Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
5.14.4 HoneyinSpreads...................................................................................................... 138
5.14.5 Reduced-FatHoneySpreads..................................................................................... 138
5.14.6 Oil-FreeHoneyChips............................................................................................... 140
5.14.7 HoneySnacksandCereals........................................................................................ 140
5.14.8 HoneyContinents(SalsasandMarinades)............................................................... 142
5.14.9 DairyHoneyProducts.............................................................................................. 142
5.14.10BakeryHoneyProducts............................................................................................ 143
5.15 Conclusion............................................................................................................................ 143
References...................................................................................................................................... 144
5.1 INtrODUCtION
Honeyisapopularsweetproductthatgoesbacktolinguisticborders.Nowadays,morethana
milliontonsofhoneyisproducedperyearallovertheworld.
Honeyismostsimplydeinedasasugar-likesweetenercollectedbybeesfromlowersandlive
plantsandmodiiedintheirwaxcombs.Italsoinvokesourmemoriesfromaveryyoungageand
canbethoughtofasthemostoutstandingofthehiveproducts.
Honey is a 100% natural product often labeled according to American honey legislation as
“pure”honey(NationalHoneyBoard2011a;Tonellietal.1990).Ittakesitspureoriginalityfrom
thelowers'nectarwhichispureandnatural.
Thenectarisanoutstandingenergysourceforthebees,becauseitcontainssimplesugars,such
asglucose,fructose,andsucrose.Italsoburstswithvitamins,minerals,enzymes,aminoacids,and
compoundssuchasorganicacidsandaromaticmatters.
Honeyisthemaineverydayenergysourceinthehiveduringwinterandalsohasaroleasan
insulatorinordertohelpthebeesovercomeanyadverseclimaticvariations.
TheirsthistoricalreferencestohoneydatebacktotheNeolithicorPaleolithicperiodsapproxi-
mately12,000yearsago,ascertiiedbyapaintingofasuperfoundin1921nearValencia,Spain.
InEgypt,datingfromapproximately2400b.c.,oneencounterstheoldestevidenceofbeekeeping
practice. In ancient Greece and Rome, it reached its highest levels (vanEngelsdorp and Meixner
2010).
Thehoney-producingcountriesdidnotslowanymajorrevolutioninbeekeeping.However,these
days,extractingcellsfromhiveswhentheyhave80%-90%oftheirhoneycellssealedafteramajor
nectarlowfromMaytoOctoberyieldsapproximately10-15kgofhoneyperhiveperannum.There
aremanytechniquesofremovinghoneyfromthecombsandbeesfromthesupers.Caremustbe
takentoavoidcontaminationtosupersandtothehoney.Thecombsremovedfromthesupershave
tobeuncapped.Then,thecombsareputintoanextractortoremovethehoneybycentrifugation.
After extraction, honey has to be put in a honey-ripening (settling) tank for puriication at
30°C-35°Cfor3-5days(whichdelaysfurthercrystallization).Theimpuritiesandtheairareelimi-
natedbyiltrationthroughastrainerof0.1-mmmesh.Then,appropriatepackagingkeepsthehoney
safefromairandhumidity(toavoidfermentation)andawayfromstronglighttopreserveitsnutri-
tionalandantimicrobialproperties.
Toavoidcrystallization,honeyproducershavetoreliquefythehoneythroughpasteurization,
whichisalsousedtoavoidhoneyfermentation(usuallyforhoney>19%moisture).Forsomemar-
ketingpurposes,honeycanbeencouragedtocrystallizeuniformlybymixingitwithapproximately
10%ofveryinelycrystallizedhoney.
Tomaintainthebestquality,honeyrequirescomplexcareregardingitspreservation,andthe
bestconditionstostorehoneyareat14°Cinadry,dark,andairyplace.
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