Honey Science and Production

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the biological, physical, and chemical properties of honey, as well as production methods and medical uses.

Honey

A sweet-tasting viscous liquid manufactured from nectar and/or honeydew (excretions of some plant-sucking insects) by honey bee workers, who store it in honeycombs for feeding brood and adult bees.

Beehive Products

The set of materials produced in a hive, including honey, bee wax, royal jelly, pollen grains, bee venom, and propolis.

Mono-floral honey

Honey where the nectars are mainly collected from the flowers of a single plant species.

Poly-floral honey

Honey made from nectars collected from the flowers of different plant species.

Extracted (strained) honey

Honey separated from the comb by centrifugal force, gravity, straining, or other means, appearing in liquid or crystallized (creamed) forms.

Comb honey

Honey contained in the cells of the comb in which it was produced, including forms like section comb, bulk comb, cut comb, and chunk honey.

Hygroscopicity

The ability of a substance to remove moisture from the air, commonly expressed by the relative humidity of the air with which the substance is in equilibrium.

Viscosity (Body)

The resistance of honey to flow; it is used by beekeepers to detect honey adulteration with sugar and is influenced heavily by moisture content and temperature.

Density

The weight of honey per unit volume, with an average range of $1.1$ to $1.2\,g/ml$; U.S. Fancy or Choice grades must have a density of at least $11$ pounds per gallon.

Specific gravity

The ratio of the weight of a volume of honey to the weight of the same volume of water; top-grade honey has a minimum value of $1.4129$ at $18.6\%$ RH and $20\,^\circ C$.

Refractive index

The ratio of the velocity of light in the substrate to that in air, used to measure accurate values of water and sugar contents in honey.

Electrical conductivity (EC)

A measurement used to detect honey adulteration; for honeydew honey it ranges from $6.3$ to $16.41\,Om/cm$, while for floral honey it is $1.46$ to $5.6\,Om/cm$.

Invertase (Sacchrase)

An enzyme from bees and plants that converts sucrose into dextrose (glucose) and levulose (fructose); it is easily destroyed by heat.

Diastase (Amylase)

An enzyme that converts starch to simple substances; its role in honey is unknown since nectar does not contain starch, and it is very sensitive to heat.

Glucose oxidase

An enzyme produced by worker bees that converts glucose into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$).

Inhibine (Dold)

Another name for the hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) produced by glucose oxidase, which acts as a bacterial inhibitor.

Hydroxy Methyl Furfuraldehyde (HMF)

An organic compound formed by the dehydration of fructose in acid media; it serves as a measure of honey quality with an allowed limit of $40\,mg/kg$.

Granulation (Crystallization)

A healthy phenomenon where sugar molecules (primarily glucose) rearrange to form crystals, usually occurring at $11$ to $18\,^\circ C$.

Levulose (Fructose)

The monosaccharide that makes up approximately $38.19\%$ of honey and is responsible for its high level of sweetness.

Dextrose (Glucose)

The monosaccharide in honey (average $31.28\%$) that granulates more rapidly than fructose due to its lower solubility in water.

Osmophilic yeast

Sugar-tolerant yeast that causes honey fermentation by converting sugars into ethyl alcohol, carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), and acetic acid.

Honey Adulteration

The introduction of foreign substances to honey, such as mixing it with non-sugar materials, other sugars, or blending floral honey with honeydew honey.

Apitherapy

The treatment of various medical disorders (gastrointestinal, respiratory, cardiovascular, etc.) using bee products.

Pasteurization (Honey)

The process of heating honey indirectly at $65\,^\circ C$ for $30$ minutes to kill yeast and stop fermentation.