Honey is better not to stir in the hot tea.
Many claim that heated honey becomes a real poison, but is it true?.
How dangerous heated honey? The most dangerous substance in honey is hydroxymethylfurfural. It is a product of the breakdown of the sugars that is formed when they are heated in an acidic environment. Honey has a pH of slightly more than 3 – therefore, the environment here is sour. And how now to be with your favorite treat and cure when you need to add a spoonful of honey in hot tea? The honey that you buy in the market or in the store will contain hydroxymethylfurfural. By European standards the number of hydroxymethylfurfural in honey should not exceed 40 mg per kilogram. For countries with a hot climate this figure is more than 80 mg/kg. the thing is that there are no conditions under which the decomposition products of the carbohydrates in honey will appear: on the apiary honey is heated in the summer, even in the comb.
The standard values of hydroxymethylfurfural enable to track the age of the honey and the conditions under which it was stored and placed in containers for sale. While there is not any research that would confirm the danger of this substance on human health. The formation of hydroxymethylfurfural is directly proportional to the time and temperature of heating. In honey, which is in the sun, and the long-term heats up during the day, the amount increasing slightly (not even 1.5 times). In this case the cooling honey to a temperature of 18-20⁰С this substance is partially deactivated. For justice it should be noted that hydroxymethylfurfural in much larger quantities than in the overheated honey is in all foods where there is sugar, and for the preparation of which needs heating to high temperatures.
How much time you can heat the honey without harming its quality? Let’s start with temperatures. To prepare for packing honey usually dissolve in a water bath, it is heated from 45 to 50⁰С. Heat for two days does not lead to a significant increase in the number of hydroxymethylfurfural, and the values of this substance remain in the normal range of standard. When heating honey to 80⁰С for 2 minutes and subsequent quick cooling hydroxymethylfurfural also fails to occur in a more or less significant quantities, the honey remains almost the same quality as before the heating. Thus, the amount of hydroxymethylfurfural in honey is directly proportional to the time and intensity of heating. With prolonged heating above 50⁰С destroyed some vitamins and enzymes of the honey, which changes its biological properties.
Is it harmful to add honey in hot tea? Now it is logical to come to the key question. Whether to form hydroxymethylfurfural in honey, which is put in hot tea? Even if it is, then in very small quantities, is quite small. Honey dissolves in hot tea, and the concentration of sugars is reduced. And decreases the acidity of the medium. The amount of honey that you put in the tea, will not be able in any way to harm, especially considering the tiny fraction to increase the concentration of hydroxymethylfurfural. We have already mentioned that the danger of this substance whom not been proven. With respect to the changes of biological properties of honey? And here the most interesting.
Honey loses a significant portion of the vitamins and enzymes when heated in hot tea. But you should know that initially the concentration of vitamins in honey is not so high, and had previously been exaggerated. It is not a vitamin preparation, though, and contains vitamins. But the destruction of potential allergens of honey – proteins, enzymes, vitamins may even be beneficial for people who suffer from food allergies, as well as for young children who have the risk of allergies is increased.
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