Sugaring is the process of crystallization of honey, where the liquid looks cloudy and feels granular.
Honey is one of the world most precious gifts. Often referred to as liquid gold this nasty concussion is an ore of anti-oxidants, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc.
Kashmir rich history with all things extraordinary includes HONEY as well, which is used generously in the local market as well as is extensively exported.
One such unique type native to Kashmir is ACACIA HONEY. This rare honey is derived from the nectar of flowers from the Acacia tree.
Pure acacia honey is one of the most popular choices for health enthusiasts as it has numerous medicinal properties along with being a natural pain reliever and is rich in antioxidants and anti-bacterial agents. Due to its potent antioxidants, acacia honey may promote acne improvement, assist in healing wounds, improve metabolism, etc. Its shelf life is increased by its light nearly translucent tint and extended liquid retention. Its flavor is relatively smooth and mild, lacking a lot of subtleties. Acacia honey is frequently used as a natural sweetener because of precisely its mild flavor.
SUGARING OF HONEY!
Sugaring is the process of crystallization of honey, where the liquid looks cloudy and feels granular.
The crystallization is a sign of purity of honey, unprocessed, untampered, and unadulterated naturally tends to crystalize and this happens due to a couple of reasons: –
- Changes in the fructose to glucose and glucose to water ratio of honey. When the level of glucose increases in honey it becomes insoluble in water and hence crystalizes.
- A common physical change that happens due to the changes in surrounding temperatures. (Storage Temperature), they can easily be reversed by just keeping the honey container in lukewarm water for some time.
- The temperature of honey during processing, the pure raw honey when processed to remove substances like pollens, plant bits, petals, etc. is kneaded, churned, and passed through consecutive sieves, which causes physical changes in the composition of the honey and hence adds to the crystallization process.
- Material of container honey is stored in; it is seen that honey stored in plastic bottles or containers crystalizes far more extensively than honey stored in glass containers.
- Lastly, the way honey is handled can also affect crystallization. As people today become more conscious of how their food is produced and what can be added, raw honey without any preservatives is a sought-after commodity. Even if honey is marketed raw, it may still contain minute particles that are typical of the substance, including beeswax, pollen, yeast, and plant matter. They all start the crystallization process and are all secure and edible.
Crimson aims at creating awareness about pure Kashmiri honey, and burning out myths is the first step.
The big FMCG names have created a false narrative and image as to how honey should look through lucrative advertisements and campaigns, which have proven to be very beneficial for them but at the same time have proven to be doom to local and small business owners.
Crystalized honey bottles by local vendors have become hard to sell in local and domestic markets due to extensive misinformation in the general public. It has been observed that the locals prefer to buy clearer honey while the crystalized honey bottles are preferred by the tourist who usually pays higher for the same. When asked about the reason why they prefer the sugared honey, it’s stated that the crystalized honey doesn’t need any kind of quality assurance, and it’s an added assurance to the consumers that it’s pure. Also adding to this the tourists believe the unprocessed/ crystalized honey is much more ethically sourced.
We at Crimson make sure that all of our customers are made aware that the crystallization of honey is a sign of purity and hence all our products carry the said information as part of branding.
Local Kashmiri aspirates (honey harvesters) have praised the initiative of Crimson in spreading out the information about crystallized honey and have joined hands in efforts towards burning out the myth of crystalized honey being impure but including the said information in their branding. Henceforth saving the local vendors from going out of business.
As it is said An ocean is formed of small drop let hope Crimson’s small step turns out to be a game-changer.