|
|
|
| About . . . Honey |
|
What is Honey ?
Mature honeybees collect nectar from plant blossoms. Nectar is 80 to 95 percent water and 5 to 20 percent sucrose (table sugar). As the bee transports the nectar back to the hive, a protein enzyme in her honey stomach, called invertase, breaks the sucrose down into the two simple sugars, fructose and glucose.
Young bees remove water from the sugar solution using two methods. They pass the nectar from bee to bee and 'drink' the water out of the nectar by absorbing it through their stomach wall. They also create heat and air flow in the hive by vibrating their wings and flight muscles, thus evaporating water out of the nectar which has been stored in open cells. |
 |
|
When most of the sucrose has been converted to fructose and glucose AND enough water has been dehydrated out of the mixture to bring it approximately 17% water content, we have a delicious sticky mixture, called honey!
After honey is made, bees cap it with beeswax to maintain the low moisture content.
Learn more about:
|
|
Pure natural honey . . . for health & healing ! ! ! | |
about . . . Honey Processing |
|
|
Many years ago, beekeepers crushed honeycomb to get liquid honey! That method of honey processing produces less honey for the beekeeper as it forces bees to spend time and resources building replacement comb rather than making more honey. Honeybees consume 7 kilograms of honey to produce 1 kilgram of beeswax. The advent of the centrifugal extractor, allowed beekeepers to 'scratch' or 'slice' off a thin layer of wax from the surface of the comb and spin the honey out using centrifugal force. The integrity of the comb is maintained and the bees have far less work to do to repair any cracks or shallow spots in the comb.
Whole honeycomb is available for people who want to enjoy honey completely untouched by human hands. They cut off a bite size portion of wax and chew the honey out of it. Wax will disolve if chewed for about 15 minutes, but most people discard chewed wax like they would gum.
The vast majority of people prefer liquid honey, so extractors are used to remove honey from the comb. Freshly extracted honey contains bits of wax and the odd bee knee or elbow. Honey may be cleaned by allowing it to settle in a holding tank for a day or two, or by pumping it through a filter.
What is the best kind of honey?
|
Best Type of Honey (best first) |
Pros |
|
Honeycomb |
Untouched by human hands. Contains all the goodness that nature has put into the honey. Bit awkward to chew. |
|
Raw Honey |
Extracted and cleaned using a settling tank at room temperature. Contains virtually all the goodness that nature put into the honey. Will granulate quickly and may separate in the jar with liquid fructose on top and granular glucose on the bottom. |
|
Filtered with minimal heat |
Extracted and cleaned using an 80 micron filter. Honey is heated to 40 degress Celsius (the same temperature inside a hive on a hot day). Contains a great deal of the goodness that nature put into the honey. Will granulate in two to six months, depending on the type of flowers the bees visited to gather the honey. |
|
Pasteurized Honey (most store bought) |
Extracted and cleaned using flash heating to a high temperature, super filtered through a 1 to 5 micron filter, and quickly cooled. Contains very little goodness that nature provided, but will last over 9 months on the store shelf without granulating. |
At Honeybee Centre, we sell honeycomb and raw honey in season and 80 micron, low heat filtered honey year round. |
about . . . Varieties of Honey |
|
|
The flavour, colour, texture, and aroma of honey depends on which plants the bees gathered nectar from. Blueberry nectar honey is dark amber in colour and has a brown sugar after taste. Raspberry nectar honey is extra light in colour with a slight fruity taste, and buckwheat honey is almost black in colour with a heady, pungent odour and flavour. Generally, a dark honey will have a higher vitamin content than a light honey.
There are hundreds of flowering plants in the world that produce nectar, this provides the potential to have hundreds of types of honey. Wild flower honeys represent a blend of flowering plants and usually vary in colour and flavour from region to region and from spring to late fall.
Creamed honey is finely granulated honey that has 'set' in the jar. It may have a creamy consistency or be quite hard. Any liquid honey can be processed into creamed honey. |
about . . . The Nutritional Value of Honey |
|
|
Honey is primarily fructose (38%), glucose (31%), water (17%), maltose (7%), and small amounts of trisaccharides, other higher carbohydrates, sucrose, minerals, vitamins, and enzymes.
|
Nutrition Information
per 21g serving (1 tbsp) |
|
|
Energy |
64 Cal/ 270 kJ |
|
Protein |
0 g |
|
Fat |
0 g |
|
Carbohydrates |
17 g |
|
Sodium |
1 mg |
|
Potassium |
11 mg |
|
about . . . Healing with Honey |
|
|
For thousands of years, the unique antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of honey have been valuable for healing cuts, scapes, burns, and even open wounds. Generally, darker honeys and those with higher water content have stronger antioxident potential. |
about . . . Storing Honey |
|
|
Store honey at room temperature with the lid on tightly. Honey is hygroscopic and thus attracts moisture from the atmosphere. If the moisture content of the honey is too high, it will ferment.
All honey granulates, and the rate of granulation is strongly influenced by the temperature of the honey.
|
No granulation |
Below 0 degrees Celsius or above 40 degrees Celsius (be careful, because 40 degrees Celsius will damage the properties of honey after a only a few days) |
|
Slow granulation |
21 degrees Celsius (room temperature) |
|
Fast granulation |
14 degress Celsius (slightly below root cellar temperature but well above refridgerator temperature of 4 degrees Celsius) | | | |
|
