According to the US National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), when honey is heated at 140 degrees Celsius for 2 minutes, the natural properties of honey are significantly changed. Specifically, the specific gravity decreases, while indicators such as pH, HMF compounds, browning process, phenolic substances and antioxidant capacity increase. These changes show that honey can lose its quality and nutritional value when heated.

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How hot does honey have to be before it loses its benefits?

Specialist Doctor 1 Nguyen Thu Ha, FPT Long Chau Pharmacy System, said that when cooked or heated at high temperatures, honey can change its color, consistency and lose many important nutritional values. In fact, the heating process can make honey become as thick as glue and no longer retain its original properties.

Raw, unheated honey is prized for its rich content of beneficial enzymes, amino acids, vitamins C, D, E, K, B vitamins, beta-carotene, minerals, essential oils, and antioxidants. However, when heated to high temperatures, these components can be destroyed or altered. According to information from NCBI, heating honey not only reduces its overall quality, but also causes many important enzymes and nutrients in honey to be lost, thereby affecting its effectiveness.

According to experts, when honey is heated at 40 degrees Celsius, invertase - an important enzyme in honey - will be destroyed. When heated to 50 degrees Celsius for more than 48 hours, honey will turn into caramel, causing the precious sugar components in honey to change into regular sugar. When honey is heated at a temperature above 60 degrees Celsius for more than 2 hours, honey will decompose rapidly. If the temperature exceeds 160 degrees Celsius for any period of time, honey will decompose and caramelize immediately.

In short, sudden changes in temperature will cause honey to lose its quality. The ideal temperature for storing ripe honey is around 10 degrees Celsius.

Dr. Thu Ha said that although honey has many health benefits, when heated at high temperatures, important nutritional components can be destroyed, and this can create compounds that are not good for the body.

To ensure that honey retains its nutritional value, we should avoid overheating it and store it at the right temperature. This helps retain its health-beneficial enzymes, vitamins and minerals.