Honey - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 137

• A sensory evaluation study showed an almost-equal preference for frozen and nonfrozen dough

whentheycontainedupto10%liquidor4%-8%dryhoney.Figures5.3through5.5shownosignii-
cantdifferencesinfreshness,lavor,andoverallacceptabilitybetweenfrozenandnonfrozendough.

5.14 hONeY appLICatIONS

5.14.1 honey in Drinks (Beverages and Beers)

Eachvarietyofhoneycontributesdifferentlytothecolor,lavor,andaromaofdrinks(bever-
agesandbeers).Theadditionofselectedhoneys,especiallywildlower,sage,orcitrus,tobeeradds
quality and appeal to consumers, but it should not be exposed to high temperatures during beer
processinginordertoretainthelavorandaromaofthehoneyinthebeer.Ultrailteredandpasteur-
izedhoneysyieldthebestresultsforawidevarietyofdrinkingproductsbecauseofthesweetening
propertiesanddistinctivelavorcomponentsofhoney.Brewersusuallyappliedheatat78°Cfor2.5
h.Becauseofitssugars,honey'scontributiontofermentedbeverages(e.g.,beers,ales,andlagers)
increasesthepopularityofthesefermentedproducts(e.g.,honeybeer),creatingadry,smooth,and
crisptaste,color,andconsumerappeal(LaGrange1994).
However,adding3%-10%honeyisrecommendedforamildaromaticlavor.Lately,newhoney
formshavebeendevelopedforhigh-qualityandclear-coloredneeds,suchasnaturalhoneyextracts
forbeveragessuchasblackandherbalteasandlavoredinstantcoffees.Iceteasashealthyalterna-
tivestocarbonatedsoftdrinksaresweetenedwithhoneytopromotetheirnaturallavor.Inother
vegetable-based beverages, honey has a role in decreasing the bitterness perception. In addition,
forms of coprocessed dry honeys and milks are used for creamers and/or sweeteners. In sport
drinks, honey provides themonosaccharides (fructose and/orglucose),whichareveryimportant
nutrientsforthesetypesofbeverages(CraneandVisscher2009).

5.14.2 honey in Frozen Desserts

Theusesofliquidand/ordryhoneyinfrozendessertshavebeendirectedtowardthefollowing
objectives:

• Todevelopmorestablefreeze-thawproductssuchashoney-basedicecreamsandfrozenyogurts

• Todevelopgoodtasteandextendedmeltingtimeoftheproducts

• Toenhancethefruitlavorsofthedesserts

5.14.3 honey in Fruit Gels

Manycommercialfruitgelsusinghoneyand/orothersugars(assugarsources)lackstabilityand
break down while in storage or distribution channels. Thus, several research studies have under-
takentooptimizeproductionconditionsusinghoneyasanadditivewiththefollowingobjectives:

• Todeterminetheproperquantityofhoneyasthemajorsweetener

• Tooptimizethereductionofdiscolorationandlossoflavorinthemarket

• Tochooseproperstabilizers(e.g.,pectinsandgums)forstablegels

• Toadjustmoisturelevelsintheformulationduringprocessing

• TodevelopformulationswithdesirablepH,Brix%,gelset,lavor,color,andconsistency

Forexample,theprocessinglineandformulationingredients,asshowninTable5.12,forpro-
ducinghoney-applegelsincludesthefollowingsteps: