It will become obvious to any visitor to a store selling bee products: in Russia you can taste several dozen types of honey! Fireweed honey, or fireweed honey, is considered to be one of the most exquisite and healing herbs – a product based on the Ivan-tea plant (or fireweed) growing in the Ural and Altai steppes. Read about the beneficial properties, taste and appearance of the product, as well as contraindications for use in this material.
Features of fireweed honey
In addition to its interesting appearance – white fireweed honey is distinguished by a very light, almost white color, the product is famous for its high content of fruit sugar. For this reason, sugaring occurs very quickly, and by the beginning of October the substance loses its transparency, acquires a creamy density and radically changes color. The aroma of white honey is absolutely delicious! It is bright, floral, reminiscent of an exquisite blend of floral perfume. Having heard the aroma of fireweed honey once, you understand: it is special, incomparable with anything.
What does fireweed honey look like?
Immediately after collection, the product differs little from other types of honey – it is a viscous transparent substance of amber or slightly greenish color – it contains quite a lot of pollen.
However, after sugaring, fireweed honey becomes almost white, viscous, in appearance it resembles natural condensed milk. Perhaps, due to the uncharacteristic milky color, fireweed honey is not in proper demand among buyers. And completely in vain – this is truly a storehouse of healing properties! More about them later.
Where is the fireweed honey collected?
Ivan-tea, or narrow-leaved fireweed, is a melliferous flower that grows abundantly near conifers, in forest glades and in the steppes of Altai, Siberia, and the central part of our country.
The inflorescences of fireweed are pale pink, lilac or whitish, very fragrant. The flowering period is quite long – from July to the first autumn days. A pronounced sweet smell and a large amount of pollen on the flowers of Ivan-tea, like a magnet, acts on the bees living in the area. Therefore, fireweed is a recognized leader in honey collection: from 100 sq.m. bees “bring” about 5-6 kg of the sweetest nectar.
Composition and calorie content
The nectar and pollen of Ivan tea gave white honey an amazing amount of valuable elements. Thanks to its medicinal ingredients, the beekeeping product is considered a natural remedy and is used in the treatment of serious ailments. So, the composition of white honey includes:
- Monocarbohydrates: fructose, glucose.
- Polysaccharides: sucrose, maltose, platinum and others.
- Small amount of protein.
- Vitamins: B1 and B2, E, nicotinic, ascorbic acids.
- Micro and macro elements.
- Minerals.
- Enzymes, bioflavonoids, natural antioxidants.
In terms of calorie content, white honey is superior to other beekeeping products. 100 g of healing sweetness contains from 320 to 335 kcal. For ease of counting calories, use a measuring spoon: a teaspoon holds about 20 g of product, and a large one – 50-60 g.
Color and taste
Freshly harvested product is slightly different from other types of honey. It is transparent, has an appetizing amber-golden hue, clearly more greenish than traditional types of product. This is due to the admixture of pollen in the composition.
However, after crystallization – and we have already said that sugaring occurs very quickly – fireweed honey becomes thick, opaque, whitish. In appearance and consistency, it resembles a fat country sour cream.
The taste is pronouncedly sweet, but not cloying, with a hint of slight bitterness in the aftertaste. This is not surprising: fireweed nectar is richer in natural sugars in comparison with other melliferous plants.
The benefits of fireweed honey
Ivan tea is considered a healing plant for a reason. The honey from its flowers is included in the therapy by both folk healers and traditional medicine. See how multifaceted its benefits and healing effects on the human body are:
- Fortifying effect, maintaining healthy immunity, increasing the body’s resistance to infectious diseases.
- Wound healing, antiseptic properties.
- Relief of inflammatory processes.
- Beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal mucosa, relief of symptoms of colitis, gastritis, ulcers.
- Increasing the regenerative functions of the skin in case of injuries and injuries.
- Easing the patient’s condition, relieving spasms with urinary ailments.
- Improving the state of the hematopoietic system, normalizing the level of hemoglobin.
For women
If you regularly drink tea with a small amount of fireweed-honey, your nails will become dense and the problem of hair loss will disappear. The hairline itself will become thick, shiny, and acquire a healthy appearance.
When used in cosmetology, white honey helps to maintain the collagen level of the skin, keep it youthful, firm and elastic. The complexion will become fresher, more natural, a young, perky blush will appear on the cheeks.
In addition, the product is successfully used in the treatment of cystitis and other diseases of the urinary tract. A small amount of healing sweetness during menstruation helps to get rid of cramps, pains and mood swings – such frequent companions of many ladies in these days.
For men
For the powerful of this world, fireweed honey is no less useful than the fair sex! No wonder the sweet substance is included in folk recipes to strengthen potency, increase libido, and maintain male strength in adulthood.
How to take fireweed honey
You need to consume the healing sweetness in limited doses: after all, this is a product of Ivan tea pollen, officially recognized as a medicinal plant. Eating too much white honey runs the risk of allergy symptoms, high blood pressure, and other side effects. Traditional medicine offers recipes based on fireweed nectar for a variety of diseases.
- With neurotic conditions. Take 1 part aloe juice, 2 parts each Cahors and white honey. Mix, remove to cellar or dark corner for 15 days. Reception of 100 grams twice a day for 15 days.
- To restore blood vessels. ¼ cups of dried corn stigmas pour two cups of boiling water, leave for a couple of hours in a warm place. Acceptance for ½ glass with the addition of 1 tsp. white honey.
- For respiratory ailments. 1 tsp each. Mix the lungwort, sage, plantain leaf, pour 1 glass of hot water. Insist, drain through cheesecloth. Drink with the addition of fireweed nectar – 1 small spoon will be enough.
- For the treatment of the gastric mucosa. 1 tbsp Pour 250 g of boiling water over the lungwort, insist, drain. Mix the infusion with 100 g of fireweed honey, stir. Take ¼ glass before meals.
Contraindications for use
Fireweed honey has them, like any remedy. You should not eat natural sweetness under the following conditions:
- Personal intolerance.
- Allergy predisposition.
- Symptoms of bronchial asthma – fireweed nectar can provoke an attack.
- Diabetes.
- A tendency to gain excess weight.
- Chronic ailments in severe form.
Fireweed honey: how to distinguish a fake
Given the rather high cost of the product, there is a very high risk of buying a fake, which, at best, does not have any healing properties. These methods will help determine the naturalness of the beekeeping product:
- Color. In real fireweed honey, it is whitish, the color of melted cream or a greenish tint is possible. If you are offered to buy a product of amber, golden, brown color, know: at best, this is honey of a more common type, and at worst, sugar syrup.
- Ductility. Natural sweetness flows from the spoon in a monotonous slow trickle, while the fake substance may leave grains or drip in uneven portions.
- Taste sensations. As we remember, it should be an unobtrusive sweetness without sugary sweetness with a slight pleasant bitterness. If the product is too sweet, then it is most likely melted sugar.
In addition, sometimes beekeepers try to sell the so-called spray – this is too young honey, which the bees did not have time to seal with honeycombs. There is an increased amount of moisture in it, and the spray itself deteriorates very quickly, becoming unusable.
Here is a spray if:
- Foam appears.
- The substance is too liquid.
- There are bubbles.
- Subtle vinegar smell.
Terms and methods of storage
Taking into account the requirements of GOST, the duration of storage of fireweed honey is from 1 to 2 years in a closed container. The main requirement for the storage of any beekeeping product is a tight lid on the container and a darkened place with a low share of air humidity.
Observing these simple requirements, you can enjoy natural delicacies with pleasure and health benefits for several years in a row.
