Honey: Difference between revisions

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'''Honey''' is a sweet and [[Viscosity|viscous]] substance made by several species of [[bee]]s, the best-known of which are [[honey bee]]s. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the [[sugar]]y secretions of plants (primarily floral [[nectar]]) or the secretions of other insects, like the [[honeydew (secretion)|honeydew]] of [[Aphid|aphids]]. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through [[regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitation]] and [[enzyme|enzymatic]] activity, and during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous.

Honey bees stockpile honey in the [[Beehive|hive]]. Within the hive is a structure made from wax called [[honeycomb]]. The honeycomb is made up of hundreds or thousands of [[hexagon]]al cells, into which the bees [[Regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitate]] honey for storage. Other honey-producing species of bee store the substance in different structures, such as the pots made of wax and [[resin]] used by the [[stingless bee]].

Honey for human consumption is collected from wild bee colonies, or from the [[beehive|hives]] of domesticated bees. The honey produced by honey bees is the most familiar to humans, thanks to its worldwide commercial production and availability. The [[Animal husbandry|husbandry]] of bees is known as [[beekeeping]] or apiculture, with the cultivation of stingless bees usually referred to as [[meliponiculture]].

Honey is sweet because of its high concentrations of the [[monosaccharide]]s [[fructose]] and [[glucose]]. It has about the same relative [[sweetness]] as [[sucrose]] (table sugar). One standard [[tablespoon]] (14 mL) of honey provides around {{convert|43|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=off}} of [[food energy]]. It has attractive chemical properties for [[baking]] and a distinctive flavor when used as a sweetener. Most [[microorganism]]s cannot grow in honey and sealed honey therefore does not [[Food spoilage|spoil]]. Samples of honey discovered in [[Archaeology|archaeological]] contexts have proven edible even after millennia.

[[File:Miels d'Alsace agriculture biologique.jpg|thumb|French honey from different floral sources, with visible differences in color and texture]]

Honey use and production has a long and varied history, with its beginnings in [[Prehistory|prehistoric times]]. Several cave paintings in [[Cuevas de la Araña]] in [[Spain]] depict humans foraging for honey at least 8,000 years ago. While [[Western honey bee|''Apis mellifera'']] is an [[Old World]] [[insect]], large-scale meliponiculture of [[New World]] stingless bees has been practiced by [[Maya civilization|Mayans]] since [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] times.

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+<!-- Definition -->
+'''Honey''' is a sweet and [[Viscosity|viscous]] substance made by several species of [[bee]]s, the best-known of which are [[honey bee]]s. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the [[sugar]]y secretions of plants (primarily floral [[nectar]]) or the secretions of other insects, like the [[honeydew (secretion)|honeydew]] of [[Aphid|aphids]]. This refinement takes place both within individual bees, through [[regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitation]] and [[enzyme|enzymatic]] activity, and during storage in the hive, through water evaporation that concentrates the honey's sugars until it is thick and viscous.
+Honey bees stockpile honey in the [[Beehive|hive]]. Within the hive is a structure made from wax called [[honeycomb]]. The honeycomb is made up of hundreds or thousands of [[hexagon]]al cells, into which the bees [[Regurgitation (digestion)|regurgitate]] honey for storage. Other honey-producing species of bee store the substance in different structures, such as the pots made of wax and [[resin]] used by the [[stingless bee]].
+Honey for human consumption is collected from wild bee colonies, or from the [[beehive|hives]] of domesticated bees. The honey produced by honey bees is the most familiar to humans, thanks to its worldwide commercial production and availability. The [[Animal husbandry|husbandry]] of bees is known as [[beekeeping]] or apiculture, with the cultivation of stingless bees usually referred to as [[meliponiculture]].
+<!-- Sweetness, nutrition, and safety -->
+Honey is sweet because of its high concentrations of the [[monosaccharide]]s [[fructose]] and [[glucose]]. It has about the same relative [[sweetness]] as [[sucrose]] (table sugar). One standard [[tablespoon]] (14&nbsp;mL) of honey provides around {{convert|43|kcal|kJ|order=flip|abbr=off}} of [[food energy]]. It has attractive chemical properties for [[baking]] and a distinctive flavor when used as a sweetener. Most [[microorganism]]s cannot grow in honey and sealed honey therefore does not [[Food spoilage|spoil]]. Samples of honey discovered in [[Archaeology|archaeological]] contexts have proven edible even after millennia.
+[[File:Miels d'Alsace agriculture biologique.jpg|thumb|French honey from different floral sources, with visible differences in color and texture]]
+<!-- History -->
+Honey use and production has a long and varied history, with its beginnings in [[Prehistory|prehistoric times]]. Several cave paintings in [[Cuevas de la Araña]] in [[Spain]] depict humans foraging for honey at least 8,000 years ago. While [[Western honey bee|''Apis mellifera'']] is an [[Old World]] [[insect]], large-scale meliponiculture of [[New World]] stingless bees has been practiced by [[Maya civilization|Mayans]] since [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] times.
+{{TOC limit|3}}