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Honey



 
 
Honey is a sweet fluid produced by honey bee
Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of wiktionary:perennial, Colony nests out of beeswax....
s (and some other species), and derived from the nectar
Nectar (plant)

Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. It is produced either by the flowers, in which it attracts pollination animals or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualism providing plant defense against herbivory....
 of flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s. According to the United States National Honey Board and various international food regulations, "honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance…this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweetener
Sweetener

A sweetener is a food additive which adds the basic taste of sweetness to a food; artificial sweeteners are sugar substitutes....
s".






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Runny Hunny
Voll Honig
Honey is a sweet fluid produced by honey bee
Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of wiktionary:perennial, Colony nests out of beeswax....
s (and some other species), and derived from the nectar
Nectar (plant)

Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants. It is produced either by the flowers, in which it attracts pollination animals or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualism providing plant defense against herbivory....
 of flower
Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproduction structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds....
s. According to the United States National Honey Board and various international food regulations, "honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance…this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweetener
Sweetener

A sweetener is a food additive which adds the basic taste of sweetness to a food; artificial sweeteners are sugar substitutes....
s". This article refers exclusively to the honey produced by honey bee
Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of wiktionary:perennial, Colony nests out of beeswax....
s (the genus Apis); honey produced by other bees or other insects has very different properties.

Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose
Fructose

Fructose is a simple Reducing sugar sugar found in many foods and is one of the three important dietary monosaccharides along with glucose and galactose....
 and glucose
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
 and has approximately the same relative sweetness
Sweetness

Sweet is one of the five basic tastes and is almost universally regarded as a pleasure experience. Foods rich in simple carbohydrates such as sugar are those most commonly associated with sweetness, although there are other natural and artificial compounds that are much sweeter, some of which have been used as sugar substitutes for those wi...
 as granulated sugar
Sucrose

Sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose, with the molecular formula C12H22O11. Its systematic name is a-D-glucopyranosyl- -?-D-fructofuranoside ....
 (97% of the sweetness of sucrose
Sucrose

Sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose, with the molecular formula C12H22O11. Its systematic name is a-D-glucopyranosyl- -?-D-fructofuranoside ....
, a disaccharide
Disaccharide

A disaccharide is a sugar composed of two monosaccharides.'Disaccharide' is one of the four chemical groupings of carbohydrates ....
). Honey has attractive chemical properties for baking, and a distinctive flavor which leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners.

Most micro-organisms do not grow in honey because of its low water activity
Water activity

Water activity is a dimensionless quantity used to represent the energy status of the water in a system. It is defined as the vapor pressure of water above a sample divided by that of pure water at the same temperature; therefore, pure distilled water has a water activity of exactly one....
 of 0.6. However, honey frequently contains dormant endospore
Endospore

An endospore is a dormancy, tough, and non-reproductive structure produced by bacteria from the Firmicute phylum. Examples include Bacillus and Clostridium....
s of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum
Clostridium botulinum

Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, rod shaped bacteria that produces the neurotoxin botulin, which causes the flaccid muscular paralysis seen in botulism....
, which can be dangerous to infants as the endospores can transform into toxin-producing bacteria in the infant's immature intestinal tract, leading to illness and even death (see Potential health hazards below).

The study of pollen
Pollen

Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of Gametophyte , which produce the male gametes of spermatophyta. A hard coat covering the pollen grain protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens of the flower to the pistil of the next flower....
s and spore
Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproduction structure that is adapted for biological dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions....
s in raw honey (melissopalynology
Melissopalynology

Melissopalynology is the study of honey. By extension, it also includes the study of any pollen contained in honey as well as the pollen's source....
) can determine floral sources of honey. Because bees carry an electrostatic charge, and can attract other particles, the same techniques of melissopalynology can be used in area environmental studies of radioactive
Radioactive decay

Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and radiation. This decay, or loss of energy, results in an atom of one type, called the parent nuclide transforming to an atom of a different type, called the daughter nuclide....
 particles, dust
Dust

Dust is a general name for minute solid particles with diameters less than 20 Thou . Particles in the Earth's atmosphere arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind, volcanic eruptions, and pollution....
, or particulate pollution
Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms ....
.

A main effect of bees collecting nectar to make honey is pollination
Pollination

Pollination in flowering plants and gymnosperms is the process that transfers pollen, which contain the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself....
, which is crucial for flowering plant
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s.

Beekeepers encourage overproduction of honey within the hive so that the excess can be taken without endangering the bees. When sources of food for the bees are short, beekeepers may have to give the bees supplementary nutrition.

Formation

Bee On  Calyx 935
Honey is created by bees as a food source. In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy. By contriving for bee swarms to nest in artifical hives
Beehive

Beehive may refer to:Bee-keeping* Beehive is a structure in which bees live and raise their young. It includes both natural and man-made hives; the latter includes traditional designs such as skeps and gums and modern designs such as:...
, people have been able to semi-domesticate
Domestication

Domestication or taming refers to the process whereby a population of living things becomes accustomed to a controlled environment by other plants or animals through a process of Selective breeding....
 the insects, and harvest excess honey. In the hive there are three types of bee: a single female queen bee, a seasonally variable number of male drone bees
Drone (bee)

Drones are male honey bees. Male honey bees develop when the queen bee lays unfertilized Egg s....
 to fertilize new queens, and some 20,000 to 40,000 female worker bee
Worker bee

A Worker bee is any female eusocial bee that lacks the full reproductive capacity of the colony's queen bee; under most circumstances, this is correlated to an increase in certain non-reproductive activities relative to a queen, as well....
s. The worker bees raise larvae and collect the nectar that will become honey in the hive. Leaving the hive, they collect sugar-rich flower nectar and return. In the process, they release Nasonov
Nasonov

The Nasonov pheromone is released by worker bee honeybee to orient returning forager bees back to the colony. To broadcast this scent, bees raise their abdomens, which contain the Nasonov glands, and fan their wings vigorously....
 pheromone
Pheromone

A pheromone is a chemical that triggers a natural behavioral response in another member of the opposite gender of the same species. There are alarm signal pheromones, food trail pheromones, sex pheromones, and many others that affect behavior or physiology....
s. These pheromones lead other bees to rich nectar sites by "smell". Honeybees also release Nasonov pheromones at the entrance to the hive, which enables returning bees to return to the proper hive.

In the hive the bees use their "honey stomachs" to ingest and regurgitate
Regurgitation (digestion)

File:Flesh fly concentrating food.jpgRegurgitation is the controlled flow of stomach contents back into the esophagus and mouth.Regurgitation is used by a number of species to feed their young....
 the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested. The bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion until the product reaches a desired quality. It is then stored in honeycomb
Honeycomb

A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal waxcells built by honey bees in their beehive to contain their larva and stores of honey and pollen.beekeeping may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey....
 cells. After the final regurgitation, the honeycomb is left unsealed. However, the nectar is still high in both water content and natural yeasts which, unchecked, would cause the sugars in the nectar to ferment. The process continues as bees inside the hive fan their wings, creating a strong draft across the honeycomb which enhances evaporation
Evaporation

Evaporation is the slow vaporization of a liquid and the reverse of condensation. A type of phase transition, it is the process by which molecules in a liquid State of matter spontaneously become gaseous ....
 of much of the water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 from the nectar. This reduction in water content raises the sugar concentration and prevents fermentation
Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically refers to the conversion of sugar to alcohol using yeast under anaerobic conditions. A more general definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids....
. Ripe honey, as removed from the hive by a beekeeper
Beekeeper

A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen; pollination fruits and vegetables; raising Queen and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity....
, has a long shelf life and will not ferment if properly sealed.

Nutrition

Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds. With respect to carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38.5%) and glucose (about 31.0%), making it similar to the synthetically produced inverted sugar syrup
Inverted sugar syrup

Inverted sugar syrup is a sucrose-based syrup, produced by splitting each sucrose disaccharide molecule into its component monomers, glucose and fructose....
 which is approximately 48% fructose, 47% glucose, and 5% sucrose. Honey's remaining carbohydrates include maltose, sucrose, and other complex carbohydrates. Honey contains trace amounts of several vitamin
Vitamin

A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be biosynthesis in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet....
s and minerals
Dietary mineral

Dietary minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic chemistry....
. As with all nutritive sweeteners, honey is mostly sugars and is not a significant source of vitamins or minerals. Honey also contains tiny amounts of several compounds thought to function as antioxidants, including chrysin
Chrysin

Chrysin is a naturally occurring flavone chemically extracted from the blue passion flower . Honeycomb also contains small amounts....
, pinobanksin
Pinobanksin

The antioxidant pinobanksin is a flavonoid that inhibits lipid peroxidation of low density lipoprotein and it has electron donor properties reducing tocopherol radicals. It is present in honey....
, vitamin C
Vitamin C

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is an essential nutrient for humans, a large number of simian species, a small number of other mammalian species , a few species of birds, and some fish....
, catalase
Catalase

Catalase is a common enzyme found in nearly all living organisms which are exposed to oxygen, where it functions to catalyst the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen....
, and pinocembrin
Pinocembrin

Pinocembrin is a flavonoid antioxidant found in honey and propolis.It can be further biosynthetized to pinobanksin, by hydroxylating the C ring....
. The specific composition of any batch of honey will depend largely on the mix of flowers available to the bees that produced the honey.

Typical honey analysis
  • Fructose
    Fructose

    Fructose is a simple Reducing sugar sugar found in many foods and is one of the three important dietary monosaccharides along with glucose and galactose....
    : 38.5%
  • Glucose
    Glucose

    Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
    : 31.0%
  • Sucrose
    Sucrose

    Sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose, with the molecular formula C12H22O11. Its systematic name is a-D-glucopyranosyl- -?-D-fructofuranoside ....
    : 1.0%
  • Water
    Water

    Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
    : 17.0%
  • Other sugar
    Sugar

    Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many other sources....
    s: 9.0% (maltose
    Maltose

    Maltose, or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an a linkage. It is the second member of an important biochemical series of glucose chains....
    , melezitose
    Melezitose

    Melezitose, also spelled melicitose, is a nonreducing trisaccharide sugar that is produced by many plant sap eating insects, including aphids such as Cinara pilicornis by an enzyme reaction....
    )
  • Ash
    Ash (analytical chemistry)

    In analytical chemistry, ashing is the process of mineralization for preconcentration of trace substances prior to chemical analysis.< Ash is the name given to all non-aqueous residue that remains after a sample is burned, and consist mostly of metal oxides....
    : 0.17%
  • Other: 3.38%


Honey has a density
Density

The density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol of density is ....
 of about 1.36 kilograms per liter (36% denser than water).

Isotope ratio mass spectrometry can be used to detect addition of corn syrup
Corn syrup

Corn syrup is a syrup, made using cornstarch as a feedstock, and composed mainly of glucose. A series of two enzyme reactions are used to convert the cornstarch to corn syrup....
 or sugar cane sugars by the carbon isotopic signature
Isotopic signature

An isotopic signature is a ratio of stable or unstable isotopes of particular elements found in an investigated material. The atomic mass of different isotopes affect their chemical kinetics behavior, leading to natural isotope separation processes....
. Addition of sugars originated from corn or sugar cane (C4 plants
C4 carbon fixation

C4 carbon fixation is one of three biochemical mechanisms, along with C3 carbon fixation and CAM photosynthesis, functioning in land plants to "fix" carbon dioxide for sugar production through photosynthesis....
, unlike the plants used by bees which are predominantly C3 plants
C3 carbon fixation

carbon fixation is a metabolic pathway for carbon fixation in photosynthesis. This process converts carbon dioxide and ribulose bisphosphate into 3-phosphoglycerate through the following reaction:...
) skews the isotopic ratio of sugars present in honey, but does not influence the isotopic ratio of proteins; in an unadulterated honey the carbon isotopic ratios of sugars and proteins should match. As low as 7% level of addition can be detected.

Classification by floral source

Generally, honey is classified by the floral source of the nectar from which it was made. Honeys can be from specific types of flower nectars, from indeterminate origin, or can be blended after collection.

Blended

Most commercially available honey is blended, meaning that it is a mixture of two or more honeys differing in floral source, color, flavor, density or geographic origin.

Polyfloral

Polyfloral honey, also known as wildflower honey, is derived from the nectar of many types of flowers. The taste may vary from year to year, and the aroma and the flavour can be more or less intense, depending on which bloomings are prevalent.

Monofloral


Monofloral honey is made primarily from the nectar of one type of flower. Different monofloral honeys have a distinctive flavor and colour because of differences between their principal nectar source
Nectar source

A nectar source is a flowering plant that produces nectar as part of its reproductive strategy. These plants create nectar, which attract pollinating insects and sometimes other animals such as birds....
s. In order to produce monofloral honey beekeepers keep beehives in an area where the bees have access to only one type of flower. In practice, because of the difficulties in containing bees, a small proportion of any honey will be from additional nectar from other flower types. Typical examples of North American monofloral honeys are clover, orange blossom, sage, eucalyptus, tupelo, manuka, buckwheat, and sourwood. Some typical European examples include thyme, thistle, heather, acacia, dandelion, sunflower, honeysuckle, and varieties from lime
Lime

Lime may refer to:...
 and chestnut
Chestnut

Chestnut , is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the Beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate climate regions of the Northern Hemisphere....
 trees.

Honeydew honey

Instead of taking nectar, bees can take honeydew
Honeydew (secretion)

Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky substance, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening....
, the sweet secretions of aphid
Aphid

Aphids, also known as plant lice , are small plant-eating insects, and members of the Taxonomic rank Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions....
s or other plant sap-sucking insects. Honeydew honey is very dark brown in colour, with a rich fragrance of stewed fruit or fig jam and is not as sweet as nectar honeys. Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
's Black Forest
Black Forest

The Black Forest is a forest mountain range in Baden-W?rttemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south....
 is a well known source of honeydew-based honeys, as well as some regions in Bulgaria. Honeydew honey is popular in some areas, but in other areas beekeepers have difficulty selling the stronger flavored product.

The production of Honeydew honey has some complications and dangers. The honey has a much larger proportion of indigestibles than light floral honeys, which can cause dysentery to the bees, resulting in the death of colonies in areas with cold winters. Good beekeeping management requires the removal of honeydew prior to winter in colder areas. Bees collecting this resource also have to be fed protein supplements, as honeydew lacks the protein-rich pollen accompaniment gathered from flowers.

Packaging and processing

Honey Comb
Generally, honey is bottled in its familiar liquid form. However, honey is sold in other forms, and can be subjected to a variety of processing methods.
Comb honey
  • Comb honey
    Comb honey

    Comb honey is produced by honeybees in a hive. The bees fill the hexagon shaped wax cells of the honeycomb with honey and cap it with beeswax....
     is honey meant to be consumed still in the honeybees' wax comb. Comb honey traditionally is collected by using standard wooden frames
    Frame (beehive)

    A frame in a beehive is the structural element that holds the honeycomb or brood comb within the hive body . The frame is a key part of the modern "movable" hive since it can be removed in order to inspect the bees for disease or to extract the excess honey....
     in honey super
    Honey super

    A honey super is a part of a beehive that is used to collect honey. The most common variety is the super with a depth of 6 5/8 inches in the length and width dimensions of a Langstroth hive....
    s. The frames are collected and the comb cut out in chunks before packaging. As an alternative to this labor intensive method, plastic rings or cartridges can be used that do not require manual cutting of the comb, and speed packaging. Comb honey harvested in the traditional manner is also referred to as "Cut-Comb honey"
  • Chunk honey is honey packed in widemouth containers consisting of one or more pieces of comb honey immersed in extracted liquid honey.


Organic
  • Certified Organic Honey is honey or honey combs produced, processed, and packaged in accordance with national regulations, and certified as such by some government body or an independent organic farming certification organization. In the United Kingdom
    United Kingdom

    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
    , the standard covers not only the origin of bees, but also the siting of the apiaries. These must be on land that is certified as organic, and within a radius of 4 miles from the apiary site, nectar and pollen sources must consist essentially of organic crops or uncultivated areas. . According to TheOrganicReport.com, organic honey is quite scarce to find because most beekeepers "routinely use sulfa compounds and antibiotics to control bee diseases, carbolic acid to remove honey from the hive, and calcium cyanide to kill colonies before extracting the honey, not to mention that conventional honeybees gather nectar from plants that have been sprayed with pesticides."


Varieties of processing
  • Crystallized honey is honey in which some of the glucose content has spontaneously crystallized from solution as the monohydrate. Also called "granulated honey."
  • Pasteurized honey is honey that has been heated in a pasteurization
    Pasteurization

    Pasteurization is a process which slows microbial growth in foods. The process was named after its creator, France chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur....
     process. While this process sterilizes the honey and improves shelf-life, it has some disadvantages. Paseurization in honey reduces the moisture level, destroys yeast cells, and liquefies crystals in the honey. Excessive heat-exposure also results in product deterioration, as it increases the level of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and reduces enzyme (e.g. diastase) activity. The heat also affects appearance, taste, and fragrance. Heat processing can also darken the natural honey color (browning).
  • Raw honey is honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling or straining without adding heat above 120 °F. Raw honey contains some pollen and may contain small particles of wax. Local raw honey is sought after by allergy
    Allergy

    Allergy is a Disorder of the immune system often also referred to as atopy. Allergic reactions occur to Natural environmental substances known as allergens; these reactions are Acquired disorder, predictable and rapid....
     sufferers as the pollen impurities are thought to lessen the sensitivity to hay fever
    Hay Fever

    Hay Fever is a comic play written by No?l Coward in 1924 and first produced in 1925 with Marie Tempest as the first Judith Bliss. Best described as a cross between high farce and a comedy of manners, the play is set in an English country house in the 1920s, and deals with the four eccentric members of the Bliss family and their outlandish b...
     (see Medical Applications
    Honey

    Honey is a sweet fluid produced by honey bees , and derived from the nectar of flowers. According to the United States National Honey Board and various international food regulations, "honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance?this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners...
     below).
  • Strained honey is honey which has been passed through a mesh material to remove particulate material (pieces of wax, propolis
    Propolis

    Propolis is a resinous mixture that honey bees collect from tree buds, sap flows, or other botanical sources. It is used as a sealant for unwanted open spaces in the beehive ....
    , other defects) without removing pollen, minerals or valuable enzymes.
  • Ultrafiltered honey is honey processed by very fine filtration under high pressure to remove all extraneous solids and pollen grains. The process typically heats honey to 150–170 °F to more easily pass through the fine filter. Ultrafiltered honey is very clear and has a longer shelf life, because it crystallizes more slowly because of the high temperatures breaking down any sugar seed crystals, making it preferred by the supermarket trade. The heating process degrades certain qualities of the honey similar to the aforementioned pasteurization process.
  • Ultrasonicated honey is honey that has been processed by ultrasonication, a non-thermal processing alternative for honey. When honey is exposed to ultrasonication, most of the yeast cells are destroyed. Yeast cells that survive sonication generally lose their ability to grow. This reduces the rate of honey fermentation substantially. Ultrasonication also eliminates existing crystals and inhibits further crystallization in honey. Ultrasonically aided liquefaction can work at substantially lower temperatures of approx. 35 °C and can reduce liquefaction time to less than 30 seconds.
  • Whipped honey
    Whipped honey

    Whipped honey is a honey that has been processed to control crystallization. Whipped honey contains a large number of small crystals in the honey....
    , also called creamed honey, spun honey, churned honey, candied honey, and honey fondant, is honey that has been processed to control crystallization
    Crystallization

    Crystallization is the process of formation of solid crystals Precipitation from a solution, melting or more rarely Deposition directly from a gas....
    . Whipped honey contains a large number of small crystals in the honey. The small crystals prevent the formation of larger crystals that can occur in unprocessed honey. The processing also produces a honey with a smooth spreadable consistency.


Preservation


Because of its unique composition and the complex processing of nectar by the bees which changes its chemical properties, honey is suitable for long term storage and is easily assimilated even after long preservation. History knows examples of honey preservation for decades, and even centuries. The main goal is to prevent the fermentation of the honey. Honey should also be protected from oxidation. The ideal example is the natural process of bees sealing of the honey in honeycomb cells with wax caps. The best honey is in the uncut honey combs. After being removed from the comb, honey is very vulnerable, and the main losses of quality take place during preservation and distribution. A number of special prerequisites are, however, necessary to achieve the conservation. These include sealing the product in vessels of chosen material, kept in a favorable environment of specific humidity, temperature, etc. Honey should not be preserved in metal containers, because the acids in the honey may promote oxidation of the vessel. This leads to increased content of heavy metals in honey, decreases the amount of nutrients, and may lead to stomach discomfort or even poisoning. Traditionally honey was stored in ceramic or wooden containers, however glass is now the favored material. While ceramic vessels are still a viable option, honey stored in wooden containers may be discolored or take on flavors imparted from the vessel.

Traditionally honey was preserved in deep cellars, but not together with wine or other products. As honey has a strong tendency to absorb outside smells, it is advisable to keep it in clean, hermetically sealed vessels. Because honey has a high tendency to absorb outside smells and moisture, it is not advisable to preserve honey uncovered in a refrigerator, especially together with other foods and products.

It is also advisable to keep it in opaque vessels, or stored in a dark place. Optimal preservation temperature is +4 to +10 °C (39 to 50 ° F). Honey should be stored in a dark, dry place, preventing it from absorbing any moisture. If excessive moisture is absorbed by the honey, it can ferment. When conventional preservation methods are applied, it is not recommended to preserve the honey for longer than 2 (maximum 3) years.

Excessive heat can have detrimental effects on the nutritional value of honey.

Heating up to 37°? causes loss of nearly 200 components, part of which are antibacterial. Heating up to 40°? destroys invertase, and important enzyme. Heating up to 50°? turns the honey into caramel (the most valuable honey sugars become analogous to sugar). Generally any larger temperature fluctuation (10°? is ideal for preservation of ripe honey) causes decay."

Acacia
Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Sweden botanist Carolus Linnaeus in 1773....
 honey is known to be more resistant to crystallization.

Distinguishing quality honey


Honey grading

Honey grading is performed voluntarily based upon USDA standards. The quality of honey is graded based upon a number of factors including: soluble solids, water content, flavor, aroma, clarity, absence of defects, and color. The honey grade scale is:
  • Grade A - Good
  • Grade B - Reasonably Good
  • Grade C - Fairly Good
  • Substandard - Poor, Failing


Indicators of quality

High quality honey can be distinguished by, fragrance, taste, and consitency. Ripe, freshly collected, high quality honey at 20°C (68°F) should flow from a knife in a straight stream, without breaking into separate drops. After falling down the honey should form a bead. The honey when poured should form small, temporary layers that dissapear fairly quickly, indicating high viscosity. If not, it indicates excessive water content (over 20%) of the product. Honey with excessive water content is not suitable for long term preservation.

In jars, fresh honey should appear as a pure, consistant fluid and should not set in layers. Within a few weeks to a few months of extraction, many varieties of honey will crystallize and become cream coloured and solid. Some varieties of honey, including tuepelo, acacia, and sage may crystallize less regularly. Honey may be heated during bottling at temperatures of 104-120°F to delay or inhibit crystallization without degrading the honey. So lack of crystallization is not a definite indicator of excessive heating or pasteurization. If transparent and reluctant to thicken, this may indicate that the bees were fed with sugar syrup or even sugar itself, which is bad both for the bees and for the honey they produce. A fluffy film on the surface of the honey (like a white foam), or marble-coloured or white-spotted crystallization on a containers sides, is formed by air bubbles trapped during the bottling process. This is an indication of a high quality honey, which was filled without pasteurization (high-grade heating).

A 2008 Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 study determined that nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
NMR spectroscopy

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy, is the name given to a technique which exploits the magnetic properties of certain nuclei....
 can be used to distinguish between different honey types, and can be used to pinpoint the area where it was produced. Researchers were able to identify differences in acacia and polyfloral honeys by the differing proportions of fructose
Fructose

Fructose is a simple Reducing sugar sugar found in many foods and is one of the three important dietary monosaccharides along with glucose and galactose....
 and sucrose
Sucrose

Sucrose is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose, with the molecular formula C12H22O11. Its systematic name is a-D-glucopyranosyl- -?-D-fructofuranoside ....
, as well as differing levels of aromatic amino acid
Amino acid

In chemistry, an amino acid is a molecule containing both amine and carboxyl functional groups. These molecules are particularly important in biochemistry, where this term refers to alpha-amino acids with the general formula H2NCHRCOOH, where R is an organic substituent....
s phenylalanine
Phenylalanine

Phenylalanine is an a-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2C6H5, which is found naturally in the breast milk of mammals and manufactured for food and drink products and are also sold as nutritional supplements for their reputed analgesic and antidepressant effects....
 and tyrosine
Tyrosine

Tyrosine or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine, is one of the 20 amino acids that are used by cell to protein biosynthesis proteins. This is a non-essential amino acid and it is found in casein....
. This ability allows greater ease of selecting compatible stocks.

Honey in history, culture, and folklore

Honey use and production has a long and varied history. In many cultures, honey has associations that go beyond its use as a food. It appears in literature, religion, linguitics and folk belief, Honey is frequently a talisman
Talisman

*A Talisman is a small amulet or other object, often bearing magical symbols, worn for protection against evil spirits or the supernatural.May also mean:...
 and symbol
Symbol

A symbol is something such as an entity, picture, written word, sound, or particular mark that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention....
 of sweetness.

Ancient Times

Honey collection is an ancient activity. Eva Crane
Eva Crane

Eva Crane was a researcher and author on the subjects of bees and beekeeping. Trained as a nuclear physicist, she changed her field of interest to bees, and spent decades researching bees, traveling to more than 60 countries, often under primitive conditions....
 The Archaeology of Beekeeping (1983) . states that humans began hunting for honey at least 10,000 years ago. She evidences this with a cave painting in Valencia, Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
. The painting is a Mesolithic
Mesolithic

The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age....
 rock painting, showing two female honey-hunters collecting honey and honeycomb from a wild bee hive. The two women are depicted in the nude, carrying baskets, and using a long wobbly ladder
Ladder

A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or Step . There are two types: rigid ladders that can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rope ladders that are hung from the top....
 in order to reach the wild nest.

In Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
, honey was used to sweeten cakes and biscuits, and was used in many other dishes. Ancient Egyptian and Middle-Eastern
Middle East

File:GreaterMiddleEast1.pngThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, western Asia, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East....
 peoples also used honey for embalming
Embalming

File:Embalming fluid.jpgEmbalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for display at a funeral....
 the dead. In the Roman Empire
Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, honey was possibly used instead of gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
 to pay taxes. Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder

Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author, naturalist or natural philosopher and naval and military commander of some importance who wrote Natural History ....
 devotes considerable space in his book Naturalis Historia
Naturalis Historia

Naturalis Historia is an encyclopedia written circa AD 77 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day, and was one of the first reference works developed in the Classical period to examine natural and man-made objects, both organic and mineral, as well as many natura...
 to the bee and honey, and its many uses. The fertility god of Egypt, Min
Min (god)

Min is an Ancient Egyptian god whose cult originated in predynastic times . He was represented in many different forms, but was often represented in male human form, shown with an erect penis which he holds in his left hand and an upheld right arm holding a flail....
, was offered honey.

In some parts of post-classical Greece
Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
, like Rhodes, it was formerly the custom for a bride to dip her fingers in honey and make the sign of the cross
Sign of the cross

The Sign of the Cross is a ritual hand motion made by members of most but not all branches of Christianity. It may be accompanied by the trinitarian formula....
 before entering her new home.

Honey in the Bible
The Old Testament
Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
 contains many references to honey. In The Book of Judges, Samson found a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of a lion (14:8). In Matthew 3:4, John the Baptist is said to have lived for a long period of time in the wilderness on a diet consisting of locusts and wild honey. The book of Exodus
Exodus

Exodus is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. It tells how Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the Mountain of God Sinai....
 famously describes the Promised Land
Promised land

The Promised Land is a term used to describe the land promised by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites. The promise is made to Abraham and the descendants of his son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob, Abraham's grandson, as they are all given promises that their descendants will be given a territory from the River of Egypt to t...
 as a "land flowing with milk
Milk

Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals . It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborn mammals before they are able to digestion other types of food....
 and honey" (33:3). However, the claim has been advanced that the original Hebrew (devash) actually refers to the sweet syrup produced from the juice of the date
Date Palm

Phoenix dactylifera, commonly known as the Date Palm, is a Arecaceae in the genus Phoenix , extensively cultivated for its edible sweet fruit....
.

Religious significance

In Jewish tradition, honey is a symbol for the new year—Rosh Hashana. At the traditional meal for that holiday, apple slices are dipped in honey and eaten to bring a sweet new year. Some Rosh Hashana greetings show honey and an apple, symbolizing the feast. In some congregations, small straws of honey are given out to usher in the new year.

In Islam, there is an entire Surah in the Qur'an
Qur'an

The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
 called al-Nahl (the Honey Bee). According to hadith
Hadith

Hadith are oral traditions relating to the words and deeds of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad. Hadith collections are regarded by all traditional madhab as important tools for determining the Muslim way of life, the sunnah....
, Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad

Muhammad Patronymic#Arabic Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib , is the founder of the Major religious groups of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a Rasul and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets....
 strongly recommended honey for healing purposes. The Qur'an also promotes honey as a nutritious and healthy food:
"And thy Lord taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees and in (men's) habitations…there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for mankind. Verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought".


In Buddhism, honey plays an important role in the festival of Madhu Purnima
Madhu Purnima

Modhu Purnima is a Buddhist festival celebrated in India and Bangladesh, especially in the region of Chittagong. It occurs on the day of the full moon in the month of Bhadro ....
, celebrated by Buddhists in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 and Bangladesh
Bangladesh

, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south....
. The day commemorates Buddha
Gautama Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a Spirituality teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddhahood of our age....
's making peace among his disciples by retreating into the wilderness. The legend has it that while he was there, a monkey
Monkey

A monkey is a nonhuman primate mammal with the exception usually of the lemurs and tarsiers. More specifically, the term monkey refers to a subset of monkeys: any of the smaller longer-tailed catarrhine or platyrrhine primates as contrasted with the apes....
 brought him honey to eat. On Madhu Purnima, Buddhists remember this act by giving honey to monks
Buddhist monasticism

Monasticism is one of the most fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns are responsible for preserving and spreading Buddhist teachings, as well as educating and guiding Buddhist lay followers....
. The monkey's gift is frequently depicted in Buddhist art
Buddhist art

Buddhist art originated on the Indian subcontinent following the historical life of Gautama Buddha, 6th to 5th century BCE, and thereafter evolved by contact with other cultures as it spread throughout Asia and the world....
.

In Western culture

The word "honey", along with variations like "honey bun" and "honeypot" and the abbreviation "hon", has become a term of endearment in most of the English-speaking world. In some places it is used for loved ones; in others, such as the American South, it is used when addressing casual acquaintances or even strangers.

Also, in many children’s books bear
Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives....
s are depicted as eating honey, (e.g. Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh is a Walt Disney Company Media franchise, based on animated fictional characters who have been featured as part of the List of Disney characters....
) even though most bears actually eat a wide variety of foods, and bears seen at beehives are usually more interested in bee larvae than honey. In some European languages even the word for 'bear' (e.g. in Russian 'medvéd', in Czech 'medved, in Hungarian medve, in Croatian 'medvjed') is coined from the noun which means 'honey' and the verb which means 'to eat'. Honey is sometimes sold in bear-shaped jar
Jar

A jar is small, approximately cylindrical container for food, made of glass or clay, and also plastic as in the case of a "jar" of peanut butter.Jar or JAR can also mean:...
s or squeeze bottles.

Modern Uses


As a food and in cooking

The main uses of honey are in cooking
Cooking

Cooking is the process of preparing food by applying heat, selecting, measuring and combining of ingredients in an ordered procedure for producing safe and edible food....
, baking, as a spread on bread
Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
s, and as an addition to various beverages such as tea
Tea

Tea refers to the agricultural products of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods....
 and as a sweetener in commercial beverages such as Sprecher
Sprecher Brewery

Sprecher Brewery is a brewery founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Wisconsin, by Randal Sprecher in 1985. Sprecher produces an assortment of beers and sodas....
's root beer
Root beer

Root beer is a carbonated beverage originally brewed using sassafras. Root beer, popularized in North America, comes in two forms: fermentation and soft drink....
.

Honey is the main ingredient in the alcoholic beverage mead
Mead

Mead is a typically alcoholic beverage beverage, made from honey and water via Fermentation with yeast. Its alcoholic content may range from that of a mild ale to that of a strong wine....
, which is also known as "honey wine" or "honey beer" (although it is neither wine
Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermentation grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients....
 nor beer
Beer

Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and Fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal?the most common of which is malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely used....
). It is also used as an adjunct in beer
Beer

Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and Fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal?the most common of which is malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely used....
.

Its glycemic index
Glycemic index

The Glycemic index or GI is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down rapidly during digestion releasing glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI; carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the bloodstream, have a low GI....
 ranges from 31 to 78 depending on the variety.
Vegans and honey
During early vegan movements in the 1940s, The Vegan Society in England defined veganism as "the practice of living on the products of the plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, fowl, eggs, honey, animal milk and its derivatives, and encourages the use of alternatives for all commodities derived wholly or in part from animals."(emphasis added). Following this, some vegans do not eat honey as it is considered an animal product
Animal product

Animal products are either produced by an animal or taken from the body of an animal. The term is primarily used in relation to Diet , particularly for Vegetarianism, Veganism and those concerned with maintaining a Kashrut, Halaal, or raw food diet diet....
. However, there is active debate in the Vegan community on the status of honey as an animal product.

In medicine

For at least 2700 years, honey has been used by humans to treat a variety of ailments through topical application, but only recently have the antiseptic and antibacterial properties of honey been chemically explained.

Wound Gels that contain antibacterial honey and have regulatory approval for wound care are now available to help conventional medicine in the battle against drug resistant strains of bacteria MRSA. As an antimicrobial agent honey may have the potential for treating a variety of ailments. One New Zealand researcher says a particular type of honey may be useful in treating MRSA infections. Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low water activity
Water activity

Water activity is a dimensionless quantity used to represent the energy status of the water in a system. It is defined as the vapor pressure of water above a sample divided by that of pure water at the same temperature; therefore, pure distilled water has a water activity of exactly one....
 causing osmosis, hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a very pale blue liquid which appears colorless in a dilute solution, slightly more viscous than water. It is a weak acid....
 effect, and high acidity.

Honey appears to be effective in killing drug-resistant biofilm
Biofilm

A biofilm is a structured community of microorganisms encapsulated within a self-developed polymeric matrix and adherent to a living or inert surface....
s which are implicated in chronic rhinosinusitis.

Osmotic effect
Honey is primarily a saturated mixture of two monosaccharides. This mixture has a low water activity
Water activity

Water activity is a dimensionless quantity used to represent the energy status of the water in a system. It is defined as the vapor pressure of water above a sample divided by that of pure water at the same temperature; therefore, pure distilled water has a water activity of exactly one....
; most of the water molecules are associated with the sugars and few remain available for microorganisms, so it is a poor environment for their growth. If water is mixed with honey, it loses its low water activity, and therefore no longer possesses this antimicrobial property.

Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a very pale blue liquid which appears colorless in a dilute solution, slightly more viscous than water. It is a weak acid....
 in honey is activated by dilution. However, unlike medical hydrogen peroxide, commonly 3% by volume, it is present in a concentration of only 1 mmol
MoL

Method of Lines refers to a computational technique in Electromagnetics, used to solve the Maxwells equations. It makes use of line sources to model charge and current distributions....
/L in honey. Honey chelates and deactivates the free iron, which starts the formation of oxygen free radicals produced by hydrogen peroxide and the antioxidant constituents in honey help clean up oxygen free radicals present. http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2001/november/Molan/honey-as-topical-agent.html

C6H12O6
Glucose

Glucose , a monosaccharide also known as grape sugar, blood sugar, or corn sugar, is a very important carbohydrate in biology....
 + H2O + O2 ? C6H12O7
Gluconic acid

Gluconic acid is an organic compound with molecular formula C6H12O7 and condensed structural formula chemical formula HOCH24COOH....
 + H2O2
Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a very pale blue liquid which appears colorless in a dilute solution, slightly more viscous than water. It is a weak acid....


When used topically (as, for example, a wound dressing), hydrogen peroxide is produced by dilution with body fluids. As a result, hydrogen peroxide is released slowly and acts as an antiseptic.

In diabetic ulcers
Topical honey has been used successfully in a comprehensive treatment of diabetic ulcers when the patient cannot use other topical antibiotics.

Acidity
The pH
PH

pH is a measure of the Acid or Base of a solution. It is defined as the cologarithm of the Activity of dissolved hydrogen ions . Hydrogen ion activity coefficients cannot be measured experimentally, so they are based on theoretical calculations....
 of honey is commonly between 3.2 and 4.5. This relatively acidic pH level prevents the growth of many bacteria.

Nutraceutical effects
Antioxidants in honey have even been implicated in reducing the damage done to the colon in colitis
Colitis

Colitis is a Chronic digestive diseases characterized by inflammation of the colon .Colitis is one of a group of conditions which are inflammatory and auto-immune, affecting the tissue that lines the gastrointestinal system ....
. Such claims are consistent with its use in many traditions of folk medicine.

For throats
Honey has also been used for centuries as a treatment for sore throats and coughs, and according to recent research may in fact be as effective as many common cough medicines. It is important to remember however that this is an initial study with a small sample size.

Mixed with lemon juice
Lemon juice

Lemon juice, a fruit juice, is the juice of lemons . Fresh lemon juice is obtained by squeezing lemons. Lemon juice, either in natural strength or concentrated, is sold as a bottled product most of the time, usually with the addition of ascorbic acid and a preservative such as E223....
 and consumed slowly, honey coats the throat, alleviating discomfort. The antibacterial and antiseptic
Antiseptic

Antiseptics are antimicrobials that are applied to living biological tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putrefaction....
 properties of honey aid in healing sore throat
Throat

In anatomy, the throat is the anterior part of the neck, in front of the vertebrae. It consists of the pharynx and larynx. An important feature of the throat is the epiglottis, a flap which separates the esophagus from the vertebrate trachea and prevents inhalation of food or drink....
s and laryngitis
Laryngitis

Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse human voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds ....
.

Other medical applications
Some studies suggest that the topical use of honey may reduce odors, swelling, and scarring when used to treat wounds; it may also prevent the dressing from sticking to the healing wound.

Honey has been shown to be an effective treatment for conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva , most commonly due to an allergic reaction or an infection ....
 in rats.

Though widely believed to alleviate allergies, local honey has been shown to be no more effective than placebos in controlled studies of ocular allergies. This may be because most seasonal allergies are caused by tree and grass pollens, which honeybees do not collect. However, a recent study has shown pollen collected by bees to exert an anti allergenic effect, mediated by an inhibition of IgE immunoglobulin binding to mast cells. This inhibited mast cell degranulation and thus reduced allergic reaction.

Honey mixed with water and vinegar
Vinegar

Vinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid . It also may come in a diluted form....
 was also used as a vermifuge. The concoction was called Oxymellin.

A review in the Cochrane Library suggests that honey could reduce the time it takes for a burn to heal - up to four days sooner in some cases. The review included 19 studies with 2,554 participants. Although the honey treatment healed moderate burns faster than traditional dressings did, the author recommends viewing the findings with caution, since a single researcher performed all of the burn studies.

Potential health hazards

Because of the natural presence of botulinum
Clostridium botulinum

Clostridium botulinum is a Gram-positive, rod shaped bacteria that produces the neurotoxin botulin, which causes the flaccid muscular paralysis seen in botulism....
 endospore
Endospore

An endospore is a dormancy, tough, and non-reproductive structure produced by bacteria from the Firmicute phylum. Examples include Bacillus and Clostridium....
s in honey, children under one year of age should not be given honey. The more developed digestive systems of older children and adults generally destroy the spores. Infants, however, can contract botulism
Botulism

Botulism also known as "Botulinus Intoxication," is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulin toxin. The toxin is produced by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum....
 from honey.

Honey produced from the flowers of rhododendron
Rhododendron

Rhododendron is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It is a large genus with over 1000 species and most have showy flower displays....
s, mountain laurels, sheep laurel, and azalea
Azalea

Azaleas are flowering shrubs making up part of the genus Rhododendron. Originally azaleas were classed as a different genus of plant, but now they are recognised as two of the eight sub-genera of rhododendrons - subgenus Pentanthera , and subgenus Tsutsuji ....
s may cause honey intoxication. Symptoms include dizziness, weakness, excessive perspiration, nausea, and vomiting. Less commonly, low blood pressure, shock, heart rhythm irregularities, and convulsions may occur, with rare cases resulting in death. Honey intoxication is more likely when using "natural" unprocessed honey and honey from farmers who may have a small number of hives. Commercial processing, with pooling of honey from numerous sources generally dilutes any toxins.

Toxic honey may also result when bees are in close proximity to tutu bushes (Coriaria arborea) and the vine hopper insect (Scolypopa australis). Both are found throughout New Zealand. Bees gather honeydew produced by the vine hopper insects feeding on the tutu plant. This introduces the poison tutin into honey. Only a few areas in New Zealand (Coromandel Peninsula, Eastern Bay of Plenty and the Marlborough Sound) frequently produce toxic honey. Symptoms of tutin poisoning include vomiting, delirium, giddiness, increased excitability, stupor, coma, and violent convulsions. In order to reduce the risk of tutin poisoning, humans should not eat honey taken from feral hives in the risk areas of New Zealand. Since December 2001, New Zealand beekeepers have been required to reduce the risk of producing toxic honey by closely monitoring tutu, vine hopper, and foraging conditions within 3 km of their apiary.

Honey producing countries


In 2005, China, Turkey, and the U.S. were the top producers of natural honey, reports the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Mexico is also an important producer of honey, providing about ten percent of the world's supply. Much of this (about one-third) comes from the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucat?n Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucat?n Channel....
. Honey production began here when the Apis mellifera and the A. Mellifer ligustica were introduced here early in the 20th century. Most of Mexico's Yucatán producers are small, family operations who use original traditional techniques, moving hives to take advantage of the various tropical and sub-tropical flowers. The honey-producing cycle depends on the rainy season. The first and best harvest takes place in the dry season between February and May. Many species flower at this time. After the rainy season begins, there are still plenty of flowers but the bees have a difficult time traveling for nectar and producing the honey because of the weather conditions. Bees may not make enough for sale and what may be produced is of lower-quality.

Honey is also one of the gourmet products of the French island of Corsica
Corsica

Corsica is the Mediterranean islands#By area in the Mediterranean Sea . It is located west of Italy, southeast of the France mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
. Corsican honey is certified as to its origin (Appellation d'origine contrôlée
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée

Appellation d?origine contr?l?e , which translates as "controlled term of origin" is the French certification granted to certain France geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National des Appellations d'Origine ....
) just as French wines are.

List of European Honeys with PDO/PGI
  • Greece
  • ???? "ßa????a" ?a?????? - "Vanilla" honey of Menalo, Arcadia


  • Spain
  • Miel de Galicia or Mel de Galicia
  • Miel de Granada
  • Miel de La Alcarria


  • France
  • Miel d’Alsace
  • Miel de Corse
  • Miel de Provence
  • Miel de Sapin des Vosges


  • Italy
  • Miele della Lunigiana


  • Luxembourg
  • Miel luxembourgeois de marque nationale
    Miel luxembourgeois de marque nationale

    Miel luxembourgeois de marque nationale is a honey from Luxembourg that is protected under EU law with Protected geographical indications in the European Union status....


  • Poland
  • Miód wrzosowy z Borów Dolnoslaskich
  • Bartnik Sadecki
  • APIS Apiculture Cooperative


  • Portugal
  • Mel da Serra da Lousă
  • Mel da Serra de Monchique
  • Mel da Terra Quente
  • Mel das Terras Altas do Minho
  • Mel de Barroso
  • Mel do Alentejo
  • Mel do Parque de Montezinho
  • Mel do Ribatejo Norte
  • Mel dos Açores

Gallery of the honey harvesting process


See also

  • Beekeeping
    Beekeeping

    Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in beehives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and beeswax, for the purpose of pollination agriculture, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers....
  • Bee bread
    Bee bread

    Bee bread or bee pollen-sam is the main source of food for most honey bees and their larvae, consisting of honey and pollens which are gathered by the worker bees....
  • Folk medicine
  • Honey bee
    Honey bee

    Honey bees are a subset of bees, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of wiktionary:perennial, Colony nests out of beeswax....
  • Honey flow
    Honey flow

    Honey flow is a term used by beekeeping indicating that one or more major nectar sources are in bloom and the weather is favorable for bees to fly and collect the nectar in abundance....
  • Mead
    Mead

    Mead is a typically alcoholic beverage beverage, made from honey and water via Fermentation with yeast. Its alcoholic content may range from that of a mild ale to that of a strong wine....
  • Nectar
  • Royal jelly
    Royal jelly

    Royal jelly is a honey bee secretion that is used in the nutrition of the larvae. It is secreted from the hypopharyngeal glands in the heads of young workers and used to feed all of the larvae in the colony, including those destined to become workers....
  • Syrup
    Syrup

    In cooking, a syrup is a thick, viscous liquid, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars, but showing little tendency to deposit crystals....
  • National honey show
    National Honey Show

    The National Honey Show is an annual United Kingdom Agricultural show of Honey and other Honey and Honey Bee products.It first took place in 1923 at The Crystal Palace until 1936, when it burnt down....


External links