ハチミツ
Honey/ja
ハチミツは、数種のハチによって作られる甘く粘性のある物質で、最もよく知られているのはミツバチである。ハチミツはハチのコロニーを養うために作られ、貯蔵される。ハチは、植物の糖分を含む分泌物（主に花の蜜）や、アブラムシの甘露など、他の昆虫の分泌物を集めて精製することでハチミツを生産する。この精製は、ハチ個体内での逆流や酵素活動によるものと、巣での貯蔵中に水分が蒸発してハチミツの糖分が濃縮され、とろみがついて粘性になることによって行われる。
ミツバチは巣にハチミツを貯蔵する。巣の中にはハニカムと呼ばれるワックスでできた構造があり、ハニカムは何百、何千もの六角形の部屋で構成されており、ハチはそこにハチミツを逆流させて貯蔵する。他のハチミツを生産するハチの種は、ハリナシミツバチが使用するワックスと樹脂で作られた壺など、異なる構造に物質を貯蔵する。
人間が消費するためのハチミツは、野生のハチのコロニーから、または家畜化されたハチの巣から収集される。ミツバチによって生産されるハチミツは、世界的な商業生産と入手可能性のおかげで、人間にとって最もなじみ深い。ハチの飼育は養蜂またはアピカルチャーとして知られ、ハリナシミツバチの飼育は通常メリポニカルチャーと呼ばれる。
ハチミツは、単糖類である果糖とブドウ糖の濃度が高いため甘い。スクロース（砂糖）とほぼ同じ相対的な甘さを持つ。標準的な大さじ1杯（14mL）のハチミツは、約180 kilojoules (43 kilocalories)の食物エネルギーを提供する。ベーキングにおいては魅力的な化学的特性を持ち、甘味料として使用すると独特の風味がある。ほとんどの微生物はハチミツ中では増殖できず、密閉されたハチミツは腐敗しない。考古学的文脈で発見されたハチミツのサンプルは、数千年経っても食用可能であることが証明されている。
ハチミツの使用と生産には長く多様な歴史があり、その始まりは先史時代に遡る。スペインのクエバス・デ・ラ・アラーニャにあるいくつかの洞窟壁画には、少なくとも8,000年前に人間がハチミツを採集している様子が描かれている。Apis melliferaは旧世界の昆虫であるが、新世界のハリナシミツバチの大規模なメリポニカルチャーは、プレコロンブス期以来、マヤ人によって行われてきた。
形成
ミツバチによる形成
ハチミツは、蜜や甘露を集めたミツバチによって生産される。ミツバチはハチミツの糖分を重宝しており、これを消費して一般的な代謝活動、特に採餌中の飛翔筋の活動を支え、幼虫の餌としている。この目的のために、ミツバチは通常の採餌中や、越冬時のような乏しい期間に備えてハチミツを貯蔵する。採餌中、ミツバチは集めた蜜の一部を使って飛翔筋を動かす。集めた蜜の大部分は、直接昆虫を養うために使われるのではなく、逆流、酵素的消化、そして最終的にハチミツとしての長期貯蔵のために運命づけられる。寒い季節や他の食物源が乏しい場合、成虫と幼虫のミツバチは貯蔵されたハチミツを消費する。これは、作られた蜜よりもはるかにエネルギー密度が高い。
巣を離れた採餌バチは、糖分が豊富な蜜や甘露を集める。花から得られる蜜は、通常70〜80%の水分を含み、水分含有量が約18%の完成したハチミツよりもはるかに粘性が低い。アブラムシや他のカメムシ目の昆虫から得られる甘露の水分含有量は、通常、それらの昆虫が餌とする樹液に非常に近く、蜜よりもわずかに希釈されていることが多い。ある情報源では、甘露の水分含有量は約89%であると説明されている。蜜であろうと甘露であろうと、ミツバチはこれらのサラサラした液体を口吻を通して吸い込み、その液体はミツバチの蜜胃、つまり「蜜嚢」に送られる。この腔は食物胃のすぐ上に位置し、食物胃は個々のミツバチが自身の栄養のために消費する花粉や糖分を消化する。
セイヨウミツバチの蜜胃は約40mgの液体を保持する。これは荷物を積んでいないミツバチの約半分の重さである。この量の蜜を集めるには、千以上の花を訪れる必要がある。蜜が豊富な場合でも、蜜胃を満たすのにミツバチは1時間以上の絶え間ない作業を要することがある。ミツバチの蜜胃に入ると、唾液酵素とミツバチの下咽頭腺からのタンパク質が蜜の中に分泌される。これらの物質は、スクロースやデンプンのような複合糖質をブドウ糖や果糖のようなより単純な糖に加水分解し始める。このプロセスは、部分的に消化された蜜の水分含有量と酸性度をわずかに上昇させる。
満たされると、採餌バチは巣に戻る。そこで蜜を吐き戻し、巣バチに渡す。巣バチも自身の蜜胃に入った蜜を吐き戻し、大顎の間で繰り返し泡を形成することで、その消化と濃縮を促進する。これらの泡は体積あたりの表面積を大きくし、これによりミツバチは蜜の水分の一部を巣の暖かい空気中に蒸発させる。
巣バチはハチミツ加工グループを形成する。これらのグループは連携して作業し、あるハチが加工された蜜を泡立ててから、精製された液体を他のハチに渡す。製品が貯蔵品質に達するまで、連続的な逆流、消化、蒸発に20分もかかることがある。新しいハチミツはハニカムの部屋に入れられ、蓋はされないままにされる。このハチミツはまだ水分含有量が非常に高く、集められた蜜の濃度にもよるが、最大70%にもなる。この精製の段階では、ハチミツの水分含有量が非常に高いため、どこにでもいる酵母の胞子がその中で繁殖できる。このプロセスは、放置すると新しいハチミツの糖分を急速に消費してしまう。これに対抗するため、ミツバチは昆虫としては珍しい能力、すなわち内因性の熱発生能力を用いる。
ミツバチは大量の体熱を生成できる数少ない昆虫の一つである。彼らはこの能力を使って、巣の中に一定の周囲温度を作り出す。ハチミツ貯蔵区域の巣の温度は、通常35 °C (95 °F)前後である。この温度は、体で熱を生成するか、水分の蒸発によって熱を除去することによって調節される。蒸発は貯蔵されたハチミツから水分を除去し、コロニーから熱を引き出す。ミツバチは羽を使って巣の冷却を制御する。協調的な羽ばたきは、湿ったハチミツ全体に空気を移動させ、水分と熱を排出する。巣の換気は、最終的に過剰な水分と熱を外界に排出する。
蒸発のプロセスは、ハチミツの最終的な水分含有量が15.5%から18%になるまで続く。これにより、糖分は水の飽和点をはるかに超えて濃縮される。つまり、ハチミツに残るわずかな水分には、同量の水に溶解できるよりもはるかに多くの糖分が溶解しているということである。したがって、ハチミツは、巣の温度であっても、水中の様々な糖の過冷却溶液である。このような高濃度の糖分は、室温近くで、より低濃度の溶液（この場合は蜜）の蒸発によってのみ達成できる。浸透圧の理由から、このような高濃度の糖分は微生物の繁殖に極めて不利であり、結果としてすべての発酵は停止する。その後、ミツバチは完成したハチミツの部屋にワックスで蓋をする。これにより、汚染から密閉され、さらなる蒸発が防がれる。
水分濃度が18%を大きく超えない限り、ハチミツは巣の中と養蜂家による除去後の両方で、無限の貯蔵寿命を持つ。
By other insects
ハチミツを生産する真社会性昆虫はミツバチだけではない。非寄生のマルハナバチとハリナシミツバチはすべてハチミツを生産する。南米および中米に生息するBrachygastra lecheguanaやBrachygastra mellificaなどの一部のスズメバチ種は、蜜を食べてハチミツを生産することが知られている。Polistes versicolorなどの他のスズメバチもハチミツを消費する。彼らは生活環の中盤で、タンパク質が豊富な花粉を食べるのと、はるかに高密度の食物エネルギー源であるハチミツを食べるのを交互に行う。
人間の介入
人間は、ミツバチの分蜂段階を利用して、いくつかのミツバチ種を半家畜化してきた。分蜂とは、コロニーの現在の巣に拡張する余地がなくなったときに、新しいコロニーを確立する手段である。古い女王は新しい女王に育つ卵を産み、その後、コロニーの半分もの数を率いて新しい巣の場所へ向かう。ミツバチは通常、この目的のために送り出された偵察バチが別の巣に適した場所を発見する前に分蜂する。そのような場所が見つかるまで、分蜂群はしばしば以前の巣の近く、多くは木の枝から固まっているだけである。これらの分蜂群は通常おとなしく、人間による輸送に適している。商業用のラングストロフ式巣箱のような適切な営巣場所が提供されると、分蜂群は人工的な環境でも容易に新しいコロニーを形成する。これらの半家畜化されたコロニーは、その後、養蜂やメリポニカルチャーを行う人間によって世話される。捕獲されたミツバチは、受粉媒介者が高く評価される果樹園などの農業環境で採餌を促されることが多い。ミツバチが生産するハチミツ、花粉、蜜蝋、樹脂はすべて、様々な用途のために人間によって収穫される。
「半家畜化」という用語が好まれるのは、非常に大規模な農業養蜂場であっても、すべてのミツバチコロニーが、成功した野生コロニーを確立できる分蜂群として、人間の保護下から容易に離れるためである。商業養蜂の努力の多くは、分蜂準備ができている巣に、現在の場所でより多くのハニカムを生産するように説得することに費やされる。これは通常、既存のコロニーの上に空の箱であるハニースーパーを追加することで、コロニーにより多くの空間を追加することによって行われる。これによりミツバチは通常、分蜂によってコロニーを分割する代わりに、この空きスペースを発展させるように誘引される。
生産
採取
ハチミツは野生のハチの群れ、または飼育された蜂の巣から採取される。平均して、1つの巣からは年間約65ポンド（約29.5 kg）のハチミツが生産される。野生のハチの巣は、ミツオシエという鳥を追うことによって見つけられることがある。
巣からハチミツを安全に採取するために、養蜂家は通常、養蜂用燻煙器を使ってハチを落ち着かせる。煙は摂食本能（巣の資源を火事から守ろうとする試み）を引き起こし、ハチを攻撃的でなくさせ、ハチがコミュニケーションに使うフェロモンを覆い隠す。ハニカムは巣から取り除かれ、ハチミツは圧搾するかハチミツ抽出器を使って抽出される。ハチミツは通常、蜜蝋やその他の破片を取り除くために濾過される。
取り外し可能な巣枠が発明される前は、収穫を行うためにハチの群れ全体を犠牲にすることがよくあった。収穫者は利用可能なすべてのハチミツを取り、翌春に群れ全体を置き換えた。取り外し可能な巣枠の発明以来、飼育の原則により、ほとんどの養蜂家は、蜂の巣にハチミツを残すか、砂糖水や結晶砂糖（しばしば「キャンディボード」の形で）のようなハチミツ代替品を群れに与えることによって、冬を乗り切るのに十分な貯蔵があることを確認している。冬を乗り切るために必要な食料の量は、ハチの種類、およびその地域の冬の長さと厳しさによって異なる。
多くの動物種が野生または家畜のハチミツ源に引き寄せられる。
保存
ハチミツは、その組成と化学的性質から、長期保存に適しており、長期保存後でも容易に消化される。ハチミツやハチミツに浸されたものは、何世紀にもわたって保存されてきた。（ただし、エジプトの墓で食用可能なハチミツが発見されたという例はなく、そのような場合はすべて他の物質であるか、化学的痕跡のみであることが証明されている。）保存の鍵は湿気へのアクセスを制限することである。硬化状態のハチミツは、発酵を抑制するのに十分な高い糖度を持っている。湿った空気にさらされると、その親水性の特性により、湿気をハチミツの中に引き込み、最終的には発酵が始まる点まで希釈される。
ハチミツの長い貯蔵寿命は、ハチの胃に見られる酵素に起因するとされている。ハチは、以前に摂取した放出された蜜とグルコースオキシダーゼを混ぜ合わせ、グルコン酸と過酸化水素という2つの副産物を生成する。これらはハチミツの酸性と細菌増殖の抑制に部分的に関与している。
Adulteration
Honey is sometimes adulterated by the addition of other sugars, syrups, or compounds to change its flavor or viscosity, reduce cost, or increase the fructose content to inhibit crystallization. Honey has been adulterated since ancient times, when honey was sometimes blended with plant syrups such as maple, birch, or sorghum and sold to customers as pure honey. Sometimes crystallized honey was mixed with flour or other fillers, hiding the adulteration from buyers until the honey was liquefied. In modern times, the most common adulterant became clear, almost-flavorless corn syrup; the adulterated mixture can be very difficult to distinguish from pure honey.
According to the Codex Alimentarius of the United Nations, any product labeled as "honey" or "pure honey" must not be adulterated, although labeling laws differ between countries. In the United States, according to the National Honey Board, "Ensuring honey authenticity is one of the great challenges facing the honey industry today. Over the past half century, a number of honey testing methods have been developed to detect food fraud. To date, there is no single universal analytical method available which is capable of detecting all types of adulteration with adequate sensitivity."
Isotope ratio mass spectrometry can be used to detect addition of corn syrup and cane sugar by the carbon isotopic signature. Addition of sugars originating from corn or sugar cane (C4 plants, unlike the plants used by bees, and also sugar beet, which are predominantly C3 plants) skews the isotopic ratio of sugars present in honey, but does not influence the isotopic ratio of proteins. In an unadulterated honey, the carbon isotopic ratios of sugars and proteins should match. Levels as low as 7% of addition can be detected.
Production
 China |
463,500 |
 Turkey |
114,886 |
 Ethiopia |
84,591 |
 Iran |
80,389 |
 Argentina |
73,395 |
 United States |
62,855 |
| World | 1,893,805 |
| Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations | |
In 2023, world production of honey was 1.9 million tonnes, led by China with 24% of the total, and Turkey, Ethiopia, and Iran as secondary producers (table).
Modern uses
Food
Over its history as a food, the main uses of honey are in cooking, baking, desserts, as a spread on bread, as an addition to various beverages such as tea, and as a sweetener in some commercial beverages.
Due to its energy density, honey is an important food for virtually all hunter-gatherer cultures in warm climates, with the Hadza people ranking honey as their favorite food. Honey hunters in Africa have a mutualistic relationship with certain species of honeyguide birds.
Fermentation
Possibly the world's oldest fermented beverage, dating from 9,000 years ago, mead ("honey wine") is the alcoholic product made by adding yeast to honey-water must and fermenting it for weeks or months. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used in modern mead production.
Mead varieties include drinks called metheglin (with spices or herbs), melomel (with fruit juices, such as grape, specifically called pyment), hippocras (with cinnamon), and sack mead (high concentration of honey), many of which have been developed as commercial products numbering in the hundreds in the United States. Honey is also used to make mead beer, called "braggot".
Physical and chemical properties
The physical properties of honey vary, depending on water content, the type of flora used to produce it (pasturage), temperature, and the proportion of the specific sugars it contains. Fresh honey is a supersaturated liquid, containing more sugar than the water can typically dissolve at ambient temperatures. At room temperature, honey is a supercooled liquid, in which the glucose precipitates into solid granules. This forms a semisolid solution of precipitated glucose crystals in a solution of fructose and other ingredients.
The density of honey typically ranges between 1.38 and 1.45 kg/L at 20 °C.
Phase transitions
The melting point of crystallized honey is between 40 and 50 °C (104 and 122 °F), depending on its composition. Below this temperature, honey can be either in a metastable state, meaning that it will not crystallize until a seed crystal is added, or, more often, it is in a "labile" state, being saturated with enough sugars to crystallize spontaneously. The rate of crystallization is affected by many factors, but the primary factor is the ratio of the main sugars: fructose to glucose. Honeys that are supersaturated with a very high percentage of glucose, such as brassica honey, crystallize almost immediately after harvesting, while honeys with a low percentage of glucose, such as chestnut or tupelo honey, do not crystallize. Some types of honey may produce few but very large crystals, while others produce many small crystals.
Crystallization is also affected by water content, because a high percentage of water inhibits crystallization, as does a high dextrin content. Temperature also affects the rate of crystallization, with the fastest growth occurring between 13 and 17 °C (55 and 63 °F). Crystal nuclei (seeds) tend to form more readily if the honey is disturbed, by stirring, shaking, or agitating, rather than if left at rest. However, the nucleation of microscopic seed-crystals is greatest between 5 and 8 °C (41 and 46 °F). Therefore, larger but fewer crystals tend to form at higher temperatures, while smaller but more-numerous crystals usually form at lower temperatures. Below 5 °C, the honey will not crystallize, thus the original texture and flavor can be preserved indefinitely.
Honey is a supercooled liquid when stored below its melting point, as is normal. At very low temperatures, honey does not freeze solid; rather its viscosity increases. Like most viscous liquids, the honey becomes thick and sluggish with decreasing temperature. At −20 °C (−4 °F), honey may appear or even feel solid, but it continues to flow at very low rates. Honey has a glass transition between −42 and −51 °C (−44 and −60 °F). Below this temperature, honey enters a glassy state and becomes an amorphous solid (noncrystalline).
Rheology
The viscosity of honey is affected greatly by both temperature and water content. The higher the water percentage, the more easily honey flows. Above its melting point, however, water has little effect on viscosity. Aside from water content, the composition of most types of honey also has little effect on viscosity. At 25 °C (77 °F), honey with 14% water content generally has a viscosity around 400 poise, while a honey containing 20% water has a viscosity around 20 poise. Viscosity increases very slowly with moderate cooling; a honey containing 16% water, at 70 °C (158 °F), has a viscosity around 2 poise, while at 30 °C (86 °F), the viscosity is around 70 poise. With further cooling, the increase in viscosity is more rapid, reaching 600 poise at around 14 °C (57 °F). However, while honey is viscous, it has low surface tension of 50–60 mJ/m2, making its wettability similar to water, glycerin, or most other liquids. The high viscosity and wettability of honey cause stickiness, which is a time-dependent process in supercooled liquids between the glass-transition temperature (Tg) and the crystalline-melting temperature.
Most types of honey are Newtonian liquids, but a few types have non-Newtonian viscous properties. Honeys from heather or mānuka display thixotropic properties. These types of honey enter a gel-like state when motionless, but liquefy when stirred.
Electrical and optical properties
Because honey contains electrolytes, in the form of acids and minerals, it exhibits varying degrees of electrical conductivity. Measurements of the electrical conductivity are used to determine the quality of honey in terms of ash content.
The effect honey has on light is useful for determining the type and quality. Variations in its water content alter its refractive index. Water content can easily be measured with a refractometer. Typically, the refractive index for honey ranges from 1.504 at 13% water content to 1.474 at 25%. Honey also has an effect on polarized light, in that it rotates the polarization plane. The fructose gives a negative rotation, while the glucose gives a positive one. The overall rotation can be used to measure the ratio of the mixture. Honey is generally pale yellow and dark brown in color, but other colors can occur, depending on the sugar source. Bee colonies that forage on Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) flowers, for example, produce honey that varies in color from red to purple.
Hygroscopy and fermentation
Honey has the ability to absorb moisture directly from the air, a phenomenon called hygroscopy. The amount of water the honey absorbs is dependent on the relative humidity of the air. Because honey contains yeast, this hygroscopic nature requires that honey be stored in sealed containers to prevent fermentation, which usually begins if the honey's water content rises much above 25%. Honey tends to absorb more water in this manner than the individual sugars allow on their own, which may be due to other ingredients it contains.
Fermentation of honey usually occurs after crystallization, because without the glucose, the liquid portion of the honey primarily consists of a concentrated mixture of fructose, acids, and water, providing the yeast with enough of an increase in the water percentage for growth. Honey that is to be stored at room temperature for long periods of time is often pasteurized, to kill any yeast, by heating it above 70 °C (158 °F).
Thermal characteristics
Like all sugar compounds, honey caramelizes if heated sufficiently, becoming darker in color, and eventually burns. However, honey contains fructose, which caramelizes at lower temperatures than glucose. The temperature at which caramelization begins varies, depending on the composition, but is typically between 70 and 110 °C (158 and 230 °F). Honey also contains acids, which act as catalysts for caramelization. The specific types of acids and their amounts play a primary role in determining the exact temperature. Of these acids, the amino acids, which occur in very small amounts, play an important role in the darkening of honey. The amino acids form darkened compounds called melanoidins, during a Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction occurs slowly at room temperature, taking from a few to several months to show visible darkening, but speeds up dramatically with increasing temperatures. However, the reaction can also be slowed by storing the honey at colder temperatures.
Unlike many other liquids, honey has very poor thermal conductivity of 0.5 W/(m⋅K) at 13% water content (compared to 401 W/(m⋅K) of copper), taking a long time to reach thermal equilibrium. Due to its high kinematic viscosity honey does not transfer heat through momentum diffusion (convection) but rather through thermal diffusion (more like a solid), so melting crystallized honey can easily result in localized caramelization if the heat source is too hot or not evenly distributed. However, honey takes substantially longer to liquefy when just above the melting point than at elevated temperatures. Melting 20 kg (44 lb) of crystallized honey at 40 °C (104 °F) can take up to 24 hours, while 50 kg (110 lb) may take twice as long. These times can be cut nearly in half by heating at 50 °C (122 °F); however, many of the minor substances in honey can be affected greatly by heating, changing the flavor, aroma, or other properties, so heating is usually done at the lowest temperature and for the shortest time possible.
Acid content and flavor effects
The average pH of honey is 3.9, but can range from 3.4 to 6.1. Honey contains many kinds of acids, both organic and amino. However, the different types and their amounts vary considerably, depending on the type of honey. These acids may be aromatic or aliphatic (nonaromatic). The aliphatic acids contribute greatly to the flavor of honey by interacting with the flavors of other ingredients.
Organic acids comprise most of the acids in honey, accounting for 0.17–1.17% of the mixture, with gluconic acid formed by the actions of glucose oxidase as the most prevalent. Minor amounts of other organic acids are present, consisting of formic, acetic, butyric, citric, lactic, malic, pyroglutamic, propionic, valeric, capronic, palmitic, and succinic, among many others.
Volatile organic compounds
Individual honeys from different plant sources contain over 100 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which play a primary role in determining honey flavors and aromas.VOCs are carbon-based compounds that readily vaporize into the air, providing aroma, including the scents of flowers, essential oils, or ripening fruit. The typical chemical families of VOCs found in honey include hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, esters, acids, benzenes, furans, pyrans, norisoprenoids, and terpenes, among many others and their derivatives. The specific VOCs and their amounts vary considerably between different types of honey obtained by bees foraging on different plant sources. By example, when comparing the mixture of VOCs in different honeys in one review, longan honey had a higher amount of volatiles (48 VOCs), while sunflower honey had the lowest number of volatiles (8 VOCs).
VOCs are primarily introduced into the honey from the nectar, where they are excreted by the flowers imparting individual scents. The specific types and concentrations of certain VOCs can be used to determine the type of flora used to produce monofloral honeys. The specific geography, soil composition and acidity used to grow the flora also have an effect on honey aroma properties, such as a "fruity" or "grassy" aroma from longan honey, or a "waxy" aroma from sunflower honey. Dominant VOCs in one study were linalool oxide, trans-linalool oxide, 2-phenylacetaldehyde, benzyl ethanol, isophorone, and methyl nonanoate.
VOCs can also be introduced from the bodies of the bees, be produced by the enzymatic actions of digestion, or from chemical reactions that occur between different substances within the honey during storage, and therefore may change, increase, or decrease over long periods of time. VOCs may be produced, altered, or greatly affected by temperature and processing. Some VOCs are heat labile, and are destroyed at elevated temperatures, while others can be created during non-enzymatic reactions, such as the Maillard reaction. VOCs are responsible for nearly all of the aroma produced by a honey, which may be described as "sweet", "flowery", "citrus", "almond" or "rancid", among other terms. In addition, VOCs play a large role in determining the specific flavor of the honey, both through the aromas and flavor. VOCs from honeys in different geographic regions can be used as floral markers of those regions, and as markers of the bees that foraged the nectars.
Classification
Honey is classified by its source (floral or not), and divisions are made according to the packaging and processing used. Regional honeys are also identified. In the US, honey is also graded on its color and optical density by USDA standards, graded on the Pfund scale, which ranges from 0 for "water white" honey to more than 114 for "dark amber" honey.
Plant source
Generally, honey is classified by the floral source of the nectar from which it was made. Honeys can be from specific types of flower nectars or can be blended after collection. The pollen in honey is traceable to floral source and therefore region of origin. The rheological and melissopalynological properties of honey can be used to identify the major plant nectar source used in its production.
Monofloral
Monofloral honey is made primarily from the nectar of one type of flower. Monofloral honeys have distinctive flavors and colors because of differences between their principal nectar sources.> To produce monofloral honey, beekeepers keep beehives in an area where the bees have access, as far as possible, to only one type of flower. In practice, a small proportion of any monofloral honey will be from other flower types. Typical examples of North American monofloral honeys are clover, orange blossom, sage, tupelo, buckwheat, fireweed, mesquite, sourwood, cherry, and blueberry. Some typical European examples include thyme, thistle, heather, acacia, dandelion, sunflower, lavender, honeysuckle, and varieties from lime and chestnut trees. In North Africa (e.g. Egypt), examples include clover, cotton, and citrus (mainly orange blossoms). The unique flora of Australia yields a number of distinctive honeys, with some of the most popular being yellow box, blue gum, ironbark, bush mallee, Tasmanian leatherwood, and macadamia.
Polyfloral
Polyfloral honey, also known as wildflower honey, is derived from the nectar of many types of flowers. The taste may vary from year to year, and the aroma and the flavor can be more or less intense, depending on which flowers are blooming.
Honeydew honey
Honeydew honey is made from bees taking direct secretions from trees such as pine, fir, chestnut, and oak or primarily honeydew, the sweet secretions of aphids or other plant-sap-sucking insects, to produce honey rather than from nectar. This honey has a much larger proportion of indigestibles than light floral honeys, thus causing dysentery to the bees. Honeydew honey has a stronger and less sweet flavor than nectar-based honey, and European countries have been the primary market for honeydew honey. In Greece, pine honey, a type of honeydew honey, constitutes 60–65% of honey production.
Classification by packaging and processing
Generally, honey is bottled in its familiar liquid form, but it is sold in other forms, and can be subjected to a variety of processing methods.
- Crystallized honey occurs when some of the glucose content has spontaneously crystallized from solution as the monohydrate. It is also called "granulated honey" or "candied honey". Honey that has crystallized (or is commercially purchased crystallized) can be returned to a liquid state by warming. Despite a common misconception, honey crystallizing does not mean it has expired.
- Pasteurized honey has been heated in a pasteurization process which requires temperatures of 72 °C (161 °F) or higher. Pasteurization destroys yeast cells. It also liquefies any microcrystals in the honey, which delays the onset of visible crystallization. However, excessive heat exposure also results in product deterioration, as it increases the level of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and reduces enzyme (e.g. diastase) activity. Heat also darkens the honey, and affects taste and fragrance.
- Raw honey is as it exists in the beehive or as obtained by extraction, settling, or straining, without adding heat (although some honey that has been "minimally processed" is often labeled as raw honey). Raw honey contains some pollen and may contain small particles of wax.
- Strained honey has been passed through a mesh material to remove particulate material (pieces of wax, propolis, other defects) without removing pollen, minerals, or enzymes.
- Filtered honey of any type has been filtered to the extent that all or most of the fine particles, pollen grains, air bubbles, or other materials normally found in suspension, have been removed. The process typically heats honey to 66–77 °C (150–170 °F) to more easily pass through the filter. Filtered honey is very clear and will not crystallize as quickly, making it preferred by supermarkets. The most common method involves the addition of diatomaceous earth to honey that is heated to 60 °C (140 °F) and passed through filter paper or canvas until a cake of diatomaceous earth builds up on the filter.
- Ultrasonicated honey has been processed by ultrasonication, a nonthermal processing alternative for honey. When honey is exposed to ultrasonication, most of the yeast cells are destroyed. Those cells that survive sonication generally lose their ability to grow, which reduces the rate of honey fermentation substantially. Ultrasonication also eliminates existing crystals and inhibits further crystallization in honey. Ultrasonically aided liquefaction can work at substantially lower temperatures around 35 °C (95 °F) and can reduce liquefaction time to less than 30 seconds.
- Creamed honey, also called whipped honey, spun honey, churned honey, honey fondant, and, in the UK, set honey, has been processed to control crystallization. Creamed honey contains a large number of small crystals, which prevent the formation of larger crystals that can occur in unprocessed honey. The processing also produces a honey with a smooth, spreadable consistency.
- Dried honey has the moisture extracted from liquid honey to create completely solid, nonsticky granules. This process may or may not include the use of drying and anticaking agents. Dried honey is used in baked goods, and to garnish desserts.
- Comb honey is still in the honey bees' wax comb. It is traditionally collected using standard wooden frames in honey supers. The frames are collected and the comb is cut out in chunks before packaging. As an alternative to this labor-intensive method, plastic rings or cartridges can be used that do not require manual cutting of the comb, and speed packaging. Comb honey harvested in the traditional manner is also referred to as "cut-comb honey".
- Chunk honey is packed in wide-mouthed containers; it consists of one or more pieces of comb honey immersed in extracted liquid honey.
- Honey decoctions are made from honey or honey byproducts which have been dissolved in water, then reduced (usually by means of boiling). Other ingredients may then be added. (For example, abbamele has added citrus.) The resulting product may be similar to molasses.
- Baker's honey is outside the normal specification for honey, due to a "foreign" taste or odor, or because it has begun to ferment or has been overheated. It is generally used as an ingredient in food processing. Additional requirements exist for labeling baker's honey, including that it may not be sold labeled simply as "honey".
Grading
Countries have differing standards for grading honey. In the US, honey grading is performed voluntarily based upon USDA standards. USDA offers inspection and grading "as on-line (in-plant) or lot inspection...upon application, on a fee-for-service basis." Honey is graded based upon a number of factors, including water content, flavor and aroma, absence of defects, and clarity. Honey is also classified by color, though it is not a factor in the grading scale.
The USDA honey grade scale is:
| Grade | Soluble solids | Flavor and aroma | Absence of defects | Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | ≥ 81.4% |
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| B | ≥ 81.4% |
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| C | ≥ 80.0% |
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| Substandard | Fails Grade C | Fails Grade C | Fails Grade C | Fails Grade C |
India certifies honey grades based on additional factors, such as the Fiehe's test, and other empirical measurements.
Indicators of quality
High-quality honey can be distinguished by fragrance, taste, and consistency. Ripe, freshly collected, high-quality honey at 20 °C (68 °F) should flow from a knife in a straight stream, without breaking into separate drops. After falling down, the honey should form a bead. The honey, when poured, should form small, temporary layers that disappear fairly quickly, indicating high viscosity. If not, it indicates honey with excessive water content of over 20%, not suitable for long-term preservation.
In jars, fresh honey should appear as a pure, consistent fluid, and should not set in layers. Within a few weeks to a few months of extraction, many varieties of honey crystallize into a cream-colored solid. Some varieties of honey, including tupelo, acacia, and sage, crystallize less regularly. Honey may be heated during bottling at temperatures of 40–49 °C (104–120 °F) to delay or inhibit crystallization. Overheating is indicated by change in enzyme levels, for instance, diastase activity, which can be determined with the Schade or the Phadebas methods. A fluffy film on the surface of the honey (like a white foam), or marble-colored or white-spotted crystallization on a container's sides, is formed by air bubbles trapped during the bottling process.
A 2008 Italian study determined that nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy can be used to distinguish between different honey types, and can be used to pinpoint the area where it was produced. Researchers were able to identify differences in acacia and polyfloral honeys by the differing proportions of fructose and sucrose, as well as differing levels of aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. This ability allows greater ease of selecting compatible stocks.
Nutrition
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1,270 kJ (300 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
82 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sugars | 82 g 36 g 41 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dietary fiber | 0.2 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0.3 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water | 17 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honey is 17% water and 82% carbohydrates, and has negligible content of dietary fiber and protein, while containing no fat (table). Honey supplies no micronutrients in significant content (table). In a reference amount of 100 g (3.5 oz), honey supplies 300 calories (table).
Sugar profile
Honey is mainly fructose (41% of sugars) and glucose (36%) (table), with remaining sugars including galactose, maltose, and sucrose, each supplying 3% or less of total sugars (table, USDA reference).
The glycemic index of honey has a possible range of 31-78, depending on the variety.
The specific composition, color, aroma, and flavor of any batch of honey depend on the flowers foraged by bees that produced the honey.
Medical use and research
Wounds and burns
Honey is a folk treatment for burns and other skin injuries. Preliminary evidence suggests that it aids in the healing of partial thickness burns 4–5 days faster than other dressings, and moderate evidence suggests that post-operative infections treated with honey heal faster and with fewer adverse events than with antiseptic and gauze. The evidence for the use of honey in various other wound treatments is of low quality, and firm conclusions cannot be drawn. Evidence does not support the use of honey-based products for the treatment of venous stasis ulcers or ingrown toenail. Several medical-grade honey products have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in treating minor wounds and burns.
Antibiotic
Honey has long been used as a topical antibiotic by practitioners of traditional and herbal medicine. Honey's antibacterial effects were first demonstrated by the Dutch scientist Bernardus Adrianus van Ketel in 1892. Since then, numerous studies have shown that honey has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, although potency varies widely between different honeys. Due to the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the last few decades, there has been renewed interest in researching the antibacterial properties of honey. Components of honey under preliminary research for potential antibiotic use include methylglyoxal, hydrogen peroxide, and royalisin (also called defensin-1).
Cough
For chronic and acute coughs, a Cochrane review found no strong evidence for or against the use of honey. For treating children, the systematic review concluded with moderate to low evidence that honey helps more than no treatment, diphenhydramine, and placebo at giving relief from coughing. Honey does not appear to work better than dextromethorphan at relieving coughing in children. Other reviews have also supported the use of honey for treating children.
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency recommends avoiding giving over-the-counter cough and common cold medication to children under six, and suggests "a homemade remedy containing honey and lemon is likely to be just as useful and safer to take", but warns that honey should not be given to babies because of the risk of infant botulism. The World Health Organization recommends honey as a treatment for coughs and sore throats, including for children, stating that no reason exists to believe it is less effective than a commercial remedy.
Other
The use of honey has been recommended as a temporary intervention for known or suspected button cell battery ingestions to reduce the risk and severity of injury to the esophagus caused by the battery prior to its removal.
There is no evidence that honey is beneficial for treating cancer, although honey may be useful for controlling side effects of radiation therapy or chemotherapy used to treat cancer.
Consumption is sometimes advocated as a treatment for seasonal allergies due to pollen, but scientific evidence to support the claim is inconclusive. Honey is generally considered ineffective for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis.
The majority of calories in honey are from fructose. When consumed in addition to a normal diet, fructose causes significant weight gain, but when fructose was substituted for other carbohydrates of equal energy value there was no effect on body weight.
Honey has a mild laxative effect which has been noted as being helpful in alleviating constipation and bloating.
Health hazards
Honey is generally safe when taken in typical food amounts, but it may have various, potential adverse effects or interactions in combination with excessive consumption, existing disease conditions, or drugs. Included among these are mild reactions to high intake, such as anxiety, insomnia, or hyperactivity in about 10% of children, according to one study. No symptoms of anxiety, insomnia, or hyperactivity were detected with honey consumption compared to placebo, according to another study. Honey consumption may interact adversely with existing allergies, high blood sugar levels (as in diabetes), or anticoagulants used to control bleeding, among other clinical conditions.
People who have a weakened immune system may be at risk of bacterial or fungal infection from eating honey.
Botulism
Infants can develop botulism after consuming honey contaminated with Clostridium botulinum endospores.
Infantile botulism shows geographical variation. In the UK, only six cases were reported between 1976 and 2006, yet the US has much higher rates: 1.9 per 100,000 live births, 47.2% of which are in California. While the risk honey poses to infant health is small, taking the risk is not recommended until after one year of age, and then giving honey is considered safe.
Toxic honey
Mad honey intoxication is a result of eating honey containing grayanotoxins. Honey produced from flowers of rhododendrons, mountain laurels, sheep laurel, and azaleas may cause honey intoxication. Symptoms include dizziness, weakness, excessive perspiration, nausea, and vomiting. Less commonly, low blood pressure, shock, heart rhythm irregularities, and convulsions may occur, with rare cases resulting in death. According to the FDA, honey intoxication is more likely when using "natural" unprocessed honey from farmers who may have a small number of hives because commercial processing, which pools of honey from numerous sources, dilutes the toxins.
Toxic honey may also result when bees are proximate to tutu bushes (Coriaria arborea) and the vine hopper insect (Scolypopa australis). Both are found throughout New Zealand. Bees gather honeydew produced by the vine hopper insects feeding on the tutu plant. This introduces the poison tutin into honey. Only a few areas in New Zealand (the Coromandel Peninsula, Eastern Bay of Plenty Region and the Marlborough Sounds) frequently produce toxic honey. Symptoms of tutin poisoning include vomiting, delirium, giddiness, increased excitability, stupor, coma, and violent convulsions. To reduce the risk of tutin poisoning, humans should not eat honey taken from feral hives in the risk areas of New Zealand. Since December 2001, New Zealand beekeepers have been required to reduce the risk of producing toxic honey by closely monitoring tutu, vine hopper, and foraging conditions within 3 km (2 mi) of their apiary. Intoxication is rarely dangerous.
Folk medicine
In myths and folk medicine, honey was used both orally and topically to treat various ailments including gastric disturbances, ulcers, skin wounds, and skin burns by ancient Greeks and Egyptians, and in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine.
History
Honey collection is an ancient activity, long preceding the honey bee's domestication; this traditional practice is known as honey hunting. A Mesolithic rock painting in a cave in Valencia, Spain, dating back at least 8,000 years, depicts two honey foragers collecting honey and honeycomb from a wild bees' nest. The figures are depicted carrying baskets or gourds, and using a ladder or series of ropes to reach the nest. Humans followed the greater honeyguide bird to wild beehives; this behavior may have evolved with early hominids. The oldest known honey remains were found in Georgia during the construction of the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline: archaeologists found honey remains on the inner surface of clay vessels unearthed in an ancient tomb, dating back between 4,700 and 5,500 years. In ancient Georgia, several types of honey were buried with a person for journeys into the afterlife, including linden, berry, and meadow-flower varieties.
The first written records of beekeeping are from ancient Egypt, where honey was used to sweeten cakes, biscuits, and other foods and as a base for unguents in Egyptian hieroglyphs. The dead were often buried in or with honey in Egypt, Mesopotamia and other regions. Bees were kept at temples to produce honey for temple offerings, mummification and other uses.
In southern Illyria (present day Albania), the Iron Age Illyrian tribe of the Abroi were known for preparing mead, a wine from honey, as documented by Hecataeus of Miletus in the 6th century BCE.
In ancient Greece, honey was produced from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods. In 594 BCE, beekeeping around Athens was so widespread that Solon passed a law about it: "He who sets up hives of bees must put them 300 feet [90 metres] away from those already installed by another". Greek archaeological excavations of pottery located ancient hives. According to Columella, Greek beekeepers of the Hellenistic period did not hesitate to move their hives over rather long distances to maximize production, taking advantage of the different vegetative cycles in different regions. The spiritual and supposed therapeutic use of honey in ancient India was documented in both the Vedas and the Ayurveda texts.
Religious significance
In ancient Greek religion, the food of Zeus and the twelve Gods of Olympus was honey in the form of nectar and ambrosia.
In the Hebrew Bible, the Promised Land (Canaan, the Land of Israel) is described 16 times as "the land of milk and honey" as a metaphor for its bounty. Of the 55 times the word "honey" appears in the Hebrew Bible, 16 are part of the expression "the land of milk and honey", and only twice is "honey" explicitly associated with bees, both being related to wild bees. Modern biblical researchers long considered that the original Hebrew word used in the Bible, (דבש, devash), refers to the sweet syrup produced from figs or dates, because the domestication of the honey bee was completely undocumented through archaeology anywhere in the ancient Near East (excluding Egypt) at the time associated with the earlier biblical narratives (books of Exodus, Judges, Kings, etc.). In 2005, however, an apiary dating from the 10th century BC was found in Tel Rehov, Israel that contained 100 hives, estimated to produce half a ton of honey annually. This was, as of 2007, the only such finding made by archaeologists in the entire ancient Near East region, and it opens the possibility that biblical honey was indeed bee honey.
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In Jewish tradition, honey is a symbol for the new year, Rosh Hashanah. At the traditional meal for that holiday, apple slices are dipped in honey and eaten to bring a sweet new year. Some Rosh Hashanah greetings show honey and an apple, symbolizing the feast. In some congregations, small straws of honey are given out to usher in the new year. Pure honey is considered kosher (permitted to be eaten by religious Jews), though it is produced by a flying insect, a non-kosher creature; eating other products of non-kosher animals is forbidden. It belongs among the parve (neutral) foods, containing neither meat nor dairy products and allowed to be eaten together with either.
Early Christians used honey as a symbol of spiritual perfection in christening ceremonies.
In Islam, an entire chapter (Surah) in the Quran is called an-Nahl (the Bees). According to his teachings (hadith), Muhammad strongly recommended honey for healing purposes.The Quran promotes honey as a nutritious and healthy food, saying:
And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations; Then to eat of all the produce (of the earth), and find with skill the spacious paths of its Lord: there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colours, wherein is healing for men: verily in this is a Sign for those who give thought.
In Hinduism, honey (Madhu) is one of the five elixirs of life (Panchamrita). In temples, honey is poured over the deities in a ritual called Madhu abhisheka. The Vedas and other ancient literature mention the use of honey as a great medicinal and health food.
In Buddhism, honey plays an important role in the festival of Madhu Purnima, celebrated in India and Bangladesh. The day commemorates Buddha's making peace among his disciples by retreating into the wilderness. According to legend, while he was there a monkey brought him honey to eat. On Madhu Purnima, Buddhists remember this act by giving honey to monks. The monkey's gift is frequently depicted in Buddhist art.
大衆文化において
ハチミツは特にクマのプーさんやバンゼの「雷ハチミツ」と関連付けられている。
関連項目
- Bee pollen/ja
- ハニーハンティング
- List of spreads/ja
- Mellivory/ja
- モア・ザン・ハニー—現在のミツバチと養蜂の現状に関する2012年のスイスのドキュメンタリー映画
- ナショナルハニーショー
- Royal jelly/ja
外部リンク
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
- Beekeeping and Sustainable Livelihoods (2004), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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