Honey

Honey bee

2008-01-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

Honey bees (or honeybees) are a subset of bees which represent a far smaller fraction of bee diversity than most people suspect; of the approximately 20,000 known species of bees, there are only seven presently-recognized species with a total of 44 subspecies (Engel, 1999; historically, anywhere from six to eleven species have been recognized). These bees are the only living members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis, and all of which produce and store liquefied sugar ("honey") to some degree, and construct colonial nests out of wax secreted by the workers in the colony. Other types of related bees produce and store honey, but only members of the genus Apis are considered true honey bees.

Honey is the complex substance made when the nectar and sweet deposits from plants and trees are gathered, modified and stored in the honeycomb by honey bees. All living species of Apis have had their honey gathered by indigenous peoples for consumption, though for commercial purposes only A. mellifera and A. cerana have been exploited to any degree. Honey is sometimes also gathered by humans from the nests of various stingless bees.

Honey as an Antimicrobial Agent

2008-01-07T01:18:00.001-08:00

Honey having antibacterial properties has been known for more than a century. Although it has been used as a medicine since ancient times in many cultures, in its ancient usage there was no recognition of its antibacterial properties. It was just known to be an effective remedy. This is not surprising considering that it is only since the latter part of the last century that it has become known that many ailments are the result of infection by micro-organisms. Now it can be recognized that the effectiveness of honey in many of its medical uses is probably due to its antibacterial activity.

It is well established that honey inhibits a broad spectrum of bacterial species. There are many reports of bactericidal as well as bacteriostatic activity. There have also been reports of honey having anti-fungal activity. These numerous reports of the antimicrobial activity of honey have been comprehensively reviewed. "The collation of data shows that honey is active against a wide range of bacterial and fungal species, many of which cause infections," says Frank Buonanotte, CEO of Honeymark International, a manufacturer of health care products containing honey as an antimicrobial agent. However, there are ailments which may be treated with honey which have not had the infectious agents tested for their sensitivity to the antimicrobial activity of honey. Also, there has not been much distinction made in the different types of antimicrobial activity in honey to which the various microbial species are sensitive.

Key Factors:

Osmotic effect Honey is a saturated solution of sugars, 84% being a mixture of fructose and glucose.
Acidity Honey is characteristically quite acidic, its pH being between 3.2 and 4.5, which is low enough to be inhibitory to many animal pathogens.
Hydrogen Peroxide The major antibacterial activity in honey has been found to be due to hydrogen peroxide produced enzymically in the honey.
Phytochemical factors the evidence for the existence of other antibacterial factors is mainly that the peroxide-generating system does not account for all of the observed antibacterial activity, but there have also been some reports of isolation of antibacterial substances from honey that are not hydrogen peroxide.
Variation in antibacterial activity in almost all reports on the medical use of honey as an antibacterial agent, no consideration is given to the selection of type of honey for therapeutic use.

For more information or to purchase health care products made with honey, go to www.HoneymarkProducts.com

Frank Buonanotte
Honeymark International
P.O. Box 133
Eastport, NY 11941
USA
866-427-7329
HoneymarkProducts.com

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What is Honey ?

2007-12-30T03:31:00.000-08:00

Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by honey bees (and some other species of bee[citation needed]), and derived from the nectar of flowers. According to the United States National Honey Board and various international food regulations, "honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance...this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners". This article refers exclusively to the honey produced by honey bees (the genus Apis); honey produced by other bees[citation needed] or other insects[citation needed] has very different properties.

Honey is significantly sweeter than table sugar and has attractive chemical properties for baking. Honey has a distinctive flavor which leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners.

Most microorganisms do not grow in honey because of its low water activity of 0.6. However, it is important to note that honey frequently contains dormant endospores of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which can be dangerous to infants as the endospores can transform into toxin-producing bacteria in the infant's immature intestinal tract, leading to illness and even death.

The study of pollens and spores in raw honey (melissopalynology) can determine floral sources of honey. Because bees carry an electrostatic charge, and can attract other particles, the same techniques of melissopalynology can be used in area environmental studies of radioactive particles, dust, or particulate pollution.

Honey Storage Tips

2007-11-11T04:41:00.000-08:00

While one of the greatest facts on honey storage is that it doesn’t spoil even with no preservatives and additives, liquid honey is susceptible to physical and chemical changes during storage; it tends to darken and lose its some of its aroma and flavor. Over time, liquid honey also tends to naturally crystallise and become lumpy over a period of time. This does not affect the taste and quality of the honey at all, although it changes its appearance. Hence, for commercial reasons, a certain a certain shelf life is often stated on the honey bottles in the shop.

I often read from honey storage tips that honey should be kept at room temperature and should not be stored in too cold nor too hot place. The problem here is it can be confusing because room temperature varies from country to country! For instance, where I live, room temperature sometimes could be as high as 35°C but I do not refrigerate any of my honey as as cold temperatures would speed up the process of granulation. Also, the rate of crystallisation varies for the different types of honey. Tupelo honey, for instance, is known to resist crystallization better than other types of honey.

I would advise honey to be stored at a temperature of 21°C to 27°C or 70°F to 80°F in a dry cupboard, make sure that the cap is on tight since honey tends to absorb moisture from the environment, which can lower its quality. Also store honey away from direct sunlight as it could affect its properties. And this is the reason why some honey come in dark containers. However, these dark containers do not allow consumers to judge the color, viscosity, clarity, and crytallisation of the honey. Glass packaging is preferred by some people because glass is neutral and doesn’t react to honey and alter its quality.

If you wish to restore granulated honey to its natural state, just place the jar over hot water (about 50-60°C), as soon as the granules are dissolved, remove the honey from the heat and let it cool as quickly as possible. Remember, never boil honey!

Source: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-storage.html

R. Tan is the owner of the website benefits-of-honey.com which is a rich honey resource community specially built for all the honey lovers and fans in this world. She has packed this website with a wide range of quality contents on honey based on her knowledge and experience with honey, so as to promote its invaluable benefits which she believes could bring many positive spin-offs in everyone's daily life.

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Forms of Honey

2007-11-09T06:46:00.002-08:00

Honey comes in a number of physical forms, and understanding the variety will certainly help you pick a more appropriate form from the supermarket when you wish to combine honey with other ingredients used in the preparation of foods. Try out the various forms of honey when you have the chance!

1. Comb Honey:
It is difficult to find comb honey nowadays, but sometimes you can find a jar of liquid honey to which a piece of cut comb has been added. Before the invention of honey extracting device, honey is mostly produced in the form of comb honey. Today, very little honey is produced as comb honey. Comb honey is raw pure honey sections taken straight from the hive – honey bees’ wax comb. It is the most unprocessed form in which honey comes -- the bees fill the hexagon shaped wax cells of the comb with honey and cap it with beeswax. You can eat comb honey just like a chewy candy. Because the honey in the comb is untouched and is deemed to be pure, honey presented in this form comes with a high price tag.
2. Liquid honey:

I easily find this honey everywhere. When I travel abroad, I notice that most countries seem to have no lack of it. Liquid honey has been filtered to remove to remove fine particles, pollen grains, and air bubbles, and heated to melt visible crystals after being extracted from the honey comb by centrifugal force or gravity. Because liquid honey mixes easily into a variety of foods, its uses are diverse. It is used as a syrup for pancakes and waffles and in a wide variety of recipes, and it's especially convenient for cooking and baking.
3. Cream honey:

If you are one of those who complain that honey is messy to use, cream honey would be an excellent alternative to liquid honey. Cream honey, also known as whipped honey, spun honey, granulated honey, or honey fondant, is found in the market in a crystallised state. It has one part finely granulated honey blended with nine parts liquid honey. The crystallisation is controlled in such a way that at room temperature, the honey has a smooth consistency and can be spread like butter.

Source: http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/raw-honey.html
R. Tan is the owner of the website benefits-of-honey.com which is a rich honey resource community specially built for all the honey lovers and fans in this world. She has packed this website with a wide range of quality contents on honey based on her knowledge and experience with honey, so as to promote its invaluable benefits which she believes could bring many positive spin-offs in everyone's daily life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ruth_Tan

Taste Of Honey

2007-11-09T06:46:00.001-08:00

Honey Is Probably The Best Source Of Natural Sugar.
Honey has been around since before the age of man, somewhere in the beginning man found that honey in the comb of the beehive is truly pleasant to the taste and also useful. In Ancient times it was called the nectar of the gods.

Honey is sweet due to it's content of sugar; it also contains many of the minerals which are necessary for the growth and health of our bodies.
Unlike cane and beet sugar when ingested into the digestive process into a sugar called dextrose and laevulose then breaks down our bodies. This process has already taken place in honey. Sugar is what the body gets its energy from. Laevulose is twice as sweet as cane sugar and Dextrose is about half as sweet as cane sugar.

Honey contains minerals such as iron, copper, manganese, calcium and phosphorus. Honey is a pleasant, safe, wholesome food for adults and children alike. Honey varies in color due to the type of flower the bee extracts the nectar from for the honey. Honey can also be added to cheesecake, cream cheese, different foods, you can have a wedding cake made with honey, and all of your baked goods can be made with honey
Andrew Krause is a Chef and Pastry Chef for over 30 years, at present I am retired, for 23 years I owned a Gourmet Bakery called The Cheese Confectioner. You can visit my site at http://www.andies.cashhosters2.com

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