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HOW IS HONEY MADE?
Are you a regular honey consumer? If honey is a staple in your pantry, perhaps when you open a jar for the first time, you've thought about the manufacturing process that goes into making it convenient for you to have honey at home. But do you really know how this food is made?
Today we're going to tell you how honey is made, from its beginning until you find it in a glass jar at the supermarket.
We'll also share some interesting facts about honey, so we invite you to stay and read on.
Why did honey production begin?
Honey has been a part of our diet since ancient times.
Honey provides sugar (and therefore a lot of energy) quickly, can be stored relatively easily, and doesn't expire, making it an essential food for our ancestors.
You may be wondering how it's "not expiring." The truth is that honey reserves originating in Ancient Egypt, hundreds (or thousands) of years old, have been found. These reserves still retain all their nutritional properties. That is, they haven't lost their qualities over time and are still edible (although it may not be entirely advisable).
This is due to its high sugar content and low water content, which prevents bacterial growth.
Therefore, we can say that honey is non-perishable, which is very convenient when we think of ancient times when food was scarce.
This made honey a food worth preserving, so research began into its "cultivation," and this is how the first beekeepers emerged.
They were responsible for extracting honey from beehives, first from the bees' own hives, and over time, they developed their own "artificial" honeycombs as we know them today, which made the task easier.
HONEY PRODUCTION PROCESS
We must remember that there are several different types of honey, depending on the type of flower being pollinated or its purity, such as royal jelly.
To make honey, the first step is to collect nectar from flowers. Worker bees fly over the flowers to extract the nectar.
Once the nectar is extracted, the bees ingest it and store it in their abdomen, called the honey crop. When the bees do this, they modify the pH by mixing it with their enzymes.
Then the bees return to the hive where the production process continues. In the hive, the bees pass the nectar to younger bees, which extract and break down the nectar through various enzymatic digestion processes with compounds richer in glucose and fructose.
This is what gives honey its sweet taste and high calorie content.
The bees chew this nectar for approximately half an hour until the nectar's humidity drops to 20%. This is how the nectar becomes honey.
Once it is deposited in the hive, they proceed to remove excess moisture. To do this, the bees use their wings to fan the cells and prevent excess moisture from the collected nectar. In this way, they manage to extract up to 80% of the excess water.
The bees then seal the cells with wax to better preserve the honey. This ensures that the honey remains in good condition for a long time.
Finally, after some time has passed, the nectar mixes with enzymes and wax, achieving honey's characteristic flavor. After collecting the honey, beekeepers let it rest for a few days to remove any remaining wax.
Once the honey has rested, it is filtered and packaged.
CURIOSITIES ABOUT HONEY
- A bee only produces a very small amount of honey in its entire lifetime.
- Honey contains a wide variety of nutrients, such as amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and iron.
- There are a wide variety of flavors. The taste and color vary depending on the type of flower from which it is derived.
- It is a natural product, free of preservatives or additives, making it a healthy alternative to refined sugar.
- It has medicinal properties: it has been used throughout history for its medicinal properties, such as antibacterial, healing, and soothing.
- It is very useful during colds, as it soothes throat irritation and acts as a natural anti-inflammatory.
Did you know these facts about honey? We hope you enjoyed today's post.
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