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Honey is a natural sweet substance produced by bees from the nectar of plants, from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants. Bees transform the nectar collected from the plants and, by combining it with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave this honey in the comb to ripen and mature.
Bees are characterized as highly developed insects with a perfect system of life organization and function differentiation. Honeybees belong to the Apidae family, genus Apis. There are four different types of honey bees. Apis mellifera species prevails in the Urals. There are various subspecies of Apis mellifera that have adapted to the environment of their geographic and climatic area.
Honey bees collect nectar from blossoms of plants and occasionally from honeydew or sap of leaves and needles.
Nectar is a natural sweet liquid with a delicate aroma. It is discharged by the nectary cells, corolla and flower-cup parts of the flower. Nectar contains water (50–90%), glucose, fructose, sucrose, proteins, amino acids, carotene, vitamins, essential oils and minerals.
Honeydew is a sweet sticky substance on the leaves and needles of a tree. It is excreted by the secretion of various insects, such as psylla, aphids, scale, herbaceous louse and others that feed on plants saps. Honeydew has a similar composition to nectar, but it contains more minerals. Usually bees gather honeydew when there is not enough nectar around.
A forager bee collects nectar, honeydew or sap through its proboscis and ferments it in its honey stomach. The process of fermentation includes the splitting of sucrose by the ferment of hypo-pharyngeal glands and invertase into glucose and fructose.
Back in the hive, the forager passes the substance to the house bee, which continues the process of fermentation in its proboscis. The house bee repeatedly swallows and eructates the nectar, which allows it to mix with invertase to continue the hydrolysis of sucrose. Simultaneously, the processes of partial water extraction and detoxication are going on.
During the process of collecting nectar, bees also pick some of the pollen grains. The surplus of pollen can affect the bee’s bowel function during the winter months. This is why the surplus of pollen grains extracted from the nectar located in the honey suck is consequently removed to the bowels.
In the bee’s body, the nectar is getting enriched not only with ferments, but also with organic acids, antimicrobial agents, lipids and macro- and microelements generated in the glands. The next stage is honeycombing of the processed nectar. When the nectar is being transferred from one cell to another, more water is being extracted and monosaccharides are being formed. At the same time the nectar is becoming enriched with aromatic compounds. After the amount of water in nectar has been reduced up to 20%, which usually happens within 3 to 7 days, bees cap the cells of unripe honey with wax. The process of honey ripening is accomplished after 3 or 4 weeks. Then beekeepers can extract the honey. If the climate permits, a strong bee family can refill the honeycombs 3 or 4 times a season.
Types of Honey
There are several classifications of honey. Types of honey are differed by biological origin and the methods of its extraction.
According to its botanical origin honey is classified as flower honey, honeydew and composite honey:
Consistency
Fresh honey has a liquid consistency; its viscosity depends on the content of water and some sugars. Honey can become thicker when the water content is reduced, but the content of sucrose and glucose is increased (e. g. honeydew honey). It becomes more liquid when the amount of fructose is increased. After a period of time, honey gradually transforms from a liquid, syrupy state into hard, crystallized state. Honey crystallization starts from the formation of minuscule crystals of glucose on the honey surface as a result of water evaporation and formation of a supersaturated sugar solution. The primary crystals go down to the bottom of the container and become crystallized grains or centres of crystallization. Then the number of crystals grows and they spread all through the honey mass.
The granulation process becomes more intensive between the temperatures of 10–15° С; however it stops below 0° C and above 27° С. Granulation crystals dissolve at temperatures above 60° С.
Increasing amounts of glucose, sucrose and melezitose stimulates crystallization processes. During mixing, crystal constellations are split into fragments, increasing the number of crystallization grains and accelerating crystallization. Honeys with high glucose, dextrin and vegetable glues ratios are likely to remain liquid for a longer period of time.
The course of granulation depends on the honey’s botanical origin. Sunflower, mustard, alfalfa, teil and blooming sally honeys become granulated fairly quickly. Acacia, salvia, cherry honeys as well as honeydew honey tend to remain liquid for a longer period of time. Honeys from northern areas stay liquid longer than honeys from southern areas.
There are three kinds of honey according to the size of their crystals: lard-like honey, containing microscopic crystals which cannot be seen with a naked eye; fine-grained honey with bigger crystal constellations, that are not larger than 0.5 mm and can be seen with a naked eye; coarse-grained honey with crystal constellations larger than 0.5 mm.
Colour
Honey colour depends on the colouring agents contained in nectar (xantophile or chlorophyll-like agents, carotene, etc.). This is why the colour is connected with honey’s botanical origin. The colour of honey, or its richness, can range from light to dark, depending on the time of nectar collection; spring or vernal honeys are lighter, autumnal honeys are darker. Honey is lighter when the nectar collection was quick and plentiful and darker when it was slow and prolonged. Honey colour is also determined by bees’ subspecies and the quality of combs.
Depending on the concentration of colouring agents honey can be colourless, pale or light, bright or dark. Various tints of yellow and brown are the most common shades of honey. Less usual are tints of green, red, reddish black or cream. Honey becomes lighter after granulation.
Honey aroma comes from volatile organic substances contained in honey. The combinations of aromatic substances vary in different honeys creating unique specific flavours. These substances get into the nectar being produced by flower gland cells situated next to the nectary. Specific honey aroma is formed as a result of the fermentation process of sugars, amino acids and vitamins during the course of honey maturation. Teil, heather, dandelion, buckwheat and ashberry honeys have easily recognized aromas. Chestnut, sunflower, rape, onion and cherry honeys have a very subtle smell.
Salvia, hurtleberry, apple tree, alfalfa, mint, mignonette (Reseda odorata), swallowwort, carrot, raspberry, teil, acacia, blooming sally, lavender, pea and sweet clover honeys have pleasant and delicate aroma.
Honeydew usually has no smell or a very slight aroma. Burdock and coriander honeys are known for their spicy and strong aromas.
You can usually judge the quality and type of honey by its aroma. Honey flavour is determined by carbohydrates and organic acids, contained in honey. These substances evoke reaction of the receptors on the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. Honey flavour largely depends on its botanical origin.
Clover, raspberry, pea, phacelia, cotton-plant, blooming sally honeys have delicate flavour. The flavours of teil, mignonette, swallowwort, melilot, maple, angelica, pumpkin and bilberry honeys are highly regarded among experts. Willow, meadow, parsnip, ashberry and salvia honeys have very pleasant flavour. Most honeys taste sweet and slightly sour.
Honey flavour may deteriorate if stored in unsuitable conditions or at high temperatures. Honey taste can become rancid, sour, and obtain fermented flavour. Honey can also gain unpleasant flavour as a result of caramelization, for example, when sugars decompose at boiling temperature of 160° С.
Nutritional and Dietary Properties
Having a pleasant flavour is what makes honey popular with consumers, making it an essential food product. Carbohydrates contained in honey make this product high in calories. All honey components are fully assimilated in the human body. This quality favorably distinguishes honey from other foods. A great advantage of honey is that its main carbohydrates (fructose and glucose) are readily absorbed from the digestive tract without any prefermentation. This property is useful for people with physiological, in the case of young children and elderly people and pathological in the case of pancreatitis, reduction of intestinal juice activity. At the same time, honey enzymes participate in the processes of gastro-intestinal digestion of food.
Organic acids activate the secretory function of mucous membranes in the stomach, improving appetite and contributing to better assimilation of nutrients. Minerals and vitamins play an essential role in the formation of enzymic systems. The enzymic systems regulate protein, fats and carbohydrates metabolism.
Honey is highly compatible with a great variety of food products, such as fruits, vegetables, berries, bread, tea, milk and dairy foods and all other beekeeping products. Honey has attractive properties for baking and is widely used in dietary food.
Therapeutic Properties
Diverse honey chemical components influence various biological processes in the body. They may work separately or together. Van Kettel was the first scientist to discover the antibacterial properties of honey in 1892.
The researches in 1906 stated that honey contains few vegetative forms of bacteria. This fact proves its antiseptic properties. Due to its antibacterial properties, honey normalizes the microflora of the oral cavity and bowels in cases of dysbacteriosis.
When in the stomach, honey produces a destructive effect on the microorganism Helicobacter pylori, which is one of the factors in stomach ulcer development (Novikov, 2002). Antimicrobial effects of honey are widely used for treating septic wounds, trophic ulcers, thermal injuries and inflammatory diseases of respiratory organs, eyes and the urogenital system, etc. Honey may be used as a natural preservative agent due to its antimicrobial properties. Berries, fruits, butter, meat, fish, eggs and all other beekeeping products can be preserved in honey for a long time. Immuno-deficiency of the body can be triggered by lack of vitamins, microelements and organic acids. All these substances are contained in honey. Long-term consumption of honey helps the body to restore normal functions of its immune system and prevent the deterioration of its defense systems.
Honey can be combined well with a great number of medicines. When used together with chemical preparations, honey increases their pharmacological effect and neutralizes their side effects. It also contributes to the removal of toxins from the body, intensifying the excretory function of kidneys, avoiding medicinal overload. Honey has a significant anti-inflammatory effect. Honey is easily and quickly absorbed by the human body. Honey’s nutritional substances quickly release their energy to help regenerate the energy level in the human body affected by disease or after extensive physical exercises, mental and neuro-psycological stress. It increases the general vitality.
When used externally, honey quickly gets absorbed into skin, improving its nutrition and tone, softening and building it. This makes honey an important ingredient in cosmetics.
Honey content
According to the information provided by different authors, honey contains from 70 to 300 substances. The main ingredients are sugar (75.9%), water (18–20%), dextrins (2–5%), nitric substances (0.5%), mineral substance (0.2%), lipids (0.2%) and acids (0.1%). The composition of various honeys may vary.
Calorie content for 100 g of honey is about 315 kilocalories.
Quality of honey. There are several trends in evaluation of honey quality which are based on standards (national or international).
One of the most important qualities is the diastase quantity, which is estimated in diastase value and measured in Gothe units. Honey of high quality should have diastase value of not less than 7 Gothe units. Acacia honey has not less than 5 Gothe units, other honeys have not less than 3 units. Diastase value decreases or vanishes if honey is heated above 60-80 C. Diastase value can increase as a result of yeast activity in case honey spoils.
The most commonly used indices for honey evaluating are the following:
If you want to preserve all of honey’s beneficial properties, it is important to keep within all recommended storage conditions. It is recommended that honey be stored in packaging made of glass, preferably dark glass, ceramics, porcelain, dry wood (not oak or pine), or stainless steel. Zinc, copper, lead, or alloys of these metals, as well as iron, are not suitable materials for honey packaging. Organic acids and sugars may produce a reaction with these metals, generating toxic substances.
It is necessary to hermetically seal honey containers in order to prevent the evaporation of water and aromatic substances from honey and absorption of outside odors and water from the air. Honey should be stored in a dry place, protected from direct sun light. The optimum temperature for honey storage is 5–10° С, air humidity – 58–66% (for non-hermetic containers).
Honey
Honey is a natural sweet substance produced by bees from the nectar of plants, from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants. Bees transform the nectar collected from the plants and, by combining it with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave this honey in the comb to ripen and mature.
Bees are characterized as highly developed insects with a perfect system of life organization and function differentiation. Honeybees belong to the Apidae family, genus Apis. There are four different types of honey bees. Apis mellifera species prevails in the Urals. There are various subspecies of Apis mellifera that have adapted to the environment of their geographic and climatic area.
Honey bees collect nectar from blossoms of plants and occasionally from honeydew or sap of leaves and needles.
Nectar is a natural sweet liquid with a delicate aroma. It is discharged by the nectary cells, corolla and flower-cup parts of the flower. Nectar contains water (50–90%), glucose, fructose, sucrose, proteins, amino acids, carotene, vitamins, essential oils and minerals.
Honeydew is a sweet sticky substance on the leaves and needles of a tree. It is excreted by the secretion of various insects, such as psylla, aphids, scale, herbaceous louse and others that feed on plants saps. Honeydew has a similar composition to nectar, but it contains more minerals. Usually bees gather honeydew when there is not enough nectar around.
A forager bee collects nectar, honeydew or sap through its proboscis and ferments it in its honey stomach. The process of fermentation includes the splitting of sucrose by the ferment of hypo-pharyngeal glands and invertase into glucose and fructose.
Back in the hive, the forager passes the substance to the house bee, which continues the process of fermentation in its proboscis. The house bee repeatedly swallows and eructates the nectar, which allows it to mix with invertase to continue the hydrolysis of sucrose. Simultaneously, the processes of partial water extraction and detoxication are going on.
During the process of collecting nectar, bees also pick some of the pollen grains. The surplus of pollen can affect the bee’s bowel function during the winter months. This is why the surplus of pollen grains extracted from the nectar located in the honey suck is consequently removed to the bowels.
In the bee’s body, the nectar is getting enriched not only with ferments, but also with organic acids, antimicrobial agents, lipids and macro- and microelements generated in the glands. The next stage is honeycombing of the processed nectar. When the nectar is being transferred from one cell to another, more water is being extracted and monosaccharides are being formed. At the same time the nectar is becoming enriched with aromatic compounds. After the amount of water in nectar has been reduced up to 20%, which usually happens within 3 to 7 days, bees cap the cells of unripe honey with wax. The process of honey ripening is accomplished after 3 or 4 weeks. Then beekeepers can extract the honey. If the climate permits, a strong bee family can refill the honeycombs 3 or 4 times a season.
Types of Honey
There are several classifications of honey. Types of honey are differed by biological origin and the methods of its extraction.
According to its botanical origin honey is classified as flower honey, honeydew and composite honey:
- Flower honey can be monofloral or polyfloral. Monofloral honey is produced mainly from the nectar of one plant. That is why, in such cases, honey is usually named after the prevalent plant: white honey, acacia honey, buckwheat honey, sunflower honey, melilot honey, etc. Polyfloral honey is produced from the nectar collected from different plants without any clear prevalence of any one plant type. According to the landscape area where nectar was gathered from, honeys can be divided into forest, meadow, steppe, plain or fruit variety. According to the geographical location, we can distinguish the following types of honey in Russia: Ural, Bashkir, Siberian, Far-Eastern and others.
- Honey produced from honeydew is called honeydew honey.
- When honey is made from both nectar and honeydew, it is called composite honey.
- Â Run honey is obtained through a process when honeycombs are placed in a dish upside down, so that honey can run from the combs into the dish.
- Pressed honey is obtained by pressing honeycombs.
- Honey extracted by centrifugal extractor is called centrifugal honey.
- Honey is filtered in order to get rid of small external substances including pollen grains, which may contain heavy metals or salts. To do this honey is filtered under pressure through filtering materials.
Consistency
Fresh honey has a liquid consistency; its viscosity depends on the content of water and some sugars. Honey can become thicker when the water content is reduced, but the content of sucrose and glucose is increased (e. g. honeydew honey). It becomes more liquid when the amount of fructose is increased. After a period of time, honey gradually transforms from a liquid, syrupy state into hard, crystallized state. Honey crystallization starts from the formation of minuscule crystals of glucose on the honey surface as a result of water evaporation and formation of a supersaturated sugar solution. The primary crystals go down to the bottom of the container and become crystallized grains or centres of crystallization. Then the number of crystals grows and they spread all through the honey mass.
The granulation process becomes more intensive between the temperatures of 10–15° С; however it stops below 0° C and above 27° С. Granulation crystals dissolve at temperatures above 60° С.
Increasing amounts of glucose, sucrose and melezitose stimulates crystallization processes. During mixing, crystal constellations are split into fragments, increasing the number of crystallization grains and accelerating crystallization. Honeys with high glucose, dextrin and vegetable glues ratios are likely to remain liquid for a longer period of time.
The course of granulation depends on the honey’s botanical origin. Sunflower, mustard, alfalfa, teil and blooming sally honeys become granulated fairly quickly. Acacia, salvia, cherry honeys as well as honeydew honey tend to remain liquid for a longer period of time. Honeys from northern areas stay liquid longer than honeys from southern areas.
There are three kinds of honey according to the size of their crystals: lard-like honey, containing microscopic crystals which cannot be seen with a naked eye; fine-grained honey with bigger crystal constellations, that are not larger than 0.5 mm and can be seen with a naked eye; coarse-grained honey with crystal constellations larger than 0.5 mm.
Colour
Honey colour depends on the colouring agents contained in nectar (xantophile or chlorophyll-like agents, carotene, etc.). This is why the colour is connected with honey’s botanical origin. The colour of honey, or its richness, can range from light to dark, depending on the time of nectar collection; spring or vernal honeys are lighter, autumnal honeys are darker. Honey is lighter when the nectar collection was quick and plentiful and darker when it was slow and prolonged. Honey colour is also determined by bees’ subspecies and the quality of combs.
Depending on the concentration of colouring agents honey can be colourless, pale or light, bright or dark. Various tints of yellow and brown are the most common shades of honey. Less usual are tints of green, red, reddish black or cream. Honey becomes lighter after granulation.
Honey aroma comes from volatile organic substances contained in honey. The combinations of aromatic substances vary in different honeys creating unique specific flavours. These substances get into the nectar being produced by flower gland cells situated next to the nectary. Specific honey aroma is formed as a result of the fermentation process of sugars, amino acids and vitamins during the course of honey maturation. Teil, heather, dandelion, buckwheat and ashberry honeys have easily recognized aromas. Chestnut, sunflower, rape, onion and cherry honeys have a very subtle smell.
Salvia, hurtleberry, apple tree, alfalfa, mint, mignonette (Reseda odorata), swallowwort, carrot, raspberry, teil, acacia, blooming sally, lavender, pea and sweet clover honeys have pleasant and delicate aroma.
Honeydew usually has no smell or a very slight aroma. Burdock and coriander honeys are known for their spicy and strong aromas.
You can usually judge the quality and type of honey by its aroma. Honey flavour is determined by carbohydrates and organic acids, contained in honey. These substances evoke reaction of the receptors on the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. Honey flavour largely depends on its botanical origin.
Clover, raspberry, pea, phacelia, cotton-plant, blooming sally honeys have delicate flavour. The flavours of teil, mignonette, swallowwort, melilot, maple, angelica, pumpkin and bilberry honeys are highly regarded among experts. Willow, meadow, parsnip, ashberry and salvia honeys have very pleasant flavour. Most honeys taste sweet and slightly sour.
Honey flavour may deteriorate if stored in unsuitable conditions or at high temperatures. Honey taste can become rancid, sour, and obtain fermented flavour. Honey can also gain unpleasant flavour as a result of caramelization, for example, when sugars decompose at boiling temperature of 160° С.
Nutritional and Dietary Properties
Having a pleasant flavour is what makes honey popular with consumers, making it an essential food product. Carbohydrates contained in honey make this product high in calories. All honey components are fully assimilated in the human body. This quality favorably distinguishes honey from other foods. A great advantage of honey is that its main carbohydrates (fructose and glucose) are readily absorbed from the digestive tract without any prefermentation. This property is useful for people with physiological, in the case of young children and elderly people and pathological in the case of pancreatitis, reduction of intestinal juice activity. At the same time, honey enzymes participate in the processes of gastro-intestinal digestion of food.
Organic acids activate the secretory function of mucous membranes in the stomach, improving appetite and contributing to better assimilation of nutrients. Minerals and vitamins play an essential role in the formation of enzymic systems. The enzymic systems regulate protein, fats and carbohydrates metabolism.
Honey is highly compatible with a great variety of food products, such as fruits, vegetables, berries, bread, tea, milk and dairy foods and all other beekeeping products. Honey has attractive properties for baking and is widely used in dietary food.
Therapeutic Properties
Diverse honey chemical components influence various biological processes in the body. They may work separately or together. Van Kettel was the first scientist to discover the antibacterial properties of honey in 1892.
The researches in 1906 stated that honey contains few vegetative forms of bacteria. This fact proves its antiseptic properties. Due to its antibacterial properties, honey normalizes the microflora of the oral cavity and bowels in cases of dysbacteriosis.
When in the stomach, honey produces a destructive effect on the microorganism Helicobacter pylori, which is one of the factors in stomach ulcer development (Novikov, 2002). Antimicrobial effects of honey are widely used for treating septic wounds, trophic ulcers, thermal injuries and inflammatory diseases of respiratory organs, eyes and the urogenital system, etc. Honey may be used as a natural preservative agent due to its antimicrobial properties. Berries, fruits, butter, meat, fish, eggs and all other beekeeping products can be preserved in honey for a long time. Immuno-deficiency of the body can be triggered by lack of vitamins, microelements and organic acids. All these substances are contained in honey. Long-term consumption of honey helps the body to restore normal functions of its immune system and prevent the deterioration of its defense systems.
Honey can be combined well with a great number of medicines. When used together with chemical preparations, honey increases their pharmacological effect and neutralizes their side effects. It also contributes to the removal of toxins from the body, intensifying the excretory function of kidneys, avoiding medicinal overload. Honey has a significant anti-inflammatory effect. Honey is easily and quickly absorbed by the human body. Honey’s nutritional substances quickly release their energy to help regenerate the energy level in the human body affected by disease or after extensive physical exercises, mental and neuro-psycological stress. It increases the general vitality.
When used externally, honey quickly gets absorbed into skin, improving its nutrition and tone, softening and building it. This makes honey an important ingredient in cosmetics.
Honey content
According to the information provided by different authors, honey contains from 70 to 300 substances. The main ingredients are sugar (75.9%), water (18–20%), dextrins (2–5%), nitric substances (0.5%), mineral substance (0.2%), lipids (0.2%) and acids (0.1%). The composition of various honeys may vary.
Calorie content for 100 g of honey is about 315 kilocalories.
Quality of honey. There are several trends in evaluation of honey quality which are based on standards (national or international).
One of the most important qualities is the diastase quantity, which is estimated in diastase value and measured in Gothe units. Honey of high quality should have diastase value of not less than 7 Gothe units. Acacia honey has not less than 5 Gothe units, other honeys have not less than 3 units. Diastase value decreases or vanishes if honey is heated above 60-80 C. Diastase value can increase as a result of yeast activity in case honey spoils.
The most commonly used indices for honey evaluating are the following:
- The presence of insoluble matter
- The number of pollen grains, rarely types of pollen are identified (pollen analysis);
- Water content;
- Content of mineral substances;
- sugar content
- The activity of diastase;
- Acidity;
- Concentrations of hazardous and toxic substances (antibiotics, pesticides, radionuclides);
- The concentration of hydroxymethylfurfural;
- Electrocunductivity
If you want to preserve all of honey’s beneficial properties, it is important to keep within all recommended storage conditions. It is recommended that honey be stored in packaging made of glass, preferably dark glass, ceramics, porcelain, dry wood (not oak or pine), or stainless steel. Zinc, copper, lead, or alloys of these metals, as well as iron, are not suitable materials for honey packaging. Organic acids and sugars may produce a reaction with these metals, generating toxic substances.
It is necessary to hermetically seal honey containers in order to prevent the evaporation of water and aromatic substances from honey and absorption of outside odors and water from the air. Honey should be stored in a dry place, protected from direct sun light. The optimum temperature for honey storage is 5–10° С, air humidity – 58–66% (for non-hermetic containers).
