Honey

Honey is a sweet, adhesive aliment actuality fabricated by honey bees and some accompanying insects.[1] Bees aftermath honey from the bathetic secretions of plants (floral nectar) or from secretions of added insects (such as honeydew), by regurgitation, enzymatic activity, and baptize evaporation. Bees abundance honey in wax structures alleged honeycombs.[1][2] The array of honey produced by honey bees (the brand Apis) is the best-known, due to its accepted bartering assembly and beastly consumption.[3] Honey is calm from agrarian bee colonies, or from hives of calm bees, a convenance accepted as beekeeping or apiculture.

Honey gets its acidity from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, and has about the aforementioned about acidity as sucrose (table sugar).[4][5] It has adorable actinic backdrop for baking and a characteristic acidity aback acclimated as a sweetener.[4] Best microorganisms do not abound in honey, so closed honey does not spoil, alike afterwards bags of years.[6][7]

Fifteen millilitres (1 US tablespoon) of honey provides about 190 kilojoules (46 kilocalories) of aliment energy.[8]
French honey from adapted floral sources, with arresting differences in blush and texture

Honey use and assembly accept a continued and assorted history as an age-old activity. Several cavern paintings in Cuevas de la Araña in Spain characterize bodies foraging for honey at atomic 8,000 years ago.Formation
A honey bee on calyx of goldenrod with its bill extended
Honeycomb announcement hexagonal ablaze wax beef in which honey bees abundance honey

Honey is produced by bees accession ambrosia and honeydew for use as sugars captivated to abutment metabolism of beef action during foraging or to be stored as a abiding aliment supply.[11][12] During foraging, bees admission allotment of the ambrosia calm to abutment metabolic action of flight muscles, with the majority of calm ambrosia destined for regurgitation, digestion, and accumulator as honey.[11][13] In algid acclimate or aback added aliment sources are scarce, developed and abecedarian bees use stored honey as food.[12]

By artful for bee swarms to backup in human-made hives, bodies accept been able to semidomesticate the insects and autumn balance honey. In the accumulate or in a agrarian nest, the three types of bees are:

    a distinct changeable queen bee
    a seasonally capricious cardinal of macho bombinate bees to beget new queens
    20,000 to 40,000 changeable artisan bees[14]

Leaving the hive, a foraging bee collects sugar-rich annual nectar, sucking it through its bill and agreement it in its proventriculus (honey abdomen or crop), which lies aloof afterwards to its aliment stomach. The honey abdomen holds about 40 mg of nectar, or about 50% of the bee's unloaded weight, which can crave over a thousand flowers and added than an hour to fill. The ambrosia about begins with a baptize agreeable of 70 to 80%.[15] Salivary enzymes and proteins from the bee's hypopharyngeal gland are added to the ambrosia to activate breaking bottomward the sugars, adopting the baptize agreeable slightly. The brigand bees again acknowledgment to the hive, breadth they abound and alteration ambrosia to the accumulate bees. The accumulate bees again use their honey stomachs to blot and abound the nectar, basic bubbles amid their mandibles again until it is partially digested. The bubbles actualize a ample apparent breadth per aggregate and a allocation of the baptize is removed through evaporation.[16][11][13][17] Bee digestive enzymes hydrolyze sucrose to a admixture of glucose and fructose, and breach bottomward added starches and proteins, accretion the acidity.[11][13][18]

The bees assignment calm as a accumulation with the abhorrence and assimilation for as continued as 20 minutes, casual the ambrosia from one bee to the next, until the artefact alcove the honeycombs in accumulator quality.[13] It is again placed in bore beef and larboard apparent while still aerial in baptize agreeable (about 50 to 70%) and accustomed yeasts which, unchecked, would account the sugars in the anew formed honey to ferment.[12][19][20] Bees are amid the few insects that can accomplish ample amounts of anatomy heat, and the accumulate bees consistently adapt the accumulate temperature, either heating with their bodies or cooling with baptize evaporation, to advance a adequately connected temperature of about 35 °C (95 °F) in the honey-storage areas. The action continues as accumulate bees agitate their wings consistently to broadcast air and ablaze baptize from the honey to a agreeable about 18%, adopting the amoroso absorption aloft the assimilation point and preventing fermentation.[12][13] The bees again cap the beef with wax to allowance them.[13] As removed from the accumulate by a beekeeper, honey has a continued shelf action and will not agitate if appropriately sealed.[12]

Some wasp species, such as Brachygastra lecheguana and Brachygastra mellifica activate in South and Central America, are accepted to augment on ambrosia and aftermath honey.[21]

Some wasps, such as Polistes versicolor, blot honey, alternating amid agriculture on pollen in the boilerplate of their lifecycles and agriculture on honey, which can bigger accommodate for their action needs.[22]
Production
Collection
Sealed anatomy of honey
Extraction from a honeycomb
Filtering from a honeycomb

Honey is calm from agrarian bee colonies or from calm beehives. On average, a accumulate will aftermath about 29 kilograms (65 lb) of honey per year.[23] Agrarian bee nests are sometimes amid by afterward a honeyguide bird.

To cautiously aggregate honey from a hive, beekeepers about allay the bees appliance a bee smoker. The smoke triggers a agriculture aptitude (an attack to save the assets of the accumulate from a accessible fire), authoritative them beneath aggressive, and obscures the pheromones the bees use to communicate. The bore is removed from the accumulate and the honey may be extracted from it either by crushing or by appliance a honey extractor. The honey is again usually filtered to abolish affair and added debris.

Before the apparatus of disposable frames, bee colonies were about sacrificed to conduct the harvest. The agriculturalist would booty all the accessible honey and adapt the absolute antecedents the abutting spring. Aback the apparatus of disposable frames, the attempt of husbandry led best beekeepers to ensure that their bees accept abundant aliment to survive the winter, either by abrogation some honey in the beehive or by accouterment the antecedents with a honey acting such as amoroso baptize or apparent amoroso (often in the anatomy of a "candyboard"). The bulk of aliment all-important to survive the winter depends on the array of bees and on the breadth and severity of bounded winters.

Many beastly breed are admiring to agrarian or calm sources of honey.[24]
Preservation

Because of its agreement and actinic properties, honey is acceptable for abiding storage, and is calmly alloyed alike afterwards continued preservation. Honey, and altar absorbed in honey, accept been preserved for centuries.[25][26] The key to canning is attached admission to humidity. In its convalescent state, honey has a abundantly aerial amoroso agreeable to arrest fermentation. If apparent to clammy air, its hydrophilic backdrop cull damp into the honey, eventually diluting it to the point that cooler can begin.[27]

The continued shelf action of honey is attributed to an agitator activate in the abdomen of bees. The bees mix glucose oxidase with expelled ambrosia they ahead consumed, creating two byproducts – gluconic acerbic and hydrogen peroxide, which are partially amenable for honey acidity and abolishment of bacterial growth.[6]
Adulteration

Honey is sometimes adulterated by the accession of added sugars, syrups, or compounds to change its acidity or viscosity, abate cost, or admission the fructose agreeable to avoid off crystallization. Admixture of honey has been accomplished aback age-old times, aback honey was sometimes attenuated with bulb syrups such as maple, birch, or sorghum and awash to barter as authentic honey. Sometimes crystallized honey was alloyed with abrade or added fillers, ambuscade the admixture from buyers until the honey was liquefied. In avant-garde times the best accepted admixture became clear, almost-flavorless blah syrup; the adulterated admixture can be actual difficult to analyze from authentic honey.[28]

According to the Codex Alimentarius of the United Nations, any artefact labeled as "honey" or "pure honey" charge be a wholly accustomed product, although labeling laws adapt amid countries.[29] In the United States, according to the National Honey Board (NHB;[30] supervised by the United States Department of Agriculture),[31][32] "honey stipulates a authentic artefact that does not acquiesce for the accession of any added substance... this includes, but is not bound to, baptize or added sweeteners".[33]

Isotope arrangement accumulation spectrometry can be acclimated to ascertain accession of blah abstract and pikestaff amoroso by the carbon isotopic signature. Accession of sugars basic from blah or amoroso pikestaff (C4 plants, clashing the plants acclimated by bees, and additionally amoroso beet, which are predominantly C3 plants) skews the isotopic arrangement of sugars present in honey,[34] but does not admission the isotopic arrangement of proteins. In an complete honey, the carbon isotopic ratios of sugars and proteins should match. Levels as low as 7% of accession can be detected.[35]
Worldwide production
Production of accustomed honey – 2018 Country     Production
(tonnes)
 China     446,900
 Turkey     114,113
 Argentina     79,468
 Iran     77,567
 Ukraine     71,279
 United States     69,104
 India     67,442
 Russia     65,006
World     1,851,541
Source: FAOSTAT[36]

In 2018, all-around assembly of honey was 1.9 actor tonnes, led by China with 24% of the angel absolute (table).[36] Added aloft producers were Turkey, Argentina, and Iran.[36]
Modern uses
Food

Over its history as a food,[9] the capital uses of honey are in cooking, baking, desserts, as a advance on bread, as an accession to assorted beverages such as tea, and as a aspartame in some bartering beverages.
Fermentation

Possibly the world's oldest brewed beverage, dating from 9,000 years ago,[37] mead ("honey wine") is the alcoholic artefact fabricated by abacus aggrandize to honey-water charge and crumbling it for weeks or months.[38][39] The aggrandize Saccharomyces cerevisiae is frequently acclimated in avant-garde mead production.[38][39]

Mead varieties accommodate drinks alleged metheglin (with spices or herbs), melomel (with bake-apple juices, such as grape, accurately alleged pyment), hippocras (with cinnamon), and sack mead (high absorption of honey),[39] abounding of which accept been developed as bartering articles calculation in the hundreds in the United States.[40] Honey is additionally acclimated to accomplish mead beer, alleged "braggot".[41]
Physical and actinic properties
Crystallized honey: The inset shows a close-up of the honey, assuming the alone glucose grains in the fructose mixture.

The concrete backdrop of honey vary, depending on baptize content, the blazon of flora acclimated to aftermath it (pasturage), temperature, and the admeasurement of the specific sugars it contains. Beginning honey is a supersaturated liquid, absolute added amoroso than the baptize can about deliquesce at ambient temperatures. At allowance temperature, honey is a supercooled liquid, in which the glucose precipitates into solid granules. This forms a semisolid band-aid of precipitated glucose crystals in a band-aid of fructose and added ingredients.

The anatomy of honey about ranges amid 1.38 and 1.45 kg/l at 20 °C.[42]
Phase transitions

The melting point of crystallized honey is amid 40 and 50 °C (104 and 122 °F), depending on its composition. Beneath this temperature, honey can be either in a metastable state, acceptation that it will not accumulate until a drupe bright is added, or, added often, it is in a "labile" state, actuality saturated with abundant sugars to accumulate spontaneously.[43] The bulk of condensate is afflicted by abounding factors, but the primary agency is the arrangement of the capital sugars: fructose to glucose. Honeys that are supersaturated with a actual aerial allotment of glucose, such as brassica honey, accumulate about anon afterwards harvesting, while honeys with a low allotment of glucose, such as chestnut or tupelo honey, do not crystallize. Some types of honey may aftermath few but actual ample crystals, while others aftermath abounding baby crystals.[44]

Crystallization is additionally afflicted by baptize content, because a aerial allotment of baptize inhibits crystallization, as does a aerial dextrin content. Temperature additionally affects the bulk of crystallization, with the fastest advance occurring amid 13 and 17 °C (55 and 63 °F). Bright nuclei (seeds) tend to anatomy added readily if the honey is disturbed, by stirring, shaking, or agitating, rather than if larboard at rest. However, the nucleation of diminutive seed-crystals is greatest amid 5 and 8 °C (41 and 46 °F). Therefore, beyond but beneath crystals tend to anatomy at college temperatures, while abate but more-numerous crystals usually anatomy at lower temperatures. Beneath 5 °C, the honey will not crystallize, appropriately the aboriginal arrangement and acidity can be preserved indefinitely.[44]

Honey is a supercooled aqueous aback stored beneath its melting point, as is normal. At actual low temperatures, honey does not benumb solid; rather its bendability increases. Like best adhesive liquids, the honey becomes blubbery and apathetic with abbreviating temperature. At −20 °C (−4 °F), honey may arise or alike feel solid, but it continues to breeze at actual low rates. Honey has a bottle alteration amid −42 and −51 °C (−44 and −60 °F). Beneath this temperature, honey enters a burnished accessory and becomes an baggy solid (noncrystalline).[45][46]
Rheology
Pouring raw honey. The sheet-like actualization of the breeze is the aftereffect of aerial bendability and low apparent tension, accidental to the delicacy of honey.[47][48]

The bendability of honey is afflicted abundantly by both temperature and baptize content. The college the baptize percentage, the added calmly honey flows. Aloft its melting point, however, baptize has little aftereffect on viscosity. Aside from baptize content, the agreement of best types of honey additionally has little aftereffect on viscosity. At 25 °C (77 °F), honey with 14% baptize agreeable about has a bendability about 400 poise, while a honey absolute 20% baptize has a bendability about 20 poise. Bendability increases actual boring with abstinent cooling; a honey absolute 16% water, at 70 °C (158 °F), has a bendability about 2 poise, while at 30 °C (86 °F), the bendability is about 70 poise. With added cooling, the admission in bendability is added rapid, extensive 600 address at about 14 °C (57 °F).[49][50] However, while honey is viscous, it has low apparent astriction of 50–60 mJ/m2, authoritative its wettability agnate to water, glycerin, or best added liquids.[51] The aerial bendability and wettability of honey account stickiness, which is a time-dependent action in supercooled liquids amid the glass-transition temperature (Tg) and the crystalline-melting temperature.[52]

Most types of honey are Newtonian liquids, but a few types accept non-Newtonian adhesive properties. Honeys from heather or manuka affectation thixotropic properties. These types of honey admission a gel-like accessory aback motionless, but adulterate aback stirred.[53]
Electrical and optical properties

Because honey contains electrolytes, in the anatomy of acids and minerals, it exhibits capricious degrees of electrical conductivity. Abstracts of the electrical appliance are acclimated to actuate the affection of honey in agreement of ash content.[50]

The aftereffect honey has on ablaze is advantageous for chargeless the blazon and quality. Variations in its baptize agreeable adapt its refractive index. Baptize agreeable can calmly be abstinent with a refractometer. Typically, the refractive base for honey ranges from 1.504 at 13% baptize agreeable to 1.474 at 25%. Honey additionally has an aftereffect on polarized light, in that it rotates the animosity plane. The fructose gives a abrogating rotation, while the glucose gives a absolute one. The all-embracing circling can be acclimated to admeasurement the arrangement of the mixture.[50][27] Honey may adapt in blush amid anemic chicken and aphotic brown, but added ablaze colors may occasionally be found, depending on the antecedent of the amoroso harvested by the bees.[54]
Hygroscopy and fermentation

Honey has the adeptness to blot damp anon from the air, a abnormality alleged hygroscopy. The bulk of baptize the honey absorbs is abased on the about clamminess of the air. Because honey contains yeast, this hygroscopic attributes requires that honey be stored in closed containers to anticipate fermentation, which usually begins if the honey's baptize agreeable rises abundant aloft 25%. Honey tends to blot added baptize in this address than the alone sugars acquiesce on their own, which may be due to added capacity it contains.[27]

Fermentation of honey usually occurs afterwards crystallization, because afterwards the glucose, the aqueous allocation of the honey primarily consists of a concentrated admixture of fructose, acids, and water, accouterment the aggrandize with abundant of an admission in the baptize allotment for growth. Honey that is to be stored at allowance temperature for continued periods of time is about pasteurized, to annihilate any yeast, by heating it aloft 70 °C (158 °F).[27]
Thermal characteristics
Creamed honey: the honey on the larboard is fresh, and the honey on the appropriate has been age-old at allowance temperature for two years. The Maillard acknowledgment produces ample differences in the blush and acidity of the age-old honey, which charcoal edible.

Like all amoroso compounds, honey caramelizes if acrimonious sufficiently, acceptable darker in color, and eventually burns. However, honey contains fructose, which caramelizes at lower temperatures than glucose.[55] The temperature at which caramelization begins varies, depending on the composition, but is about amid 70 and 110 °C (158 and 230 °F). Honey additionally contains acids, which act as catalysts for caramelization. The specific types of acids and their amounts comedy a primary role in chargeless the exact temperature.[56] Of these acids, the amino acids, which action in actual baby amounts, comedy an important role in the concealment of honey. The amino acids anatomy blurred compounds alleged melanoidins, during a Maillard reaction. The Maillard acknowledgment occurs boring at allowance temperature, demography from a few to several months to actualization arresting darkening, but speeds up badly with accretion temperatures. However, the acknowledgment can additionally be slowed by autumn the honey at colder temperatures.[57]

Unlike abounding added liquids, honey has actual poor thermal appliance of 0.5 W/(m⋅K) at 13% baptize agreeable (compared to 401 W/(m⋅K) of copper), demography a continued time to adeptness thermal equilibrium.[58] Due to its aerial kinematic bendability honey does not alteration calefaction through drive circulation (convection) but rather through thermal circulation (more like a solid), so melting crystallized honey can calmly aftereffect in localized caramelization if the calefaction antecedent is too hot or not analogously distributed. However, honey takes essentially best to adulterate aback aloof aloft the melting point than at animated temperatures.[50] Melting 20 kg of crystallized honey at 40 °C (104 °F) can booty up to 24 hours, while 50 kg may booty alert as long. These times can be cut about in bisected by heating at 50 °C (122 °F); however, abounding of the accessory substances in honey can be afflicted abundantly by heating, alteration the flavor, aroma, or added properties, so heating is usually done at the everyman temperature and for the beeline time possible.[59]
Acid agreeable and acidity effects

The boilerplate pH of honey is 3.9, but can ambit from 3.4 to 6.1.[60] Honey contains abounding kinds of acids, both amoebic and amino. However, the adapted types and their amounts adapt considerably, depending on the blazon of honey. These acids may be ambrosial or aliphatic (nonaromatic). The aliphatic acids accord abundantly to the acidity of honey by interacting with the flavors of added ingredients.[60]

Organic acids comprise best of the acids in honey, accounting for 0.17–1.17% of the mixture, with gluconic acerbic formed by the accomplishments of glucose oxidase as the best prevalent.[60] Accessory amounts of added amoebic acids are present, consisting of formic, acetic, butyric, citric, lactic, malic, pyroglutamic, propionic, valeric, capronic, palmitic, and succinic, amid abounding others.[60][61]
Volatile amoebic compounds

Individual honeys from adapted bulb sources accommodate over 100 airy amoebic compounds (VOCs), which comedy a primary role in chargeless honey flavors and aromas.[62][63][64] VOCs are carbon-based compounds that readily vaporize into the air, accouterment aroma, including the scents of flowers, capital oils, or ripening fruit.[62][64] The archetypal actinic families of VOCs activate in honey accommodate hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, esters, acids, benzenes, furans, pyrans, norisoprenoids, and terpenes, amid abounding others and their derivatives.[62][64] The specific VOCs and their amounts adapt appreciably amid adapted types of honey acquired by bees foraging on adapted bulb sources.[62][63][64] By example, aback comparing the admixture of VOCs in adapted honeys in one review, longan honey had a college bulk of volatiles (48 VOCs), while sunflower honey had the everyman cardinal of volatiles (8 VOCs).[62]

VOCs are primarily alien into the honey from the nectar, breadth they are excreted by the flowers imparting alone scents.[62] The specific types and concentrations of assertive VOCs can be acclimated to actuate the blazon of flora acclimated to aftermath monofloral honeys.[62][64] The specific geography, adobe agreement and acidity acclimated to abound the flora additionally accept an aftereffect on honey balm properties,[63] such as a "fruity" or "grassy" balm from longan honey, or a "waxy" balm from sunflower honey.[62] Dominant VOCs in one abstraction were linalool oxide, trans-linalool oxide, 2-phenylacetaldehyde, benzyl ethanol, isophorone, and methyl nonanoate.[62]

VOCs can additionally be alien from the bodies of the bees, be produced by the enzymatic accomplishments of digestion, or from actinic reactions that action amid adapted substances aural the honey during storage, and accordingly may change, increase, or abatement over continued periods of time.[62][63] VOCs may be produced, altered, or abundantly afflicted by temperature and processing.[63] Some VOCs are calefaction labile, and are destroyed at animated temperatures, while others can be created during non-enzymatic reactions, such as the Maillard reaction.[64] VOCs are amenable for about all of the balm produced by a honey, which may be declared as "sweet", "flowery", "citrus", "almond" or "rancid", amid added terms.[62] In addition, VOCs comedy a ample role in chargeless the specific acidity of the honey, both through the aromas and flavor.[62] VOCs from honeys in adapted geographic regions can be acclimated as floral markers of those regions, and as markers of the bees that foraged the nectars.[62][63]
Classification
   
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Honey is classified by its floral source, and capacity are fabricated according to the packaging and processing used. Regional honeys are additionally identified. In the USA, honey is additionally graded on its blush and optical anatomy by USDA standards, graded on the Pfund scale, which ranges from 0 for "water white" honey to added than 114 for "dark amber" honey.[65]
Floral source

Generally, honey is classified by the floral antecedent of the ambrosia from which it was made. Honeys can be from specific types of annual nectars or can be attenuated afterwards collection. The pollen in honey is traceable to floral antecedent and accordingly arena of origin. The rheological and melissopalynological backdrop of honey can be acclimated to analyze the aloft bulb ambrosia antecedent acclimated in its production.[66]
Blended

Most commercially accessible honey is a blend[67] of two or added honeys differing in floral source, color, flavor, density, or geographic origin.[68]
Polyfloral

Polyfloral honey, additionally accepted as wildflower honey,[69] is acquired from the ambrosia of abounding types of flowers.[68][70] The aftertaste may adapt from year to year, and the balm and the acidity can be added or beneath intense, depending on which flowers are blooming.[68]
Monofloral

Monofloral honey is fabricated primarily from the ambrosia of one blazon of flower. Monofloral honeys accept characteristic flavors and colors because of differences amid their arch ambrosia sources.[71] To aftermath monofloral honey, beekeepers accumulate beehives in an breadth breadth the bees accept access, as far as possible, to alone one blazon of flower. In convenance a baby admeasurement of any monofloral honey will be from added annual types. Archetypal examples of North American monofloral honeys are clover, orange blossom, sage, tupelo, buckwheat, fireweed, mesquite, sourwood,[72] cherry, and blueberry. Some archetypal European examples accommodate thyme, thistle, heather, acacia, dandelion, sunflower, lavender, honeysuckle, and varieties from adhesive and chestnut trees.[citation needed] In North Africa (e.g. Egypt), examples accommodate clover, cotton, and citrus (mainly orange blossoms).[citation needed] The altered flora of Australia yields a cardinal of characteristic honeys, with some of the best accepted actuality chicken box, dejected gum, ironbark, backcountry mallee, Tasmanian leatherwood, and macadamia.
Honeydew honey

Instead of demography nectar, bees can booty honeydew, the candied secretions of aphids or added plant-sap-sucking insects. Honeydew honey is actual aphotic brown, with a affluent balm of broiled bake-apple or fig jam, and is not as candied as ambrosia honeys.[71] Germany's Black Forest is a acclaimed antecedent of honeydew-based honeys, as are some regions in Bulgaria, Tara in Serbia, and Northern California in the United States. In Greece ache honey, a blazon of honeydew honey, constitutes 60–65% of honey production.[73] Honeydew honey is accepted in some areas, but in added areas, beekeepers accept adversity affairs honeydew honey, due to its stronger flavor.[74]

The assembly of honeydew honey has some complications and dangers. This honey has a abundant beyond admeasurement of indigestibles than ablaze floral honeys, appropriately causing dysentery to the bees,[75] constant in the afterlife of colonies in areas with algid winters. Acceptable beekeeping administration requires the abatement of honeydew above-mentioned to winter in colder areas. Bees accession this adeptness additionally accept to be fed protein supplements, as honeydew lacks the protein-rich pollen accessory aggregate from flowers.

Honeydew honey is sometimes alleged "myelate".[76]
Classification by packaging and processing

Generally, honey is bottled in its accustomed aqueous form, but it is awash in added forms, and can be subjected to a array of processing methods.
A honeycomb
A array of honey flavors and alembic sizes and styles from the 2008 Texas Accessory Fair

    Crystallized honey occurs aback some of the glucose agreeable has spontaneously crystallized from band-aid as the monohydrate. It is additionally alleged "granulated honey" or "candied honey". Honey that has crystallized (or is commercially purchased crystallized) can be alternate to a aqueous accessory by warming.[77]
    Pasteurized honey has been acrimonious in a pasteurization action which requires temperatures of 72 °C (161 °F) or higher. Pasteurization destroys aggrandize cells. It additionally liquefies any microcrystals in the honey, which delays the access of arresting crystallization. However, boundless calefaction acknowledgment additionally after-effects in artefact deterioration, as it increases the akin of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)[citation needed] and reduces agitator (e.g. diastase) activity. Calefaction additionally darkens the honey, and affects aftertaste and fragrance.[78]
    Raw honey is as it exists in the beehive or as acquired by extraction, settling, or straining, afterwards abacus calefaction (although some honey that has been "minimally processed" is about labeled as raw honey).[79] Raw honey contains some pollen and may accommodate baby particles of wax.
    Strained honey has been anesthetized through a cobweb actual to abolish chapped material[80] (pieces of wax, propolis, added defects) afterwards removing pollen, minerals, or enzymes.
    Filtered honey of any blazon has been filtered to the admeasurement that all or best of the accomplished particles, pollen grains, air bubbles, or added abstracts frequently activate in suspension, accept been removed.[81] The action about heats honey to 66–77 °C (150–170 °F) to added calmly canyon through the filter.[82] Filtered honey is actual ablaze and will not accumulate as quickly,[82] authoritative it adopted by supermarkets.[83] The best accepted adjustment involves the accession of diatomaceous angel to honey that is acrimonious to 60 °C (140 °F) and anesthetized through clarify cardboard or canvas until a clarify block of diatomaceous angel builds up on the filter.[72]
    Ultrasonicated honey has been candy by ultrasonication, a nonthermal processing addition for honey. Aback honey is apparent to ultrasonication, best of the aggrandize beef are destroyed. Those beef that survive sonication about lose their adeptness to grow, which reduces the bulk of honey cooler substantially. Ultrasonication additionally eliminates absolute crystals and inhibits added condensate in honey. Ultrasonically aided condensate can assignment at essentially lower temperatures about 35 °C (95 °F) and can abate condensate time to beneath than 30 seconds.[84]
    Creamed honey, additionally alleged aerated honey, spun honey, aerated honey, honey fondant, and, in the UK, set honey, has been candy to ascendancy crystallization. Creamed honey contains a ample cardinal of baby crystals, which anticipate the accumulation of beyond crystals that can action in chapped honey. The processing additionally produces a honey with a smooth, spreadable consistency.[85]
    Dried honey has the damp extracted from aqueous honey to actualize absolutely solid, nonsticky granules. This action may or may not accommodate the use of dehydration and anticaking agents.[86] Dried honey is acclimated in broiled goods,[86] and to adornment desserts.[87]
    Adjust honey is still in the honeybees' wax comb. It is frequently calm appliance accepted board frames in honey supers. The frames are calm and the adjust is cut out in chunks afore packaging. As an addition to this labor-intensive method, artificial rings or cartridges can be acclimated that do not crave chiral acerbic of the comb, and acceleration packaging. Adjust honey harvested in the acceptable address is additionally referred to as "cut-comb honey".[77]:13[88]
    Chunk honey is arranged in wide-mouthed containers; it consists of one or added pieces of adjust honey absorbed in extracted aqueous honey.[77]:13
    Honey decoctions are fabricated from honey or honey byproducts which accept been attenuated in water, again bargain (usually by agency of boiling). Added capacity may again be added. (For example, abbamele has added citrus.) The constant artefact may be agnate to molasses.
    Baker's honey is alfresco the accustomed blueprint for honey, due to a "foreign" aftertaste or odor, or because it has amorphous to agitate or has been overheated. It is about acclimated as an additive in aliment processing. Added requirements abide for labeling baker's honey, including that it may not be awash labeled artlessly as "honey".[89]

Grading
See also: Aliment grading

Countries accept differing standards for allocation honey. In the US, honey allocation is performed voluntarily based aloft USDA standards. USDA offers analysis and allocation "as on-line (in-plant) or lot inspection...upon application, on a fee-for-service basis." Honey is graded based aloft a cardinal of factors, including baptize content, acidity and aroma, absence of defects, and clarity. Honey is additionally classified by color, admitting it is not a agency in the allocation scale.[90] The honey brand calibration is:
Grade     Soluble debris     Flavor and balm     Absence of defects     Clarity
A     ≥ 81.4%     Good—"has a good, accustomed acidity and balm for the absolute floral antecedent or, aback blended, a acceptable acidity for the alloy of floral sources and the honey is chargeless from caramelized acidity or abhorrent acidity acquired by fermentation, smoke, chemicals, or added causes with the barring of the absolute floral source"     Practically free—"contains about no defects that affect the actualization or edibility of the product"     Clear—"may accommodate air bubbles which do not materially affect the actualization of the artefact and may accommodate a trace of pollen grains or added cautiously disconnected particles of abeyant actual which do not affect the actualization of the product"
B     ≥ 81.4%     Reasonably good—"has a analytic good, accustomed acidity and balm for the absolute floral antecedent or, aback blended, a analytic acceptable acidity for the alloy of floral sources and the honey is about chargeless from caramelized acidity and is chargeless from abhorrent acidity acquired by fermentation, smoke, chemicals, or added causes with the barring of the absolute floral source"     Reasonably free—"may accommodate defects which do not materially affect the actualization or edibility of the product"     Reasonably clear—"may accommodate air bubbles, pollen grains, or added cautiously disconnected particles of abeyant actual which do not materially affect the actualization of the product"
C     ≥ 80.0%     Fairly good—"has a adequately good, accustomed acidity and balm for the absolute floral antecedent or, aback blended, a adequately acceptable acidity for the alloy of floral sources and the honey is analytic chargeless from caramelized acidity and is chargeless from abhorrent acidity acquired by fermentation, smoke, chemicals, or added causes with the barring of the absolute floral source"     Fairly free—"may accommodate defects which do not actively affect the actualization or edibility of the product"     Fairly clear—"may accommodate air bubbles, pollen grains, or added cautiously disconnected particles of abeyant actual which do not actively affect the actualization of the product"
Substandard     Fails Brand C     Fails Brand C     Fails Brand C     Fails Brand C

India certifies honey grades based on added factors, such as the Fiehe's test, and added empiric measurements.[91]
Indicators of quality

High-quality honey can be acclaimed by fragrance, taste, and consistency. Ripe, afresh collected, high-quality honey at 20 °C (68 °F) should breeze from a knife in a beeline stream, afterwards breaking into abstracted drops.[92] Afterwards falling down, the honey should anatomy a bead. The honey, aback poured, should anatomy small, acting layers that abandon adequately quickly, advertence aerial viscosity. If not, it indicates honey with boundless baptize agreeable of over 20%,[92] not acceptable for abiding preservation.[93]

In jars, beginning honey should arise as a pure, constant fluid, and should not set in layers. Aural a few weeks to a few months of extraction, abounding varieties of honey accumulate into a cream-colored solid. Some varieties of honey, including tupelo, acacia, and sage, accumulate beneath regularly. Honey may be acrimonious during bottling at temperatures of 40–49 °C (104–120 °F) to adjournment or arrest crystallization. Overheating is adumbrated by change in agitator levels, for instance, diastase activity, which can be bent with the Schade or the Phadebas methods. A creamy blur on the apparent of the honey (like a white foam), or marble-colored or white-spotted condensate on a container's sides, is formed by air bubbles trapped during the bottling process.

A 2008 Italian abstraction bent that nuclear alluring resonance spectroscopy can be acclimated to analyze amid adapted honey types, and can be acclimated to define the breadth breadth it was produced. Researchers were able to analyze differences in acacia and polyfloral honeys by the differing accommodation of fructose and sucrose, as able-bodied as differing levels of ambrosial amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. This adeptness allows greater affluence of selecting accordant stocks.[94]
Nutrition
HoneyNutritional amount per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy    1,272 kJ (304 kcal)
Carbohydrates
   
82.4 g
Sugars    82.12 g
Dietary fiber    0.2 g
Fat
   
0 g
Protein
   
0.3 g
Vitamins    Quantity %DV†
Riboflavin (B2)   
3%
0.038 mg
Niacin (B3)   
1%
0.121 mg
Pantothenic acerbic (B5)   
1%
0.068 mg
Vitamin B6   
2%
0.024 mg
Folate (B9)   
1%
2 μg
Vitamin C   
1%
0.5 mg
Minerals    Quantity %DV†
Calcium   
1%
6 mg
Iron   
3%
0.42 mg
Magnesium   
1%
2 mg
Phosphorus   
1%
4 mg
Potassium   
1%
52 mg
Sodium   
0%
4 mg
Zinc   
2%
0.22 mg
Other constituents    Quantity
Water    17.10 g
Full Link to USDA Database entry

    Units
    μg = micrograms • mg = milligrams
    IU = International units

†Percentages are about approximated appliance US recommendations for adults.

One hundred grams of honey provides about 1,270 kJ (304 kcal) of action with no cogent amounts of capital nutrients.[8] Composed of 17% baptize and 82% carbohydrates, honey has low agreeable of fat, comestible fiber, and protein.
Sugar profile

A admixture of sugars and added carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38%) and glucose (about 32%),[4] with actual sugars including maltose, sucrose, and added circuitous carbohydrates.[4] Its glycemic base ranges from 31 to 78, depending on the variety.[95] The specific composition, color, aroma, and acidity of any accumulation of honey depend on the flowers foraged by bees that produced the honey.[9]

One 1980 abstraction activate that alloyed floral honey from several United States regions about contains the following:[96]

    Fructose: 38.2%
    Glucose: 31.3%
    Maltose: 7.1%
    Sucrose: 1.3%
    Water: 17.2%
    College sugars: 1.5%
    Ash: 0.2%
    Other/undetermined: 3.2%

A 2013 NMR spectroscopy abstraction of 20 adapted honeys from Germany activate that their amoroso capacity comprised:

    Fructose: 28% to 41%
    Glucose: 22% to 35%

The boilerplate arrangement was 56% fructose to 44% glucose, but the ratios in the alone honeys ranged from a aerial of 64% fructose and 36% glucose (one blazon of annual honey; table 3 in reference) to a low of 50% fructose and 50% glucose (a adapted floral source). This NMR adjustment was not able to quantify maltose, galactose, and the added accessory sugars as compared to fructose and glucose.[97]
Medical use and research
See also: Apitherapy
Wounds and burns

Honey is a accepted folk analysis for burns and added bark injuries. Basic affirmation suggests that it aids in the healing of fractional array burns 4–5 canicule faster than added dressings, and abstinent affirmation suggests that post-operative infections advised with honey alleviate faster and with beneath adverse contest than with antibacterial and gauze.[98] The affirmation for the use of honey in assorted added anguish treatments is of low quality, and close abstracts cannot be drawn.[98][99] Affirmation does not abutment the use of honey-based articles for the analysis of venous antithesis ulcers or ingrown toenail.[100][101] Several medical-grade honey articles accept been accustomed by the FDA for use in alleviative accessory wounds and burns.[102]
Antibiotic

Honey has continued been acclimated as a contemporary antibacterial by practitioners of acceptable and herbal medicine.[103][104] Honey's antibacterial furnishings were aboriginal approved by the Dutch scientist Bernardus Adrianus van Ketel in 1892.[105][106] Aback then, abundant studies accept apparent that honey has broad-spectrum antibacterial action adjoin Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, although authority varies broadly amid adapted honeys.[102][106][107][108] Due to the admeasurement of antibiotic-resistant bacilli in the aftermost few decades, there has been renewed absorption in researching the antibacterial backdrop of honey.[104] Components of honey beneath basic analysis for abeyant antibacterial use accommodate methylglyoxal, hydrogen peroxide, and royalisin (also alleged defensin-1).[109][110]
Cough

For abiding and astute coughs, a Cochrane analysis activate no able affirmation for or adjoin the use of honey.[111][112] For alleviative children, the analytical analysis assured with abstinent to low affirmation that honey apparently helps added than no treatment, diphenhydramine, and placebo at giving abatement from coughing.[112] Honey does not arise to assignment bigger than dextromethorphan at abating coughing in children.[112] Addition analyst agrees with these conclusions.[113]

The UK Medicines and Healthcare Articles Regulatory Agency recommends alienated giving over-the-counter ahem and accepted algid medication to accouchement beneath six, and suggests "a bootleg antidote absolute honey and auto is acceptable to be aloof as advantageous and safer to take", but warns that honey should not be accustomed to babies because of the accident of baby botulism.[114] The Angel Bloom Organization recommends honey as a analysis for coughs and abscessed throats, including for children, advertence that no acumen exists to accept it is beneath able than a bartering remedy.[115]
Other

The use of honey has been recommended as a acting action for accepted or doubtable button corpuscle array ingestions to abate the accident and severity of abrasion to the esophagus acquired by the array above-mentioned to its removal.[116][117]

There is no affirmation that honey is benign for alleviative cancer,[118] although honey may be advantageous for authoritative ancillary furnishings of radiation analysis or chemotherapy acclimated to amusement cancer.[119]

Consumption is sometimes advocated as a analysis for melancholia allergies due to pollen, but accurate affirmation to abutment the affirmation is inconclusive.[118][120] Honey is about advised abortive for the analysis of allergic conjunctivitis.[118][121]

Although the majority of calories in honey is from fructose, honey does not account added weight gain[122] and fructose by itself is not an absolute agency for weight gain.[123]
Health hazards

Honey is about safe aback taken in archetypal aliment amounts,[113][118] but it may accept various, abeyant adverse furnishings or interactions in aggregate with boundless consumption, absolute ache conditions, or drugs.[118] Included amid these are balmy reactions to aerial intake, such as anxiety, insomnia, or hyperactivity in about 10% of children, according to one study.[113] No affection of anxiety, insomnia, or hyperactivity were detected with honey burning compared to placebo, according to addition study.[113] Honey burning may collaborate abnormally with absolute allergies, aerial claret amoroso levels (as in diabetes), or anticoagulants acclimated to ascendancy bleeding, amid added analytic conditions.[118]

People who accept a attenuated accustomed arrangement may be at accident of bacterial or fungal infection from bistro honey.[124]
Botulism

Infants can advance botulism afterwards arresting honey attenuated with Clostridium botulinum endospores.[125]

Infantile botulism shows bounded variation. In the UK, alone six cases were appear amid 1976 and 2006,[126] yet the U.S. has abundant college rates: 1.9 per 100,000 alive births, 47.2% of which are in California.[127] While the accident honey poses to baby bloom is small, demography the accident is not recommended until afterwards one year of age, and again giving honey is advised safe.[128]
Toxic honey
Main article: Bees and baneful chemicals § Baneful honey
A honey bee accession ambrosia from monkshood (Aconitum delphinifolium, or "wolf's bane"), an acutely baneful plant: The flowers are shaped in such a way that the bee charge fit its absolute anatomy into the annual to adeptness the nectar.

Mad honey beatitude is a aftereffect of bistro honey absolute grayanotoxins.[129] Honey produced from flowers of rhododendrons, abundance laurels, sheep laurel, and azaleas may account honey intoxication. Affection accommodate dizziness, weakness, boundless perspiration, nausea, and vomiting. Beneath commonly, low claret pressure, shock, affection accent irregularities, and amusement may occur, with attenuate cases constant in death. Honey beatitude is added acceptable aback appliance "natural" chapped honey and honey from farmers who may accept a baby cardinal of hives. Bartering processing, with pooling of honey from abundant sources, is anticipation to adulterate any toxins.[130]

Toxic honey may additionally aftereffect aback bees are almost to tutu bushes (Coriaria arborea) and the backcountry alembic insect (Scolypopa australis). Both are activate throughout New Zealand. Bees accumulate honeydew produced by the backcountry alembic insects agriculture on the tutu plant. This introduces the adulteration tutin into honey.[131] Alone a few areas in New Zealand (the Coromandel Peninsula, Eastern Bay of Plenty and the Marlborough Sounds) frequently aftermath baneful honey. Affection of tutin contagion accommodate vomiting, delirium, giddiness, added excitability, stupor, coma, and agitated convulsions.[132] To abate the accident of tutin poisoning, bodies should not eat honey taken from beastly hives in the accident areas of New Zealand. Aback December 2001, New Zealand beekeepers accept been appropriate to abate the accident of bearing baneful honey by carefully ecology tutu, backcountry hopper, and foraging altitude aural 3 km (2 mi) of their apiary.[citation needed] Beatitude is rarely dangerous.[129]
Folk medicine

In belief and folk medicine, honey was acclimated both orally and topically to amusement assorted ailments including belly disturbances, ulcers, bark wounds, and bark burns by age-old Greeks and Egyptians, and in Ayurveda and acceptable Chinese medicine.[133]
In antiquity
Honey appellant depicted in an 8000-year-old cavern painting at Araña Caves in Spain

Honey accumulating is an age-old activity.[10] A Mesolithic bedrock painting in a cavern in Valencia, Spain, dating aback at atomic 8,000 years, depicts two honey foragers accession honey and bore from a agrarian bees' nest. The abstracts are depicted accustomed baskets or gourds, and appliance a ladder or alternation of ropes to adeptness the nest.[10] Bodies followed the greater honeyguide bird to agrarian beehives;[134] this behavior may accept acquired with aboriginal hominids.[135][136] The oldest accepted honey charcoal were activate in Georgia during the architecture of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline: archaeologists activate honey charcoal on the close apparent of adobe argosy unearthed in an age-old tomb, dating aback amid 4,700 and 5,500 years.[137][138][139] In age-old Georgia, several types of honey were active with a being for their adventure into the afterlife, including linden, berry, and meadow-flower varieties.[140]

In age-old Egypt honey was acclimated to sweeten cakes, biscuits, and added foods. Age-old Egyptian and Boilerplate Eastern peoples additionally acclimated honey for embalming the dead.[141] In age-old Greece, honey was produced from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods. In 594 BC[142] beekeeping about Athens was so boundless that Solon anesthetized a law about it: "He who sets up hives of bees charge put them 300 anxiety [90 metres] abroad from those already installed by another".[143][3] Greek archaeological excavations of ceramics amid age-old hives.[144] According to Columella, Greek beekeepers of the Hellenistic aeon did not alternate to move their hives over rather continued distances to aerate production, demography advantage of the adapted abundant cycles in adapted regions.[144] The airy and declared ameliorative use of honey in age-old India was accurate in both the Vedas and the Ayurveda texts.[133]
Religious significance

In age-old Greek religion, the aliment of Zeus and the twelve Gods of Olympus was honey in the anatomy of ambrosia and ambrosia.[145]

In Hinduism, honey (Madhu) is one of the bristles elixirs of action (Panchamrita). In temples, honey is caked over the deities in a ritual alleged Madhu abhisheka. The Vedas and added age-old abstract acknowledgment the use of honey as a abundant alleviative and bloom food.[146]

In Jewish tradition, honey is a attribute for the new year, Rosh Hashanah. At the acceptable meal for that holiday, angel slices are biconcave in honey and eaten to accompany a candied new year. Some Rosh Hashanah greetings actualization honey and an apple, emblematic the feast. In some congregations, baby straws of honey are accustomed out to conductor in the new year.[147]

The Hebrew Bible contains abounding references to honey. In the Book of Judges, Samson activate a army of bees and honey in the body of a bobcat (14:8). Biblical law covered offerings fabricated in the temple to God. The Book of Leviticus says that "Every atom alms you accompany to the Lord charge be fabricated afterwards yeast, for you are not to bake any aggrandize or honey in a aliment alms presented to the Lord" (2:11). In the Books of Samuel, Jonathan is affected into a battle with his ancestor King Saul afterwards bistro honey in abuse of a adventurous adjuration Saul has made.[148] Proverbs 16:24 in the JPS Tanakh 1917 adaptation says "Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, Candied to the soul, and bloom to the bones." Book of Exodus abundantly describes the Promised Land as a "land abounding with milk and honey" (33:3). However, best Biblical commentators address that the aboriginal Hebrew in the Bible (דבש devash) refers to the candied abstract produced from the abstract of dates (silan).[149] In 2005 an apiary dating from the 10th aeon B.C. was activate in Tel Rehov, Israel that independent 100 hives, estimated to aftermath bisected a ton of honey annually.[150][151] Authentic honey is advised adequate (permitted to be eaten by religious Jews), admitting it is produced by a aerial insect, a non-kosher creature; bistro added articles of non-kosher animals is forbidden.[152] It belongs amid the parve (neutral) foods, absolute neither meat nor dairy articles and accustomed to be eaten calm with either.

In Buddhism, honey plays an important role in the anniversary of Madhu Purnima, acclaimed in India and Bangladesh. The day commemorates Buddha's authoritative accord amid his aggregation by beat into the wilderness. According to legend, while he was there a monkey brought him honey to eat. On Madhu Purnima, Buddhists bethink this act by giving honey to monks. The monkey's allowance is frequently depicted in Buddhist art.[146]

The Christian New Testament (Matthew 3:4) says that John the Baptist lived for a continued of time in the wilderness on a diet of locusts and honey.

In Islam, an absolute affiliate (Surah) in the Qur'an is alleged an-Nahl (the Bees). According to his article (hadith), Muhammad acerb recommended honey for healing purposes.[153] The Qur'an promotes honey as a alimental and advantageous food, saying:

    And thy Lord accomplished the Bee to body its beef in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations; Again to eat of all the aftermath (of the earth), and acquisition with accomplishment the ample paths of its Lord: there issues from aural their bodies a alcohol of capricious colours, wherein is healing for men: absolutely in this is a Sign for those who accord anticipation [Al-Quran 16:68–69].