Honey Quick Facts by Burke's Honey Ltd.

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Info Source: http://www.burkeshoney.com/quickhoneyfacts.html

Do You Know…what is Honey, how it should be stored, how it can be used.

What is honey?

Honey is collected as nectar by honeybees, from the blossoms of some flowering plants. It is converted into honey by the honeybee. Honey contains no additives, preservatives, artificial or synthetic ingredients. The Pure Food and Drug regulations prohibits additions of any sort.

What is the difference between Liquid and Creamed Honey?

Both liquid and creamed honey are pure honey, nothing more, nothing less. The word creamed, refers to the smooth, creamy texture of solid honey that has been processed for this purpose. Honey is “creamed” by mixing fine honey crystals into liquid honey, pouring the honey into the container, then placing it in cool storage to promote rapid granulation. This process produces a small crystal structure, which gives a smooth creamy texture - hence creamed honey.

How Should Honey be Stored?

Both liquid and creamed honey can be frozen without damage, but is best kept at room temperature. It is sensitive to high temperatures. Even warm temperatures will cause it to lose flavour and to darken over time. Liquid honey should not be kept refrigerated, as this speeds up granulation.

How Can Honey be Used?

Honey is delicious as a spread on bread, toast, muffins; as a topping on ice cream, sliced fruit, breakfast cereal etc. It is also excellent as a sweetener in baking, in BBQ sauces, and in preserves.


Do You Know…Honey Produces Energy and is a Valuable Food.

Honey Produces Energy

Since 75 to 80 percent of its composition is naturally occurring simple sugars, honey has quick energy-producing value. Little digestion is necessary and absorption takes place quickly. Honey is quick energy for all ages.* Other sweeteners, such as regular table sugar must be broken down into simpler sugars by our digestive system before they can be absorbed into the blood stream. * Honey is not recommended for children under the age of one year. People with diabetes or other sugar related medical concerns, should talk to their doctor before eating honey.

Honey is a Valuable Food

In addition to its sugars, honey contains as its minor components, a number of minerals, seven members of the B vitamin complex, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), dextrins, plant pigments, amino acids, other organic acids, traces of protein, esters, and aromatic compounds, and several enzymes. Some honey, such as buckwheat honey, also contains antioxidants.

Levulose has been called the queen of sugars. It is sweeter than cane sugar, and besides its sweetness, it carries to the human senses something that might almost be called flavour. In a pure state, levulose is difficult to obtain, but it occurs naturally in mixtures with other sugars no only in honey but in many fruits. It dissolves very readily in water.

Dextrose is a sugar of quite different nature. It is about three-fourths as sweet as cane sugar, dissolves in about its own weight of water at ordinary temperatures, and crystallizes from a water solution quickly when it occurs in more than that amount. (It is this sugar in honey that forms crystals.) It should be noted that in the average honey, the percent of dextrose is roughly twice the percent of water, therefore on standing, dextrose crystals will be formed. It is because of this that honeys granulate.

If crystals form in honey quickly, they are usually small, whereas if they form slowly, they are coarse. These differences involve no chemical changes, only a difference in the size of the crystals. In the markets we find specially processed, finely crystallized honey or smooth, creamy texture. It is all honey and sold as creamed, spun or spread.

Do You Know…the Scientific Properties of Honey.

Specific Gravity: Dependent on Water content:
15% moisture @ 20 Degrees Celsius is approximately 1.42318% moisture @ 20 Degrees Celsius is approximately 1.417
The average chemical composition of Honey (Principal Components)
Water 17.2%Levulose (fruit sugar) 38.2%Dextrose (grape sugar) 31.3%Sucrose 1.3%Dextrins and gums 1.5%Ash (Silica, Iron, Copper, Manganese, Chlorine, Calcium, Potassium, Sodium, Phosphorus, Sulfur, Aluminum, Magnesium) 0.17%Maltose 7.3%Balance – unknown sugars 3.1%

Viscosity:

Temperature and moisture content are the main determinants of viscosity. Viscosity of Honey decreases rapidly as the temperature rises. A change of 1% moisture is equivalent to about 3.5 degrees Celsius in its effect on viscosity. Nectar source will also have an impact on viscosity. In most cases this is minor but in the case of thixotropic honeys (for example manuka), this may be greater.

Do You Know…Burke's Honey is Kosher

Burke's Honey is Kosher. Click to view Burke's Kosher certificate.

Do You Know… About Bees, About Honey, About Life

About Bees
It is honey bees, not wasps or bumble bees that produce honey.
Each beehive consists of one queen bee, a few hundred drones (the male bee), and 40,000 to 70,000 workers.

One honeybee would have to fly a distance equal to 2 ½ times around the world to collect a pound (454 grams) of honey.

One honeybee, in its entire lifetime, will collect approximately 2 grams of honey.
Honeybees are an important pollinator, without them, some types of food production would be greatly reduced.

Bees are able to communicate with each other through dances, touch, and smell, communicating direction and distance to a nectar source, as well as other details.

Only the worker bees can sting

A queen bee can lay up to 2000 eggs per day, more than her own body weight!
Honeybees are very docile and seldom sting unless pinched or their hive disturbed.

About Honey

Honey is perhaps the only sweetener which is still used just the way nature provides it, with no further processing necessary. Honey contains no additives.

Honey is produced by bees collecting nectar from flowers, adding an enzyme which changes the natural sugars present, and evaporating some of the water.

Different flowers produce different colours and flavours of honey, some common ones are: clover, buckwheat, sunflower

Honey is a valuable energy food, it contains simple sugars which do not need to be broken down before the body can use them.

Honey also contains small amounts of minerals and vitamins

All liquid honey will crystallize in time, simply place the container in warm water and let stand until clear.

Honey should be stored at room temperature, in a dry place. Refrigeration only speeds up crystallizing.

Creamed honey is just pure honey that has had the crystallizing process speeded up to produce a smooth creamy texture.

About Life

Have you ever stopped to think about all the fascinating things in nature? Where did they come from, where did they get their order? Is the delicate balance of our solar system a fluke? Is it just an amazing coincidence that, even though cold water sinks below warm water, when it turns to ice, it becomes lighter and floats on top? Where did the matter for an estimated 300 billion galaxies, each containing 300 billion stars come from?

The answer to all the above questions and many more, is there must be a master designer. I am convinced the Bible holds the answer.

If there really is a God, as the evidence in nature suggests, then we would do well to pay attention to what he has to say to us in His Word, the Bible.

As much as we hate to think about it, we all face death. Do we face heaven or hell? How can we know which one we're headed to?

Take some time to sit down with a Bible and see what it has to say. The section called “John” is a good place to start. Read it with an open mind and come to your own conclusion. Ask God to show you the truth. When you stop to think about it, you have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain.