•
Ancient cave drawings show that honey has been used as a food by man for
at least 20,000 years. To many people, honey is just a sweet substance
collected by bees. Honey is, however, a complex substance that varies
appreciably in its composition.
•
Honey starts out as a very thin, watery sugary fluid, known as nectar.
Nectar is found in the nectaries of plants which are usually located in
the base if the flowers. Nectar varies considerably in its sugar,
protein, mineral and water content from one kind of plant to another.
•
In a honey bee’s quest for a single load of honey, she may visit anything
from 500 to 1100 blossoms of a particular species of plant. In her
lifetime the honey bee will fly approximately 800 kilometres and produce
just half a teaspoon of honey; it takes approximately 2.5 million
kilometres of flying by the bees in a hive to produce 1 litre of honey.
•
Inside the bee, the nectar is stored in a tiny compartment, known as the
honey sac. This sac is like a little plastic bag fitted with a one way
valve. Stored enzymes and juices in the sac convert the sucrose
(disaccharide) to more simple sugars (mono-saccharides). It is upon this
conversion that nectar becomes known as honey, consisting mainly of two
simple sugars, dextrose and levulose.
• The enzymes which play the main part in converting the nectar are:
– Invertase - which brings about the change in the sucrose to dextrose and levulose
– Diastase - which converts starch to the dextrines
– Catalose - which decomposes hydrogen peroxide
–
Phosphates - which decompose aglycerophaste
•
The “unripe honey”, as the honey in the honey bee’s sac is called, is
passed by the honey bee to a worker bee at the hive. The “unripe honey”
is dried by bees exposing it as a thin film to the warm dry currents in
the hive. When no more than 18-20% of water remains, the now “ripened
honey” is
sealed in a cell with a wax cap; where it is left to mature and finish
its ripening process.
At this stage it can be harvested by the beekeeper or eaten by the bee
colony as food.
New Zealand Honeys are Unique
• New Zealand Honeys can be divided by both region and floral source
–
New Zealand’s sharply differing regional climates, combined with the
natural diversity of floral types, ensure that honeys are unique with
subtle variations of flavour and aroma from region to region. Even New
Zealand’s family favourite, clover honey, is subtly different from region
to region.
–
More than 15 floral honey types of produced commercially. As well as
these mono-floral varieties, beekeepers create interesting unique blends.
This can be done by either placing hives in certain positions so that the
honey bee combines nectars of different flowers, or blending honeys in the
honey house.
• Honey Variety Profiles
–
For many years honey was considered to be just that.....”honey!”
–
Because of the considerable differences in sensory attributes, this is no
more appropriate than assuming all wines and cheeses taste and smell like
each other.
The differences between, for example, light, golden Nodding Thistle honey and the highly thixotropic and pungent Manuka honey are so great that they could to all intents and purposes, be different products.
New Zealanders are the World’s Greatest Honey Lovers
New Zealanders consume an estimated 1.95 kgs of honey per capita
This contrasts with:
0.9kg Australia 0.6kg USA
0.2 kg Singapore 0.8 kg Canada
0.5 kg UK 1.4kg Germany
88% of New Zealanders eat honey.*
71% of New Zealanders believe honey is nutritionally better than sugar.*
84% of New Zealanders believe honey is one of the most natural foods.*