Propolis - a pantry of health

Bee glue is perhaps the most popular traditional medicine. This product contains a whole chemical laboratory, and the active substances of black beeswax can cure many ailments, such as:

• Skin diseases;
• Purulent boils;
• Varicose ulcers;
• Liver diseases;
• Insomnia and mental disorders;
• Diseases of the stomach and intestines;
• Colds;
• Gynecological diseases;
• Various inflammatory processes.

The ability of bee glue to kill viruses and bacteria makes the product especially valuable, despite its low cost. This natural antibiotic is used both in its dry, natural form, and by infusing it with alcohol or making ointments.

How to store propolis

The healing properties of propolis last from 5 to 7 years, and if stored properly, the product can be beneficial even after 10 years.

propolis in the hive

Bee glue is prepared during the summer months when bees are working to produce honey. It is removed from the frames, formed into small briquettes, wrapped in foil and plastic bags, and stored in this form.

The shelf life of dry propolis is quite long, but if stored improperly, its composition may change and its medicinal properties may lose effect.

If you decide to prepare black beeswax, it is better to place it in a dry, dark place, the temperature of which is no more than +23 degrees.

It is important that the bee glue does not come into contact with light and air. The packaging must be free of dirt, dust and foreign substances.

In addition, you should not store black wax close to scented products, insect poisons, cleaning or washing powders, the chemical composition of which can harm the healing product.

Of course, fresh natural bee glue is more valuable, but if it is stored correctly, it can bring benefits and heal from many diseases for several years.

Under what conditions should it be stored?

Propolis (bee glue) is an affordable traditional medicine used to treat viral, joint diseases, inflammation, and diseases of the digestive system.

To prevent valuable properties from being lost, it is important to know how to store propolis at home. The maximum shelf life of a product is influenced by storage features and the form in which it is planned to be used. It can be natural and in the composition of solutions, ointments, oils.

Propolis (bee glue) - an affordable traditional medicine

If storage conditions meet the requirements, bee glue will last for at least 5-7 years. During storage, the biological properties of propolis will remain unchanged, but the appearance may change.

The fresh product is soft, sticky, resin-like. It gradually hardens, darkens, and after long-term storage loses its stickiness and becomes crumbly.

If, as a result of improper storage, propolis has lost its original appearance, but the expiration date has not yet expired, do not rush to get rid of it. The product is suitable for rubbing, preparing compresses, baths.

If storage conditions meet the requirements, propolis will last for at least 5-7 years

It is believed that the summer months are the best time to collect the resinous substance. Beekeepers use special slatted frames or nets, the cracks of which the bees seal with glue.

The finished product is cleaned from the frame with a clean bee tool. During the collection process, make sure that foreign substances do not stick to the glue: sawdust, dust, grass and other debris. For additional cleaning and grinding, a special centrifuge is used.

Excessive interaction with light and air harms propolis. To use the product carefully and not constantly remove it from the packaging, forms small tiles, balls or cylinders.

The package should be enough for about one or two uses. When working with glue, it is recommended to cover the work surface with parchment - this will help prevent dirt from getting in.

Please pay special attention: propolis should not be stored near medications, toxic substances, or strong-smelling foods.

There are several main recommendations that are important to follow when storing propolis at home:

1. Avoid contact with sunlight. Under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, organic compounds are destroyed and lose their properties. Bee glue is stored in a dark container or place where sunlight does not penetrate.
2. Maintain humidity around 40-55%. If the humidity level in the room deviates from the specified parameters, compensate for this by sealing the packaging.
3. Maintain room temperature; it should not rise above 23 °C.
4. Avoid temperature changes.
5. Do not store propolis together with strong-smelling foods. Bee glue quickly absorbs odors and fumes from the air.
6. It is unacceptable to store in a cabinet with chemicals: cleaning agent, washing powder, anti-rodent products.
7. You cannot mix old propolis with fresh.
8. Don't forget to check the product. If the aroma or external characteristics have changed, then the conditions are not met.

Before storing, it is recommended to divide the propolis into small portions and wrap each in individual packaging.

Before storing, it is recommended to divide the propolis into small portions

It could be:

• parchment;
• foil;
• cling film;
• paper bag;
• plastic bag.

Do not wrap the product in cloth, newspapers or magazines.

Packages with propolis are placed in a clean, dry container - mold will not begin to develop in it. A ceramic or tinted glass jar with a well-screwing lid is suitable. If there are no suitable containers, place the propolis in bags, tie them and place them in a wooden box or cardboard box.

The correct place to store propolis should be clean, dark, dry and cool.

Kitchen Cabinet

A cabinet in the kitchen may well meet the listed requirements, this is influenced by its location.

Propolis should not be in:

• near heat sources (radiators, stove, oven), where the temperature is several degrees higher than in the entire room;
• near the sink, sewer drain;
• in a compartment with a trash can, household chemicals, and products with a strong odor.

Fridge

Some people are used to keeping bee products cold. But when the temperature drops, bee glue hardens and crumbles, and high humidity also negatively affects the characteristics of propolis.

An additional argument against such storage is the strong odors of meat, fish and other products lying in the refrigerator.

Pantry, closet

The pantry is perfect for storing propolis - there it will be protected from the sun, heat, and moisture.

The correct place to store propolis should be clean, dark, dry and cool.

But the room should not be used for storing old things - sources of dust. And don’t forget to ventilate the pantry weekly, otherwise unnecessary odors will build up.

Propolis oil is stored in a tightly closed glass jar. Sterilize it in advance over steam or in the microwave. Place the jar on the refrigerator door, where the temperature is maintained in the range of 5... 8 °C.

The product has a short shelf life of 3 months. When storing oil in a plastic container, the shelf life is approximately halved.

Various medicinal tinctures are prepared with the addition of propolis. They often insist on alcohol, vodka, and less often on water.

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Rules for storing the drink:

• use a sealed bottle or dark glass jar;
• do not allow temperature changes, do not keep the tincture in the cold;
• store the infusion at a temperature no higher than 18… 20 °C;
• Keep out of the reach of children.

As with a natural product, a clean, dry pantry is suitable for storing the tincture.

Propolis ointment is used for skin care, treatment of joints, and respiratory organs. The product has a soft consistency and pleasant aroma. Typically, the product is prepared with the addition of wax and vegetable oils, which can quickly become rancid as a result of improper storage.

Observe the same conditions as when storing a natural product. The jar of ointment is placed in a dry, cool and protected from the sun place. The optimal temperature level is within 15... 22°C. Under these conditions, the natural remedy will last 8-12 months.

The duration of storage of the medicinal tincture depends on its base.

Alcohol is a good preservative, so alcohol tincture can be stored for 3-5 years without loss of quality. Please note that over time, the alcohol does not erode and the concentration does not decrease. This means that when taking the tincture orally, there is no need to increase the dosage.

Infusion with water is less durable, the maximum shelf life does not exceed 10-12 days. It is better to cook it in small quantities. It is not recommended to use a product whose expiration date has expired. It is more suitable for compresses and rubbing.

If properly stored, the dry substance will last 7-10 years. But it is still not recommended to use a product whose shelf life has exceeded 6-7 years.

By external characteristics it is easy to determine whether bee glue has deteriorated. Low-quality propolis becomes brittle and instantly crumbles in your hands.

Conclusion

Propolis retains the properties for which it is so valued for quite a long time. In its natural form, the product is stored better than in infusions, ointments and other preparations based on it.

Therefore, for home use, there is no point in preparing these products in large quantities and storing them for future use. Monitor the temperature, humidity, and cleanliness of the place where these healing products are stored, and then they will only benefit you.

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Propolis is rightfully considered a unique product.

It is the production of bee glue, on the basis of which medicinal tinctures, warming emulsions, ointments and creams, and alcohol compositions are prepared. The product is widely used in cosmetology and folk medicine, as a result of which it requires proper storage conditions. Many experienced housewives collect propolis at home.

Later they wonder about choosing a suitable place for aging and the shelf life of the composition.

Bee glue is a unique medicinal product. Many will be interested in information on how to store propolis at home.

A high-quality solid product comes in the form of balls, sticks, and cakes. If stored correctly, the above properties will remain for a long time.

High-quality fresh bee glue is characterized by the following properties:

1. Sticky and viscous texture - it vaguely resembles wax. The longer it is stored, the harder it becomes.
2. Color - light brown, with brownish tints. If the product has a high concentration of pollen, it will take on a yellow or even orange tint.
3. The aroma is strong and pronounced. Essential oils and resins are clearly felt. There is also a hint of honey.
4. High-quality bee glue is bitter and pungent.
5. Under normal temperature conditions it is soft, but in the cold it becomes hard. Melting point - 80º.
6. It dissolves in ethyl alcohol, worse - in water. Compatible with various oils.

When collecting the product, it is carefully removed from the frames and briquettes are formed from it. At first, it should be in ordinary plastic bags or wrapped in foil. But to ensure that the beneficial properties of the medicine are not lost for as long as possible, it is important to ensure that favorable conditions are created for its storage.

It should be prepared for long-term storage immediately after removal. The best conditions for this occur from the beginning of June to the end of August. During the collection process, you need to disassemble the slats of the hive, carefully clean off the glue using bee tools.

It is better to store a large fraction of the medicine in dry form. When collecting and storing, make sure that unnecessary substances do not stick to it - dust, solid particles, etc. A centrifuge is used to grind large pieces of propolis.

To have a pure medicine, it is recommended to purify it. At home, for this purpose, propolis is crushed to a powdery state. Next, it is placed in a container with clean water and stirred. After settling, small particles of wax and other substances will collect on the surface of the water. They need to be thrown away. The water is drained from the remaining propolis, it is dried, and can be formed into sticks or balls. The medicine is suitable for long-term storage.

Shelf life

Dishes and packaging

Frequent contacts with the external environment - light and air - harm propolis. Therefore, in order to use it rationally and not remove it from the package several times, it is formed into small briquettes, balls or “cakes”. One package should be enough for 1-3 times of use.

Fresh propolis is placed on foil or a parchment sheet and wrapped in several layers. Under no circumstances should you use newsprint, as printing ink contains a large amount of harmful substances and heavy metals.

preparation for storage

The briquette should be placed in a plastic bag and tied tightly. Such packages are placed in wooden boxes or glass containers for storage. A dark glass container with a tightly screwed lid is ideal, since excess light is detrimental to the healing properties of bee glue.

The room in which propolis is stored is also important.

Fridge

The most common place for storing food, including propolis. However, due to the low temperature and high humidity, the refrigerator may not be a good place to store this medicinal product. Cold has a detrimental effect on bee glue - it begins to crumble, and high humidity kills all its healing properties. In addition, the refrigerator often contains the smell of meat, fish and other “odorous” foods. Such proximity is also harmful for propolis.

Closet

Storing propolis in wall-mounted kitchen cabinets is also not recommended. Most kitchen furniture is located close to a gas or electric stove, under the influence of which the air temperature in the room changes. Its periodic increase and decrease contributes to a decrease in the beneficial properties of bee glue. If propolis is stored in the bottom drawers of kitchen cabinets, then they should not be located near the sink or trash can compartment.

Pantry or closet

If the pantry is free of junk, old blankets or other things that attract dust, then it can be an ideal place to store propolis. The pantry is almost always dark and dry. Such an internal climate will extend the shelf life of bee propolis to 7-10 years.

General rules

Propolis, including all bee products, have the strongest biological potential. To preserve it at home, you must adhere to the following general rules:

1. Avoid exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Sunlight has a detrimental effect on organic compounds. With prolonged irradiation, they are destroyed and lose their properties. Therefore, it is necessary to store propolis in any form in dark containers or boxes, in a room where the sun does not penetrate.
2. Maintain humidity conditions. Despite the fact that propolis consists of oily compounds, resins and wax, it should not be exposed to high humidity or excessive dryness. The optimal air humidity in the room should be in the range of 40-60%. Deviations from these parameters must be compensated for by the tightness of the packaging and regular visual monitoring of safety.
3. Do not expose to high temperatures. Propolis withstands freezing well without loss of properties. But it reacts poorly to sudden temperature changes. It is optimal to store it in a room where it is stable and does not rise above 25 degrees.
4. Keep away from substances with a strong odor or hazardous compounds. Propolis has the property of hygroscopicity and actively absorbs all aromas and fumes from the environment. If you place it next to toxic substances, fertilizers, chemicals, spices, perfumes - all their properties will very quickly become not the most pleasant addition to the healing product. Therefore, it must be stored in relative isolation.

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A refrigerator is not suitable for storing dry propolis due to a number of parameters: high humidity, inability to isolate it from food, risk of a sharp change in temperature. The best choice would be a pantry or closet that performs its functions.

During storage, propolis must be regularly inspected and checked so that its visual characteristics do not change. If changes appear in the appearance, it means that the storage mode does not correspond to the required one, and it is necessary to correct it.

Beekeepers recommend storing propolis in wax paper packaging. To store it in powder form, you can make envelopes and divide it into individual servings.

The product in the form of balls, cakes, cylinders or sticks is already divided into specific portions, so they are simply wrapped separately in their own piece of paper.

It is advisable to place the bee glue packaged in this way in an airtight dark glass container. But, if there is no suitable container, then just take a plastic bag, put the whole mass in it, tie it tightly and place it in a box or box with a tight lid.

The effectiveness and efficiency of propolis depends on its quality and storage conditions. That is why it is important to choose natural bee glue and make efforts to preserve its beneficial properties.

Propolis tincture

Medicinal tinctures are made from bee glue. Bee glue is kept in alcohol and thus the finished medicine is obtained. Alcohol tincture of propolis helps with many colds that are difficult to cure with medications, tuberculosis, ulcers, and joint problems.

Thanks to alcohol, all active substances and healing properties are preserved in the folk remedy for a long period of time. Such a medicine can be beneficial for 3-4 years, but for this the tincture must be stored correctly:

• Use a darkened glass bottle;
• Do not put the tincture in the refrigerator;
• Make sure the room is not too hot.

As with natural propolis, the ideal place to store propolis tincture is in the pantry. And yet, it is important that the product is kept out of the reach of children.

Collection and preparation of propolis for storage

Propolis is a beekeeping product produced by bees to seal cracks, disinfect honeycomb cells, and seal foreign objects in the hive.
When warm, it has a sticky consistency, the color of which can vary from brown to dark green. When temperatures drop, propolis hardens, darkens and loses its pronounced honey-wax aroma. As a rule, beekeepers collect glue periodically, starting in July, during inspections of bee colonies. It is scraped off using an apiary chisel from planks and top bars, hive walls, wooden ceilings, special gratings made in the form of frames. They can also be extracted by removing special small canvases from impregnated ones.

The canvases are placed in a cool, dry place or placed in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Propolis cooled for the specified time becomes hard, brittle and easily separated from the frames. After removal, the product is packaged in parchment or wax paper and placed in a previously disinfected dry container made of dark glass or wood.

Did you know? The healing properties of bee glue have been known since ancient times. Scientists claim that it was originally used when opening skulls as a strong disinfectant, antibacterial and antimicrobial agent that prevented infection by various infections.

Water tincture

This remedy is prepared for the treatment of various diseases in those people for whom alcohol is contraindicated, children, as well as drivers behind the wheel.

Aqueous tincture of propolis is prepared from crushed bee glue and water. The product is kept in a water bath for about an hour and then cooled. Strained and sealed in a dark glass bottle.

The shelf life of such a medicine is very short - only 10 days. During this time, the water tincture should be consumed, and then a new one should be prepared.

Ointment

homemade propolis ointment

Bee glue ointment is used to treat burns, dermatitis, and also for cosmetic purposes. This remedy is easy to prepare at home, preserving all the healing properties of propolis.

The most common way to make an ointment is to melt black beeswax in boiling vegetable olive, sunflower or flaxseed oil. The liquid is filtered through several layers of sterile gauze and poured into glass containers treated with alcohol. After thickening, the ointment has a soft consistency and a pleasant smell.

The storage conditions for such a product do not differ from the principles for storing natural propolis. Place the jar with the product in a dry place, protected from bright sunlight. But the shelf life of such medicinal ointment is much shorter. Depending on the conditions, it retains its healing properties for 8-12 months.

How to understand that propolis has gone bad

Propolis that has expired can be harmful to health. Under no circumstances should such a product be used. If the product of bee activity was stored incorrectly, came into contact with dirt, substances of chemical origin, or was repeatedly heated and cooled, then changes in its composition could occur.

Spoiled black beeswax loses its stickiness, becomes brittle and even crumbles into small crumbs in your hands. If natural propolis has expired, it is better to throw it away, as it has already lost its healing properties and can be harmful.

Propolis is a unique antibiotic created by nature. He is able to help even when traditional medicine is powerless. And with proper storage and careful handling, beeswax will definitely thank you, helping to restore lost health and beauty.

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Propolis (bee glue) is an effective and time-tested traditional medicine. It is consumed in its pure form, tinctures and ointments are prepared. The shelf life of propolis is 5-7 years, but only if stored correctly. The chemical composition of a spoiled product changes greatly - it loses its medicinal properties.

Propolis storage

Selection of packaging for dry propolis

Dry bee glue may change composition due to contact with the material of the packaging in which it is stored. To reduce this interaction to zero, use:

• food foil;
• food parchment;
• dark glass;
• polyethylene.

The product in the form of balls, briquettes or flat cakes is placed on the packaging and wrapped in several layers. It is better to wrap a portion for 2-4 uses in one parchment or foil.

Briquettes are conveniently stored in glass containers. First, the propolis is placed in a plastic bag and tied tightly, releasing the air.

Storing propolis in white printing paper or newsprint is dangerous. Bleaching substances and components of printing ink spoil the composition of the beekeeping product.

Shelf life of various propolis-based medicines

Traditional medicine produces a large number of medicines from the product - oils, syrups, milk, ointments. With their help you can heal wounds, it relieves pain, and has bactericidal properties. With the help of preparations based on beekeeping products, you can get rid of fungus and pathological substances - microbes. Heal the skin, reduce blood pressure. They are advised to treat pneumonia, sore throat, and tuberculosis. Propolis-based ointment will help relieve inflammation in the upper respiratory tract.

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Please note that if in its pure form the shelf life of propolis, subject to all conditions, is 10 years, then extracts, aerosols, oils, tinctures can be stored for a short time, they can only cause harm in the future.

1. A water solution containing crushed propolis and distilled water is stored for no more than 10 days.
2. Propolis extract in water should be stored in a clean container for no more than one week.
3. Propolis-based milk should be used immediately; it cannot be stored for a long time, as it can cause poisoning. It has a brown tint and is bitter. After it cools, a waxy layer forms on it.
4. Propolis tincture with alcohol is a tar-wax solution, it has a brown transparent color and smells pleasant. If it is not, it is a low-quality product that cannot be used for treatment. Should be stored in the refrigerator for up to two years.
5. The propolis extract in alcohol should be stored in a dark glass container, the bottle should be tightly closed. The solution can be used for up to three years.
6. The ointment with bee glue, which contains lanolin, petroleum jelly, lard, and fish oil, must first be preheated, stir for up to 15 minutes, then it is cooled. This ointment can be stored for up to 8 years; the place must be dark, dry and cold.
7. Oil based on a bee product is prepared from butter, used as an external remedy, and also used to treat gastritis, gastric ulcers, various forms of bronchitis - acute, obstructive and chronic, asthma, serious pulmonary disease - tuberculosis, anemia, tonsillitis. Shelf life: 3 months, store in the refrigerator on the door.