The Remarkable Honey Story
Honey
Types Of Honey
Whole Comb
This is an unprocessed form, which comes directly from the hive. It can be purchased with the large waxy pieces floating in raw honey. The comb contains many unopened honey cells. The raw honey is from cells that were broken open when the honey was harvested.
Raw Honey
This is honey that has not been processed and is in the original form harvested from the honey comb.This product may contain insect parts and derbis from the hive.
Filtered Honey
This is actually raw honey that has been heated just enough to allow the honey to pass through filters to remove the derbis impurities. The heat is low enough to allow the honey to retain all of its nutrient values.
Liquid Honey
Liquid honey is heated to higher temperatures than any other processed honey so that it can be easily filtered. It is usually a lighter color and the flavor is somewhat milder than other forms of honey. Because of the heat processing, the honey does not crystallize as easily as most other types of honey. Nutrients are for the most part lost in the processing of liquid honey.
Spun Honey
This type of honey is not only heat processed but has a good percentage of the moisture removed to make it creamy and easy to spread. This honey lacks most of the nutrients that are associated with honey. It is just a sweet treat.
Creamed Honey
Honey that is produced by the crystallization of liquid honey under controled conditions.
Pasteurized Honey
This honey has been high heat processed to destoy yeasts, which can cause honey to ferment as well as melt the dextrose crystals that cause honey to granulate.
Bacteria Hates Honey
When the honey, reaches the hive, the bees dilute it and the honey must then be concentrated to resist bacteria and molds. The honey goes through a processing in the hive that returns the honey to its original level of concentration. The sugar cencentration is so high that it kills any microbe that tries to eat it by drawing the moisture from their cells.
Honey And The Things Bees Do To Produce It.
Honey was first mentioned in the old writing of the Sumerians , Babylonians , the Hittite Code , the sacred writings of India and the writings of the Egyptians. Palestine is often called the land of milk and honey. During the 40th century B.C. honey was used as a sweetner by the Egyptians. By the 11th Century A.D. the Germans were sweetening their beer with honey and honey was first introduced to the American Colonies in 1638.
The highest quality honey will be labeled 100 percent pure unfiltered honey. This honey will not be nutrient depleted by the heat processing. Honey is a unique sugar in that it will not grow bacteria. It is the only food that has this unique quality. it is twice as sweet as granulated sugar. Crystallized honey can be liquefied by just placing it in the microwave for about one minute depending on the size of the jar of honey and the wattage of the microwave. Never allow honey to boil or get to hot since it will break down and will have to be discarded. One pound of honey equals 1 1/2 cups of honey.
The Remarkable Honey Story
Bee's gather honey by drawing the flower nectar into their proboscis tube tube extending from their head. The nectar then passes through the esophagus into a honey sac ( storage pod ) located just before the intestine. The nectar is stored until the bee arrives at the hive. While the nectar is in the sac, enzymes are secreted that begin to breakdown the starch into simple sugars and fructose. The bee's system also acts as a as a biologic filter and removes all traces of environmental toxins, such as exhaust emmisions, pesticides, etc. This helps heep pollutants from ever entering the hive.
The hive contains one mature queen, about 100 male drones, and 20.000 female worker bee's. The bee's utilize 8 pounds of honey for daily activities for every one-pound that reaches the market. Bees must forage an equivalent of three times around the earth to provide sufficient nectar to produce one pound of honey utilizing only one ounce for the trip. For one bee to fly around the world they would only require one ounce of honey. Bees need to tap 2 million flowers and 55.000 miles to make just one pound of honey. One Honeybee will visit 75 flowers every time they leave the hive.
For every gallon of honey the bees consumes they travel 7 million miles or 7 million miles to the gallon if you prefer, When the workers reach the hive they pump and mix the nectar in and out of their proboscis until the carbohydrate concentration is about 50-60 percent and then it is deposited into the honeycomb. We consume about one pound of honey per person per year in the United States,
Bees Make Honey
Mysteries Of Honey
There are still scientific investigations that are ongoing regarding honey. While over 200 differnt substances have been identified, there are still more that have not been found, especially the substances ( enzymes ) that are responsible for synthesizing long-chain sugars. There may be some great medical uses for honey that have not been discovered yet. Only time and research will receal everything there is to know about honey.
A Great Substitute
When preparing jams and jellies, honey can be substituted for sugar. If the recipe calls for 4 cups of sugar, use just 2 cups of honey and cook the jelly just a little longer. Always use liquid honey and powdered pectin for the very best results.
And keep in mind that honey is much better for you than processed white sugar. Try sweetening your tea or coffee with honey and see how you like the taste.
Honey Is A Sap
Honey is actually a flower or plant sap that is released from the plant to regulate the plant fluids. A human releases fluids through the kidneys in a similar fashion. Honey nectars all vary somewhat in their nuritional make up. Some have more vitamins and minerals while some are higher in sugar. Honey can vary in its sugar content as well as the type of sugars it contains. The sugars commonly found in honey are sucrose, glucose, and fructose.
Dark Honey Better Than Light Honey
The University of Illinois has released information regarding the antioxidant levels in honey, which may surprise everyone who consumes honey. The honeybees diet and where they forage for honey has importance as to the level of antioxidants and the color of the honey. The darker the honey the higher the level of antioxidants in most cases. The lighter the color of the honey the lower the levels of antioxidants. Nectar collected from Illinois Buckwheat flowers had 20 times the level of antioxidants of honey collected from California clover.
So What Do You Think About Honey. Why Not Post Your Comment Below Now.
Dawn 14 months ago
Interesting article....question....does the honey lose its nutritional (antioxidant) value when added to a cup of hot coffee or tea?...