Physical And Chemical Aspects Of Honey

PHYSICAL QUALITIES

Honey, a sweet, thick, viscid fluid of agreeable taste and aromatic odor, is collected by the honeybees from the nectaries of flowers, swallowed, assimilated in their honey-stomachs (crops), regurgitated, stored and thoroughly ripened in the cells of the combs. This supplies them, their young, the idle drones and .. . mankind with nourishment. It is also a precautionary measure so that they and their progeny will be provided with food during seasons when there are no more flowers available. What the bees extract from the flowers is named nectar, a sweet juice which is stored in the special containers of the flowers called nectaries. This luscious drink lures bees and other insects to flowers as an inducement to perform their vocation, the pollination of trees and plants. Nectar is their reward for these services. (Dr. A. W. Bennett thought that the perfume of flowers is generally derived from their nectars.) It is a singular combination, a friendly cooperation between the most admired and beloved objects on earth, flowers, and the most detested and feared creatures, insects.
Taste, color shading, flavor and density of honeys greatly differ. There are various methods to determine the gradings of honey colors. The color depends entirely on the flowers from which the honey is collected. Honey has normally a whitish color, tinged with yellow. There are, however, brown, red, green and even black honeys. Clover and fireweed are typical white honeys; golden-rod, eucalyptus, marigold, magnolia and some poplar are amber colored; thistle is green; buckwheat and heather have a dark color. In Africa, green honey is found in red combs; in Russia and Brazil there is black, and in Siberia, snow-white honey.

The density (specific gravity) of honey varies. The standard weight of honey is about i 2 pounds to a gallon. If it is less, the honey is considered too thin, and if more, the reverse.

There are as many kinds of honey flavors as there are varieties of trees and flowers. Honey is the quintessence of flowers and its savoriness depends on the fragrance of the blooms, just as the varieties of wine depend on the grapes from which they are obtained. The savoriness of meats also depends upon the food on which animals feed. This applies even to human beings! The cannibals of Australia do not find carnivorous white people delectable because their flesh produces nausea, which the flesh of the vegetable-fed black or yellow races will not provoke. The rice-fed Chinese are considered among them a great delicacy and Carl Lumholtz describes (Among Cannibals) how ten Chinamen had been consumed and relished at one dinner. Flesh-eating influences not only the taste' but also the odor of the organic tissues of all creatures. The Chinese dogs bark at foreigners. Carl Crow, in Four Hundred Million Customers, relates that on many occasions in Shanghai he stepped from a house-boat, bathed, shaved, redo-lent of the odor of soap, as immaculate as a male can be, and in a few minutes every dog to the windward of him had registered an anguished protest. The dogs seemed to act as though he were a fox or had the uncured pelt of a skunk in his pocket. He relates that the dogs always raise a terrible hubbub any time foreigners�even charming alien ladies�pass, but never bark at natives. Some would believe that the dogs' aversion might be due to the clothing but a Chinese may pass in continental attire and the dogs will ignore him. We Occidentals acquire a peculiar and irritating aroma through years of meat-eating while the Chinese are either odorless or more delicately scented because of their diet of rice, barley, cabbage and fish. The Chinese are rarely uncomplimentary but "confidentially" they will intimate that we have a rather offensive and nauseating odor. They believe we badly need the frequent traditional bath which is, however, only of little benefit. We, as a rule, do not eat carnivorous quadrupeds and birds; the meats we consume are basically composed of plants and seeds. The Hebrews are permitted to eat the meat of animals .that "chew the cud and divide the hoof and birds which are not scavengers."

The honey of Mount Hymettus, gathered from thyme, the Hyblean honey of Sicily, the Cretan honey of Mount Carina and that of Cyprus an Cos were best known in antiquity. The famous Hungarian Acacia honey is collected from the redolent acacia flowers (Robinia pseudacacia), out of which also one of the sweetest smelling perfumes is manufactured. White clover, linden, orange blossom, thyme, buckwheat, sage, raspberry, etc., produce delicious honeys, each with its individual flavor. Persia, Malta and Florida are well known honey-producing centers. The rosemary honey of Narbonne and that of Languedoc are popular in France, so is the honey of Grasse, where many acres of fragrant jasmine blooms are planted, their essence being in great demand by the perfume manufacturers. The honey of Narbonne is white, granular and highly aromatic. It is often imitated by the addition of an infusion made from rosemary flowers. Another well-liked product of France, the honey of Gatinais, is usually white but not as odorous and granulates less easily than the honey of Narbonne. Honeys collected from the flowers of sycamore trees and goose-berry bushes, though of sea-green color, are unsurpassed in excellence. If there is a sufficient supply of the same flowers, the honey will be uniform and of a definite type, otherwise it will be a mixture of nectars and the flavor will depend on the blooms which predominate. Honey-growers often mix several honeys and pro-duce a blend to suit individual taste. In spite of the divergencies in honeys, with regard to their color, flavor and consistency, their food value is essentially the same. About two hundred and fifty varieties of honey are produced in the United States out of which only twenty-five are distributed commercially. Clover honey pre-dominates among these (about 6o%).

Nectar has to undergo some changes before it is converted into honey. The nectar is mixed by the bees with saliva and changed into a digestible substance. Honey is also made from other sub-stances besides nectar, e.g., from honeydew. This extra-floral honey is collected by the bees from the foliage of certain plants. Honeydew is not solely a product of plant secretion because it is secreted, or rather excreted (it is a waste product), by certain families of insects, principally plant-lice, aphids. This dew, a gummy, glossy, sweet substance, ejected in abundant quantities from the end of their abdomens by the insects, often imparts to the foliage the appearance of having been coated with varnish. At certain times, especially on hot and dry days, honeydew drips from the leaves like rain. The ancients thought that it fell from heaven. They called it the saliva of the stars (saliva siderum). Charles Butler remarked: "The greatest plenty of purest nectar cometh from above, which Almighty God miraculously distils out of the air." Honeydews is more easily gathered by the bees than nectar but produces a honey of inferior quality on account of the impurities it contains, since it is exposed to air. This honey is not much favored because it has an unpleasant taste and is generally used for baking purposes, for the manufacture of lubricants and other industrial supplies. Honeydew is not even good as a winter food for bees. It is really the most undesirable among all honeys.* Coleridge thou ht differently when he sang in Kubla Khan:

He on honey-dew hath fed,
And drank the milk of Paradise."

The honeydew exuded by certain coniferous trees (fir trees) is of better quality. The famous German Waldhonig of the Black Forest is such a pr duct.

Honey is made also by other species of bees and by diverse insects, e.g., by some ants and wasps, but when we speak of honey, we mean the produce of the honey-bee. In Ethiopia there are mosquito-like honey-making insects. The honey which they produce is called tazma, and is considered an excellent remedy for throat ailments. The honey-making ants in South America are eaten by the natives who rate them a delicacy on account of their sweet taste. The stingless bees (Trigona and Melipona), aborigines of the Americas and Australia, also produce honey which is rather thin but of agreeable odor. The natives prefer it to the honey of the white man's stinging fly and also attribute a greater remedial value to it.

The season cf the year has considerable influence on honey. There is spring,summer and fall honey; summer honey, made on dry days, is best. Fall honey is usually darker in color. Nectar is amply secreted on dry and warm days. Pliny calls summer honey, "season honey" 'and adds, "Nature has revealed in this substance most remarkable properties to mortals, were it not that the fraudulent propensities of man are apt to falsify and corrupt everything." Pliny continues, "If the honey is taken at the rising of the Sirius, and if the ascent of Venus, Jupiter or Mercury should hap-pen to fall on the same day, as often is the case, the sweetness of the substance and the virtue which it possesses of restoring men to life, are not inferior to those attributed to the nectar of the gods." (Book XI. 14) "Such crop must be gathered at full moon and is richest when the weather is fine." (Ibid.)

Honey is marketed in combs or in liquid form. The latter is extracted from the combs, as a rule, by centrifugal force. During highpowered extraction which is in vogue today, undoubtedly some volatile bodies are lost. This may account for the somewhat superior taste of comb honey. A vacuum method of extraction may be worthy of consideration. In former years, liquid honey was obtained by pressing and straining the honey from the combs, a method not nearly as successful, because strained honey contains a considerable sediment of wax, pollen and other foreign sub-stances. Besides, it was a wasteful performance as it ruined the combs which today, with the aid of modern extracting methods, can be used again, saving time, labor and material for the bees. It is now a question whether the old-fashioned method of straining was not, from a therapeutic viewpoint, more beneficial, considering the fact that the residual brood pap and pollen contain protein. To this we may also add the presence of enzymes, which have an important digestive value.

Liquid honey is almost as good as comb honey and is simpler to handle. Comb honey looks attractive only if the wax is fresh and white and not yet darkened by age. White honeycombs are obtained only when the honey flow is fast and the cells are quickly filled. Honey producers often remove combs prematurely for the sake of a better appearance. This practice is a drawback because the honey is too liquid and not yet fully ripened. Fresh, immature honey sours and lacks aroma. Comb honey is, on the average, 50% more expensive because, as mentioned, valuable wax is wasted. The so-called virgin honey, often mentioned by ancient writers, is supposed to have been made by young bees. The expression is rarely used in modern terminology; young bees do not produce honey of any sort because they do not visit the fields.

Honey, like other sugars in solution, undergoes crystallization, commonly called granulation. It sometimes becomes as hard as candy. This occurs usually in dry climates where there is little atmospheric humidity and honey cannot absorb water.

The three component sugars in honey must be in natural pro-portion to prevent granulation. Water content, temperature and motion are important factors. Tropical honeys, as a rule, remain in a liquid state. Immobility assists granulation. Dextrose granulates rapidly and honeys which contain an excess of dextrose, like alfalfa honey, will quickly form crystals. Levulose is very hygroscopic and honeys rich in levulose are not prone to granulate. Tupelo and sage honey are of this type. Sucrose (saccharose) also hastens crystallization while dextrin retards or prevents it. The high sucrose and. low dextrin contents of honey will increase the crystallization seed; on the other hand, low sucrose and high dextrin contents will lower it or crystallization will be absent. Alin Caillas established the crystallization speed quotient, as follows:

8% sucrose and 0.12% dextrin contents, granulation speed 0.5.
3% sucrose and 5% dextrin contents, granulation speed 7.0.
3% sucrose and 11% dextrin contents, there is no granulation at all.

Granulated honey is easily made liquid in a tepid water bath. Honey should never be heated above 16o� F. or for too long a time because heating, though it retards granulation and prevents fermentation, will rob honey of its flavor, taste, minerals, proteins, diastatic ferments and vitamins. Cooked honey quickly spoils, although if hermetically sealed, it remains liquid and good for years. In Europe and Canada people prefer granulated honey instead of the liquid because they know that it is pure and is not spoiled through 'heating. Granulation of honey is a quasi evidence of purity. Honey dealers sell liquid honey because the customers demand it.

Honey should never be kept or stored in an icebox or in the cellar. It is too hygroscopic and it will absorb, condense and retain moisture. A dry and not too warm place and a tightly closed container are most desirable. Honey does not spoil easily and will keep almost indefinitely. There . is no other foodstuff which re-quires less attention. According to the September 1913, issue of the National Geographic Magazine, T. M. Davis, the American explorer, during his excavations in Egypt (the tomb of Queen Tyi's parents) was startled by the discovery of a jar of honey, still in a fairly liquid state, with its characteristic aroma preserved after 3300 years. Honey, of course, will deteriorate with age, like all organic substances, its color turning deep red, even black. The Egyptian report could be rationally explained by assuming that the jars had been hermetically sealed. Our honey producers should find in this discovery an inducement to pack their honey in air-tight containers. The glazed earthen jars of the Egyptians should also be an object lesson because tin and new glassware are not free from acids, alkalies and mineral sediments which influence the action of enzymes. Tin containers should be carefully lacquered and glass should be sterilized. Extractors, pumps, piping, strainers and tanks must be thoroughly cleaned with steam.

Many housewives think that honey is not convenient for use because it is messy and sticky. It must be conceded that granulated, powdered and lump sugars are easier to handle than this bottled sunshine. A dripless syrup-pitcher, the so-called drip-cut dispenser, however, easily solves the problem. Placing a pitcher or jar in warm but not hot water for ten minutes will make honey thin and free of stickiness and then it can be drizzled over salads, fruits or any other food without making them too sweet. Thin honey will penetrate the tissues of the food substances. Mixing honey with hot water will serve the selfsame purpose and will also reduce the sweetness of honey.

To recapitulate the physical characteristics of honey there are four distinct features which contribute to the evaluation of honey as a commodity. These four attributes are:

1. Taste
2. Color
3. Aroma, and
4. Consistency

With regard to the worth of these qualities, as a rule, sixty points are given to taste, twenty points to color and ten points each for aroma and consistency.

Taste, of course, is a preeminent consideration, depending on the palate. It i entirely individual. Each person will select or prefer a different honey. The same discrimination applies to aroma and consistency. With respect to color, certain people, with expressed visual. senses, prefer white, others amber, some even darker shaded honeys. The American buckwheat and the European heather honey are dark colored and highly flavored. Heather honey is of such density that it is difficult to extract it with centrifugal apparatus.

Entirely too much attention is paid by apiculturists to the fine grading of honeys according to color. The Department of Agri-culture designed a colorimeter, honey grader, to determine exactly the color shadings. This has really less value than is attached to it. Undoubtedly, dark honeys are rich in mineral contents, compared to light ones, but the practice of making a delicate distinction of the intermediate colors seems to be insignificant from a nutrimental or medicinal standpoint. Dark honeys contain more iron and it seem that the color of honey is dependent on the medicinal value of the plants from which they are extracted. The Hebrews prefer dark honey for baking their honey cakes.

We may compare the selection of light and dark colored honeys to our discrimination between blondes and brunettes. Many people (also countries) fancy light honey and they also "prefer blondes", though dark honeys, like brunettes, possess higher mineral contents, especially iron, and, on account of that, more power. Connoisseurs will select dark honeys and . . . brunettes. Not only the color but also the aroma of honey is closely correlated with its chemical composition.

There are various mechanical devices to change the consistency, color and taste of honey. These procedures do not detract from the nutritive value of honey and their sole purpose is to cater to certain tastes. Honey-frost, whip-honey, etc., are light and creamy and are favored by many.