Of all beekeeping products, wild honey is a very rare variety. The main territory of its production is Bashkiria, the Urals, and the Carpathians. Wild bees live there, making their nests in stumps and tree hollows.
Another name for this product is on-board honey.
Wild bee honey is a type of flower honey. This is what bears love in the forest. This product is in high demand because of its environmental friendliness; it is a completely natural product.
It is almost impossible for wild bees to include additives in their diet, as is sometimes done in an apiary. This ensures the purity of the product.
The Bashkir and mountain (Carpathian) species are of greatest value.
Features and differences of wild honey
The peculiarity is how it appears and is obtained. Uncultivated bees live in extreme conditions. No one equips the hive, cleans it, saves it from diseases, or protects the bee family. This is a feature of the side view. Wild bees live in large families. This is the only way they can protect themselves from attacks by animals that come to eat. This habitat fostered aggression and endurance. It is under these conditions that this type of nutritious and healthy honey is obtained.
Product extraction conditions
The extraction of this product began in ancient times. At that time, food was obtained in all possible ways. Beekeeping arose as one of the first human occupations. His goal was to find a place where wild bees live and build their nests. They destroyed bee houses and took food out of them. After this, the insects moved to build homes in more secluded places. The beekeepers had to look for them again.
Later, people learned to make bees themselves, choosing a place suitable for bees to live.
More often, nests were located in holes in rocks. It was important to create a comfortable environment with the expectation of expanding the family. This made the work of the bees much easier. A year later, families of insects already lived in these sides.
Such bees are hardy and able to work non-stop. Insects do this around the clock, not paying attention to weather conditions. This performance allows you to collect 5 – 15 kg of nutritious product. But the season is short, lasting during the linden flowering period, which is less than a month. With the development of civilization, mining was gradually replaced by organized beekeeping activities.
Attention!
You need to be able to distinguish wild bees from domestic ones. It's easy. Their color is dark gray.
Collecting wild honey
Beehive honey is collected once a year at the end of summer. Naturally, during this time the honey infuses and loses moisture. Therefore, its concentration becomes higher. Insects are able to work throughout the entire season without stopping. They take pollen from wild plants. These are hawthorn, thyme, sage and other plants. In other words, while the flowering is in progress, the bee is working.
The process of human extraction of wild honey developed gradually. The need for this product increased. Accordingly, requests increased. Those who do this to this day try to make boards in accessible places. For example, making a hive in a trunk is much easier. Choosing the right environment is equally important. Nearby you need a source of clean water and honey plants. It is advisable to choose places where there are a lot of linden trees and aromatic herbs. The exit from the makeshift hive should face south.
Having created such “living conditions”, you can be sure that within two years the place will be occupied by a swarm. It is better to place it at a distance from the ground. It should be such that bears and other animals who want to enjoy the sweet product cannot get to it.
Important!
The beekeeper, when collecting wild honey, always leaves some of the sweetness inside in order to support the life of insects until the next season.
Variety differences
Obviously, this honey has many differences. Extracted in such a complex way cannot have a low price. Therefore, there is no need to chase cheapness, it is most likely a fake.
Features of wild honey that will help you avoid getting fake:
- The color of this type of honey is dark brown, rich;
- Strong aroma;
- Bright tart taste;
- The structure of the product is viscous.
Beetroot honey is a mixture of plant nectar, but it is impossible to identify the individual components.
Important!
Learn to distinguish varieties by taste, smell and color.
Composition of honey and calorie content
The composition of this type of honey is unique. He is not like any other. The level of benefits for the body of such a product is so very high. These include hormonal components and organic acids. Wild honey is rich in natural elements. This is wax, propolis. It contains vitamins E, B, K and others.
Attention! The composition of the on-board variety of honey itself is not found in any other. These are the following elements:
- fluorine;
- manganese;
- iron;
- calcium;
- iodine;
- copper;
- zinc.
History of beekeeping
Beekeeping in Rus' was widely developed until the middle of the 17th century. On-board honey, along with fur, was considered the main product for export. Gradually, with the development of agriculture, the liberation of lands from forests began. Trees were cut down en masse, as a result of which the production of on-board honey sharply decreased.
In parallel with this, the development of apiary beekeeping began, which over time almost completely replaced beekeeping. Today, on-site beekeeping in its original form has been preserved only in the Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve, located in the Republic of Bashkiria.
Bort is a natural hollow in a tree trunk. Bees live in it without human influence. Beehive honey is honey from wild bees. There are no frames in the sides, so the honeycombs are removed in the form in which the insects configured them. It is squeezed out without the help of a honey extractor, by heating the honeycomb. At the same time, it has little contact with air and retains its original beneficial properties.
Beneficial properties of on-board honey
Wild honey is produced far from the bustle of the city in an almost ecologically clean environment. Therefore, it is full of useful properties. Especially for school-age children. By increasing performance and activating mental activity, it helps to cope with the stress of the training program.
Honey became a mandatory product for astronauts during flight. They always take it with them. Nutrients solve the problem of vitamin deficiency during a long journey.
This product helps pregnant women during toxicosis. And for the fetus, the presence of royal jelly is beneficial, which has a beneficial effect on the development of its hormonal system. This beekeeping product helps men recover after intense physical activity. This applies to a greater extent to athletes after competitions.
Regularly including beekeeping products in your menu should become a rule. This will improve the overall condition of the body and the health level of your family. Each component of honey makes its own contribution. Pollen actively fights inflammation. It is also used in the treatment of the genitourinary system. The poison is excellent in fighting germs.
Wild honey is not inferior in quality to other types. More often it helps with the following diseases:
- Poisoning;
- Colds;
- Cold infections;
- Gastrointestinal diseases;
- Bronchitis;
- Tumors;
- Problems with the urinary system.
Storage
The sweets should be stored in glass or plastic containers in a cool, dark room at a temperature of 10-17 degrees. Throughout the year, all the beneficial qualities of the apyroproduct are preserved in full.
After 10-14 months, the value of the substance begins to decrease and it is more advisable to purchase honey from a fresh harvest.
Wild honey is a real storehouse of vitamins and minerals. It is considered the most valuable and environmentally friendly compared to ordinary honey from domesticated bees. Even after using sweets for a short time as food, you will notice a positive effect, the body will become more protected against viruses and bacteria, and overall well-being will improve.
Contraindications
Like other types of honey, this wild nectar does not bring pleasure to everyone. It has contraindications:
Individual intolerance. Children under two years old. Allergic reactions. Breastfeeding period.
Important!
Wild honey is not recommended for people who are prone to obesity and people with diabetes.
Indications for use
The characteristics of honey make it possible to take it for various diseases. Indications for use:
- arthritis, rheumatism, osteochondrosis;
- flu, colds;
- viral, bacterial diseases;
- stress, depression, insomnia;
- anemia;
- reproductive system disorder;
- thyroid diseases;
- disorders and inflammatory processes of the digestive system;
- hormonal disbalance;
- circulatory disorders.
This substance will be useful for every person to take.
How to choose the right wild honey
This sweetness, donated by bees, is not often found on sale. Therefore, buyers are not closely familiar with the distinctive qualities of wild honey. Frequent sellers often slip buyers a variety that is similar in color but different. Knowing the characteristics, you can easily recognize a fake.
No honey is so thick. This viscous mass tastes oversweetened. Afterwards my throat feels a little sore. It is more difficult to recognize by color; it does not have a constant shade. It depends on the plants from which the workers collect pollen: from light to dark brown. The Bashkir product is so fragrant that when you inhale it, your thoughts are transported to a flowering meadow. There should not be a homogeneous mass in the container with honey. Pollen and wax often get there.
Keeping these qualities in mind, it will be easier to recognize a natural product among fakes. But it’s better to buy not from the market, but from trusted beekeepers. To confirm that the honey is natural, they receive certificates.
Wild honey is more nutritious than other types. The amount of vitamins in it is greater than in others. If you eat it for 10 days, you can feel light. Therefore, it is better to stock up on sweets for the winter, because in winter diseases occur more often. It's time to prepare for the cold!
There can never be too much of a good thing
Considering all that has been said, it is easy to conclude that real wild honey is quite rare, it is the “sweet elite”. Accordingly, it should cost several times more than usual. Therefore, such a product is counterfeited even more readily than a traditional one.
Most often, honey from ordinary hives is passed off as on-board honey, but not pumped out in a honey extractor, but squeezed out of honeycombs. Of course, such a product is also very useful, but it is still inferior to the airborne product. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that when extracting real wild honey, it is pressed exclusively with a wooden vice and stored only in special containers to avoid contact with metal.
Another type of “cheating” option is a product from decks. Indeed, log beekeeping is gaining popularity, and this honey is quite similar to that created by wild insects. The difference is that the logs are in apiaries. Accordingly, bees collect honey in them in ordinary fields, and not in secluded forest areas remote from civilization.
