Spontaneous crystallization: since honey is an oversaturated solution, it spontaneously tends to reach a
condition of stability, expelling any excess solute.
After the summer, when lower temperatures arrive, the solution crystallizes, and the less water there is
and the higher the glucose content, the faster crystallization occurs.
The physical and chemical characteristics of the honey, closely related with the specific nectar of
each individual botanical origin, clearly influence the speed and type of crystallization.
Grain: this is the physical structure of a crystallized honey. The grain can range from coarse to fine and it is an important factor in how palatable the honey is. When the grain is very fine, the honey is creamy and fresh tasting.
Honeydew: this substance does not come from the nectar of flowers, but rather from the lymph of various botanical species. Several sap-sucking insects (Hemiptera order) process honeydew; drops of honeydew, falling on the surface of the leaves and smaller branches of plants infested by parasites, are collected by bees as well as other insects. In our local area, the plants involved in this production are mainly conifers (silver fir, spruce, pine and larch), but also deciduous, nonnectar producing species (oak, beech, poplar) and nectar producing species (lime, willow, maple, chestnut, black locust, and fruit trees).
Polyflower (wild flower) and polyfloral honey: honey produced using the nectar of flowers or the lymph of several different species of trees.
Monoflower and monofloral honey: honey produced using the nectar of a single flowers or the lymph of a single botanical species.
It is important to remember that there are no 100% single species honeys in nature.
Grain: this is the physical structure of a crystallized honey. The grain can range from coarse to fine and it is an important factor in how palatable the honey is. When the grain is very fine, the honey is creamy and fresh tasting.
Honeydew: this substance does not come from the nectar of flowers, but rather from the lymph of various botanical species. Several sap-sucking insects (Hemiptera order) process honeydew; drops of honeydew, falling on the surface of the leaves and smaller branches of plants infested by parasites, are collected by bees as well as other insects. In our local area, the plants involved in this production are mainly conifers (silver fir, spruce, pine and larch), but also deciduous, nonnectar producing species (oak, beech, poplar) and nectar producing species (lime, willow, maple, chestnut, black locust, and fruit trees).
Polyflower (wild flower) and polyfloral honey: honey produced using the nectar of flowers or the lymph of several different species of trees.
Monoflower and monofloral honey: honey produced using the nectar of a single flowers or the lymph of a single botanical species.
It is important to remember that there are no 100% single species honeys in nature.
little glossary
