Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Hard or soft (liquid honey)
Most honeys eventually crystallize, but the rate of crystallization depends on the ratio
of glucose to fructose in the honey, and that depends mainly on the floral source. Some
honey, such as that from oilseed rape (canola), often crystallizes on the comb while
still in the hive, making it very difficult for the bees to use as stores and difficult for the
beekeeper to extract using standard equipment.
To the beekeeper, honey viscosity is very important, especially during extraction and
packing, and larger companies will heat their honey so that it flows through their
equipment more readily and can be packed in jars or drums easily. Some honeys may be
thixotropic, which means they become jelly-like if left undisturbed. This is especially
so of ling heather ( Calluna vulgaris ) and, again, this necessitates the use of special
procedures for extracting it.
Taste
The taste of honey varies enormously. Try some clover honey and then some manuka
honey and you will find a huge difference. Manuka isn't highly regarded for taste and
used to be thrown away or fed back to the bees (but it is now highly priced and sought
after due to its proven medicinal properties).
Colour
Colour shouldn't be an issue really but, in fact, in some countries such as the USA
and Germany, for example, it is very much a determinant of price. The Americans
prefer their honey 'water white', and dark honeys are referred to as 'bakers' honey' and
command a lower price. In Germany, dark honey is preferred, and pale or white honeys
are lower in price. I once produced some honeydew (see below) from the cork-oak
forest aphids of southern Spain. It was a dense black and had a remarkably strong taste.
A German who had bought one of my jars in a nearby bar hastened to my house and
bought the entire year's harvest - or what there was left of it.
Antibacterial quality
Honey's 'hyper-osmotic' nature (due to the high concentration of solids and low
moisture content) prevents the growth of bacteria and yeasts as this draws water out of
the organisms, killing them by desiccation. It literally sucks them dry. Honey also has a
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