys, as well as rheumatism and gout.

The healing properties of honey are determined by the honey plant

Naturally, there are many more types of honey that are not mentioned here. Often this is a specific local honey, which is difficult to find in wide sales. In addition, there are some types of honey that are brought from far away.