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Honey

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Food and agriculture

   A jar of honey, shown with a wooden honey server and scones.
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   A jar of honey, shown with a wooden honey server and scones.
   A capped frame of honeycomb
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   A capped frame of honeycomb
   A honeybee on calyx of goldenrod
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   A honeybee on calyx of goldenrod

   Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by honeybees from the
   nectar of flowers. "The definition of 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," according
   to the United States National Honey Board 2003 and other nations' food
   regulations. This article refers exclusively to the honey produced by
   honeybees (the genus Apis); honey produced by other bees or other
   insects has very different properties.

   Honey is significantly sweeter than table sugar and has attractive
   chemical properties for baking. Honey has a distinctive flavor which
   leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners.

   Liquid honey does not spoil. Because of its high sugar concentration,
   it kills most bacteria by crenation. Natural airborne yeasts cannot
   become active in it because the moisture content is too low. Natural,
   raw honey varies from 14% to 18% moisture content. As long as the
   moisture content remains under 18%, virtually no organism can
   successfully multiply to significant amounts in honey, though,
   importantly, enough bacteria survive to make honey dangerous for
   infants (especially Clostridium botulinum).

   The study of pollens and spores in raw honey ( melissopalynology) 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 particles, dust, or particulate pollution.

   A main effect of bees collecting nectar to make honey is pollination,
   which is crucial for flowering plants.

Honey formation

   Honey is laid down 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 the bee swarm to make its home in a hive,
   people have been able to semi-domesticate the insects. In the hive
   there are three types of bee: the single queen bee, a seasonally
   variable number of drone bees to fertilize new queens and some 20,000
   to 40,000 worker bees. The worker bees raise larvae and collect the
   nectar that will become honey in the hive. They go out, collect the
   sugar-rich flower nectar and return to the hive. As they leave the
   flower, bees release nasonov pheromones. These enable other bees to
   find their way to the site 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 the nectar a number of times until
   it is partially digested. It is then stored in the honeycomb. Nectar is
   high in both water content and natural yeasts which, unchecked, would
   cause the sugars in the nectar to ferment. After the final
   regurgitation, the honeycomb is left unsealed. Bees inside the hive fan
   their wings, creating a strong draft across the honeycomb. This
   enhances evaporation of much of the water from the nectar. The
   reduction in water content, which raises the sugar concentration,
   prevents fermentation. Ripe honey, as removed from the hive by the
   beekeeper, has a long shelf life and will not ferment.

   The beekeeper encourages overproduction of honey within the hive so
   that the excess can be taken without endangering the bees. When sources
   of foods for the bees are short the beekeeper may have to feed the bees
   other forms of sugar so they can survive.

Composition of honey

   Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds. The specific
   composition of any batch of honey will depend largely on the mix of
   flowers consumed by the bees that produced the honey. Honey has a
   density of about 1500 kg/ m^3 (50% denser than water), which means
   about 12.5 pounds per US gallon.

   Typical honey analysis

     * Fructose: 38%
     * Glucose: 31%
     * Sucrose: 1%
     * Water: 17%
     * Other sugars: 9% ( maltose, melezitose)
     * Ash: 0.17%

          Source: Sugar Alliance

   The analysis of the sugar content of honey is used for detecting
   adulteration.

Types of honey

Blended

   Most commercially available honey is blended, meaning that it is a
   combination of honeys from different sources. China is the world's
   largest producer of honey (256,000 tonnes in 2001), followed by the
   United States (100,000 tonnes), Argentina (90,000 tonnes), Turkey
   (71,000 tonnes), Mexico, Ukraine and India

Polyfloral

   Polyfloral honey is derived from the nectar of many types of flowers.

Monofloral

   Different monofloral honeys have a distinctive flavor and colour due to
   differences between their principal nectar sources. Beekeepers keep
   monofloral beehives in an area where the bees have access to only one
   type of flower, because of that flower's properties. In practice,
   because of the difficulties in containing bees, a small proportion of
   any honey will be from additional nectar from other flower types. Some
   of the main types of monofloral honey (and their main countries of
   production) include: apple blossom (United Kingdom), acacia (Bulgaria,
   Hungary and Romania), cherry blossom (United Kingdom), clover (Canada,
   New Zealand), eucalyptus (Australia), heather (United Kingdom),
   lavender (France, Spain), lime blossom (China, Poland), orange blossom
   (France, Spain), tupelo (United States), wild thyme (France, Greece,
   New Zealand) sunflower (France, Spain) and Manuka, Rata and Pohutakawa
   from New Zealand.

Honeydew

   Honeydew producer (barklice) on a Silver Fir
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   Honeydew producer ( barklice) on a Silver Fir

   Instead of taking nectar, bees can take honeydew, which appears similar
   to honey and consists of the sweet secretions of aphids or other plant
   sap-sucking insects. Most important of these is the aphid Marchalina
   hellenica which feeds on the sap of the Turkish Pine. Honeydew from
   pine forests has a piney taste and is prized for medicinal use in
   Europe and Turkey. Bees collecting this resource have to be fed protein
   supplements, as honeydew lacks the protein-rich pollen accompaniment
   gathered from flowers.

   In New Zealand honeydew nectar is produced from a small, scaled insect
   (Ultracoelostoma assimile) living in the bark of two of New Zealand's
   beech forests, mostly black beech (black from the sooty mold growing on
   the surplus nectar covering the trunks and branches) and, to a lesser
   extent, red beech. In the early morning sunlight, the droplets of
   nectar glisten like the morning dew, giving the name honeydew.

   Germany's Black Forest is a well known source of honeydew-produced
   honeys.

   Honeydew honey has a full aroma, is heady, almost pungent, and malty
   with a thick red amber colour.

   Honeydew has strong markets in some areas, but in many areas beekeepers
   are disappointed with a honeydew crop, as they are unable to market the
   stronger flavored product. Honeydew has a much larger proportion of
   indigestibles than light honeys, which can cause dysentery, 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.

Use of honey

   The main uses of honey are in cooking, baking, spreading on bread or
   toast, and as an addition to various beverages such as tea. Because
   honey is hygroscopic (drawing moisture from the air), a small quantity
   of honey added to a pastry recipe will retard staling. Raw honey also
   contains enzymes that help in its digestion, several vitamins and
   antioxidants.

   Honey is the main ingredient in the alcoholic beverage mead, which is
   also known as "honey wine" or "honey beer" (although it is not wine or
   beer), and metheglin. It is also used as an adjunct in beer. Beer
   brewed with greater than about 30% honey as a source of sugar by
   weight, or mead brewed with malt (with or without hops), is known as
   braggot.

   Honey is used in traditional folk medicine and apitherapy, and is an
   excellent natural preservative. Its glycemic index is 55.

   Most vegans consider honey to be an animal product and avoid using it,
   instead choosing sweetening alternatives such as agave nectar, rice
   syrup or stevia.

   Without commercial beekeeping, large-scale fruit and vegetable farming
   and some of the seed industry would be incapable of sustaining
   themselves, since many crops are pollinated by migratory beekeepers who
   contract their bees for that purpose.

   In ancient history, the Ancient Egyptian and Middle-Eastern peoples
   also used honey for embalming the dead. However, only rich and powerful
   people had the luxury of this type of funeral. Scythians, and later the
   other Central Asian nomadic people, for many months drove a wagon with
   a deceased ruler around the country in their last rites mourning
   procession, carrying the body in a casket filled with honey.

Honey in culture and folklore

   In many cultures, honey has associations that go far beyond its use as
   a food. In language and literature, religion and folk belief, honey is
   frequently a symbol or talisman for sweetness of every kind.
   Honey comb
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   Honey comb

   The Old Testament contains many references to honey as a symbol for all
   that is pleasant and desirable. For example, the book of Exodus
   famously describes the Promised Land as a 'land flowing with milk and
   honey' (33:3). There, however, the Hebrew devash probably refers to the
   sweet syrup produced from the juice of the grape or the date. In
   contrast, bees' honey is referred to explicitly in The Book of Judges
   when Samson found a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of a lion
   (14:8). The word "honey" appears 61 times in the King James Version of
   the Bible.

   In Jewish tradition, honey is also a symbol for the new year – Rosh
   Hashana. At the traditional meal for that holiday, apple slices are
   dipped into honey and eaten to bring a sweet new year. New Year's
   greetings for Rosh Hashana very often show honey and an apple,
   symbolizing the feast.

   In Muslim tradition, the Qur'an mentions rivers of honey in Paradise
   (Qur'an 47:15). It is also mentioned specifically that the Prophet
   Muhammad liked honey (Sahih Bukhari vol. 7, book 69, number 504 and
   518), thus honey is interpreted by Muslims to hold a significant value.

   Honey plays an important role in the festival of Modhu Purnima,
   celebrated by Buddhists in India and Bangladesh. The day commemorates
   Buddha's making peace among his disciples by retreating into the
   wilderness. The story goes that while he was there, a monkey brought
   him honey to eat. On Modhu Purnima, Buddhists remember this act by
   giving honey to monks. The monkey's gift is frequently depicted in
   Buddhist art.

   During the Roman Empire, honey was used instead of gold to pay taxes.
   Even earlier, in the accounts of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Seti I,
   one hundred pots of honey were equivalent in value to an ass or an ox .

   In some parts of Greece, it was formerly the custom for a bride to dip
   her fingers in honey and make the sign of the cross before entering her
   new home. This was meant to ensure sweetness in her married life,
   especially in her relationship with her mother-in-law.

   In popular culture, bears are frequently depicted as eating honey, 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. Honey
   is sometimes sold in a bear-shaped jar. Teddy bears are almost
   invariably associated with honey, possibly because of the influence of
   Winnie-the-Pooh.

   Many people believe that honey is more wholesome or healthier than
   refined sugar, although most nutritionists say that all sweeteners are
   pretty much alike. Honey-based sweets are often sold as health food.

   'Honey', along with variations like 'honey bun' and 'honeypot' and the
   contraction '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.

Medical uses for honey

   For around 2000 years, honey has been used to treat a variety of
   ailments through topical application, though it was not until modern
   times that the cause of infection was understood. Now, it is understood
   that the folk remedy of using honey to treat wounds has a scientific
   explanation: it acts as an antiseptic/antibacterial agent. As an
   antimicrobial agent honey has potential for treating a variety of
   ailments. Antibacterial properties of honey are the result of the low
   water activity causing osmosis, hydrogen peroxide effect , and high
   acidity .

Osmotic effect

   Honey is primarily a saturated mixture of two monosaccharides. This
   mixture has a low water activity; 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.

Hydrogen peroxide

   Hydrogen peroxide 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/l in honey. Iron in honey oxidizes the
   oxygen free radicals released by the hydrogen peroxide.

          glucose + H[2]O + O[2] → gluconic acid + H[2]O[2]

   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. Unlike
   3% medical hydrogen peroxide, this slow release does not cause damage
   to surrounding tissue.

Acidity

   The pH of honey is commonly between 3.2 and 4.5 . This relatively
   acidic pH level prevents the growth of many bacteria responsible for
   infection.

Other medical applications

   The most common use of honey is as an anti-microbial agent used for
   dressing wounds, burns and skin ulcers. This application has a long
   history in traditional medicine. Additionally, the use of honey reduces
   odours, reduces swelling, and reduces scarring; it also prevents the
   dressing from sticking to the healing wound .

   Some claim that one drop of honey directly on the eye can treat mild
   forms of conjunctivitis.

   Due to its antiseptic properties, honey (especially when combined with
   lemon) can be taken orally by Pharyngitis and Laryngitis sufferers, in
   order to soothe them.

   Though widely believed to alleviate allergies, local honey has been
   shown to be no more effective than placebos in controlled studies .
   This may be due to the fact that most seasonal allergies are caused by
   tree and grass pollens, which honeybees do not collect.

Honey and infants

   Giving honey to infants can be hazardous because some infants can
   develop the disease known as infant botulism. This occurs because there
   is a natural bacterium ( Clostridium botulinum) in the honey which
   cannot be filtered out. The bacteria then produces a toxin, known as
   botulin, in the infant's intestines. After the child is more than a
   year old, the intestine has matured and the bacteria cannot grow. Even
   the honey in some processed foods can cause botulism. After an infant
   ingests this bacterium, the disease can occur within a few hours or
   even up to a week.

Honey as a product

Honey processing

     * Comb honey A popular honey product. The honey is sold still in the
       wax comb. Comb honey was once packaged by installing wooden
       framework in special supers, but this labor intensive method is
       dying, and being replaced by plastic rings or cartridges. After
       removal from the hive, a clear cover is usually fitted onto the
       cartridge so customers can see the product.
     * Raw honey Honey as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by
       extraction, settling or straining without adding heat. Raw honey
       contains some pollen and may contain small particles of wax. Local
       raw honey is sought after by allergy sufferers as the pollen
       impurities are thought to lessen the sensitivity to hay fever (see
       'Medical Applications' above).
     * Chunk honey Honey packed in widemouth containers consisting of one
       or more pieces of comb honey surrounded by extracted liquid honey.
       This type is preferred in the US South.
     * Strained honey or filtered honey Honey which has been passed
       through a mesh material to remove particulate material (pieces of
       wax, propolis, other defects) without removing pollen. Preferred by
       the health food trade - it has a cloudy appearance due to the
       included pollen, but it also tends to crystallize more quickly than
       ultrafiltered honey.
     * Ultrafiltered honey Honey processed by very fine filtration under
       high pressure to remove all extraneous solids and pollen grains.
       Ultrafiltered honey is very clear and has a longer shelf life,
       because it crystallizes more slowly. Preferred by the supermarket
       trade.

Precautions

   Honey is not always edible. Because it is gathered from flowers in the
   wild, there are situations in which it may be toxic.

   There are several types of honey that are known to be toxic to humans.
   The most common of these in the northern hemisphere, popularly known as
   Mad Honey, is produced from the flowers of rhododendrons, mountain
   laurels and azaleas. The nectar of these plants may contain
   grayanotoxin, a compound which is both psychoactive and poisonous to
   humans but harmless to bees. The effects of Mad Honey have been
   reported in Western literature as early as 401 BC (see Xenophon's
   description of the effects of toxic honey in the Anabasis). The shape
   of the azalea flower, however, makes access to nectar difficult for
   honeybees. Furthermore, during the time when azaleas bloom, there are
   usually other flowers available that are more appealing to the
   honeybee. Thus, lethal honey is rarely encountered. Mad Honey is also
   sometimes called Green Honey, Crazy Honey or Meli Chloron (ancient
   greek).

   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
   Sounds) frequently produce toxic honey. Symptoms of tutin poisoning
   include vomiting, delirium, giddiness, increased excitability, stupor,
   coma and violent convulsions. It is generally agreed that as little as
   one teaspoon of toxic honey may produce severe effects in humans. 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, corn syrup and other natural sweeteners are a potential and
   acute threat to infants. Harmless to adults because of a mature
   person's stomach acidity, botulinum spores are widely present in the
   environment and are among the few bacteria that can survive in honey.
   Since an infant's digestive juices are non-acidic, ingestion of honey
   creates an ideal medium for botulinum spores to grow and produce
   sufficient levels of toxins to cause infant botulism. For this reason,
   it is advised that neither honey, nor any other sweetener, be given to
   children under the age of 18 months. Once a child is eating solid food,
   the digestive juices are acidic enough to prevent the growth of the
   spores.

Other descriptions

     * Blended honey A homogeneous mixture of two or more honeys differing
       in floral source, colour, flavor, density or geographic origin.
     * Churned honey or creamed honey See whipped honey.
     * Crystallized honey Honey in which some of the glucose content has
       spontaneously crystallized from solution as the monohydrate. Also
       called "granulated honey."
     * Honey fondant See whipped honey.
     * Organic honey is honey produced, processed, and packaged in
       accordance with national regulations, and certified as such by some
       government body or an independent organic farming certification
       organization. For example, in the United Kingdom, 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 .
     * Set honey All honey will eventually set or granulate and this
       process can be reversed by gently warming the honey to remelt it.
       Some honeys set naturally with large granules and taste a little
       like granulated sugar in honey. Others set like royal icing - very
       hard and unspreadable. To overcome this problem beekeepers will mix
       in a small amount of fine-grained honey before it sets and then
       gently stir the honey to fix the setting prematurely, before it
       becomes hard, thereby producing a "soft set" honey.
     * Spun honey See whipped honey.

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