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Honey - a magic food: In addition to its delicious taste is almost the only product that does not spoil, always remaining in edible condition. But why?

Honey - is sugar. Sahara hygroscopic - they do not contain a lot of water in their natural state. And in an environment with low humidity can live very few bacteria.

Amina Harris, executive director of the Center for the Study of honey and pollination of Robert Mondavi Institute at the University of California at Davis, says: "Natural honey has a very low moisture content. Very few bacteria and microorganisms can live in this environment, so they simply die. In fact, honey is strangling them. " The fact that micro-organisms can not live in honey, mean that they can not mess it up.



In addition, other sugars honey is characterized by its acidity: pH of honey ranges from 3 to 4 and 5 (or, more accurately, 3, 26-4, 28), and it also kills everything that is trying to spoil the honey.

In addition, the low water content in honey bees contribute. They transform the nectar into honey, how unpleasant it may sound, spewing it out of his stomach, the chemical composition of which also helps to increase the shelf life of honey. In the stomachs of bees have Fermat glucose oxidase, which is added to honey when belching. Enzyme mix and nectar, creating gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide also kills all microorganisms, spoiling honey.

The fact that the honey is hygroscopic, meaning that it easily absorbs water - and this can cause damage, so you need to store honey desirable to dry. Long-term preservation of honey also promotes crystallization ("sugarcraft"). Sugar honey is not spoiled, it can be there, but it depends on taste. A little trick: if the honey is heated above 25 ° C, it becomes liquid again.

via factroom.ru