Honey is the oldest delicacy available to mankind. Bee honey is one of the complex natural products, which contains more than four hundred different components. Bee honey is a product unmatched for its nutritional and healing properties, it is a real miracle of nature, her generous gift. It contains most of the elements of Mendeleev’s table. Is saturated with amino acids and many other biologically active compounds, and is a permanent food product. It should be noted that the chemical composition of honey is unstable and depends on the type of honey plants from which the nectar is collected; the soil on which they grow; weather and climatic condition: the time elapsed from collecting nectar to extracting honey from the combs; shelf life of honey.  

Even in ancient times, Avicenna used honey and wax quite widely in his medical practice. In his book “The Canon of Medicinal Science” there are many recipes that include honey. Avicenna believed that people after the age of 45 should systematically consume honey. Especially with crushed nut kernels, which contain a lot of fat. The saying belongs to him: “If you want to keep your youth, be sure to eat honey.”

Useful properties of honey are due to the biological nature of honey and its complex chemical composition. The main properties of honey include crystallization, fermentation, hygroscopicity, heat capacity, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, viscosity, density, optical activity, thixotropy, etc. In addition, it has bactericidal, medicinal and dietary properties.

Crystallization of honey is a natural process of transition of honey from one physical state to another without changing its valuable qualities. Depending on the size of the crystals, honey can be fat-like (crystals are indistinct to the naked eye), fine-grained (crystal joints are visible to the naked eye, but they are less than 0.5 mm), coarse-grained (crystal joints are more than 0.5 mm) in consistency. Crystallization of honey largely depends on the ratio of the main components of bee honey – glucose, fructose and water, which make up 90-95% of the total mass. Glucose crystallizes, and fructose, water and water-soluble substances make up the intercrystalline liquid. The more fructose and water in honey, the slower it crystallizes. With a glucose content of less than 30%, honey does not crystallize. Crystallization of honey is accelerated by sucrose and melecitose, maltose delays this process. The latter sugars, contained in honey in small quantities, do not have a significant effect on this process.