Honey is a natural substance that gets its nutrients from the plants & flowers from which the bees gather nectar from. In today’s market, there is an infinite variety of honey with extremely different qualities and properties.
Although different honey varieties exist, many people find practically no difference between light & dark colored honey. In this article, we’ll show you why this supposition is false. Honey usually attains its color from the pollen that hive bees accumulate to make it. Since plants blossom at various seasons and honey bees gather honey almost all year, a single hive can deliver fundamentally various colors of honey from one season to another.
Every variety of raw honey falls inside a color range, with slight differences… yet color doesn’t necessarily compare to what we hope to taste. For example, it is generally believed lighter honey varieties are milder in taste while darker honey is heavy & rich. This is true, but it also has some exceptions. So, before moving further, let us know in detail what light & dark honey is.
What is Light Honey?
When we talk about light honey, it is generally the kind of honey that is as close to the light-yellow or golden color honey variety as we frequently think when the term honey comes to our mind. In numerous ways, this is the very thing we call the “prototypical” honey since the vast majority think that honey is of this color. Furthermore, with regards to its color, it gives you that yellowish shade that accompanies it with a golden shine.
There will also be situations where light honey can appear transparent while holding its golden yellow tone. This all really depends on the type of nectar that bees have gathered to produce honey. Honey that is lighter in color generally comes from plants or flowers such as white clover, black locust trees, manuka tree, clover, linden tree blossoms, Canadian flowering plants, blueberries trees, and other similar plants that tend to produce light-colored nectar.
What is Dark Honey?
Dark honey comes in a dark brown color, as opposed to light honey, whitish or lightly golden. Like a wide range of honey, dark honey is created by honey bees that harvest the nectar of specific blossoms, separate it into sugar, and store it in a honeycomb, where people can collect it. Various shades of honey come from various botanical sources; however, individual blossoms that sprout all year might deliver lighter or darker honey, depending on the time of year.
Dark honey typically has a more intense, impactful taste than light honey. Some darker honey varieties are a wildflower, jarrah, buckwheat, meadow, black forest, chestnut, etc. In addition, dark-colored honey is said to have a higher concentration of antioxidants & other powerful nutrients.
Characteristics of Light Honey –
The consumption of light honey is actually suitable for the people & situations in which we want to acquire energy. Consequently, its consumption is remarkably suggested previously or after a workout session, as well as when there is a lot of stress, anxiety & fatigue.
The general health benefits of light-colored honey are –
- It provides instant energy
- It is exceptionally rich in vitamin A and thus assists greatly in the strengthening of the skin and epithelial cells.
- It improves eyesight
- It greatly helps in strengthening the bones
- It strengthens the immune system
- It is loaded with energetic & therapeutic properties
- It provided the required energy to the athletes and elderly people
Characteristics of Dark Honey –
Dark honey is rich in antibacterial properties and is a significant wellspring of minerals like phosphorus, magnesium, or iron.
The general health benefits of dark-colored honey are –
- It is loaded with various antibacterial properties
- It has plentiful minerals
- It is a rich source of vitamin B1
- It helps in keeping up the heart, nervous system & digestive system healthy & strong
- It is loaded with vitamin C, and regular consumption helps prevent cell damage.
- It further assists in preventing degenerative diseases
Light Honey or Dark Honey –Which is Better?
You definitely understand that light honey is different from dark honey. However, would one say one is better compared to the next? Darker honey varieties are generally better than lighter ones because they are healthier.
Personal preferences and tastes become essential when figuring out which of the two is better. For example, people who love milder pleasantness will generally prefer light honey over dark honey, so Americans typically favor light honey. In the meantime, Europeans favor the intense flavor and richness that accompanies darker honey.
Eventually, while darker honey ought to be the prevalent kind of honey, it comes down to preferences and how it is utilized. Nobody believes that dark honey should overpower the typical taste of coffee or tea.
Thus, assuming you are after the medical advantages of honey, go with dark honey paying little heed to what you are using it for. All honey has beneficial properties for our well-being. In this way, picking a light or dark honey generally relies upon what benefits you are searching for.