Читать книгу Honey For Dummies - Howland Blackiston - Страница 30

Honey is the sweet result of the bees magically transforming the nectar they gather from flowers. Honey is about 80 percent fructose and glucose, and between 17 and 18 percent water. Maintaining a balance between sugar and water is critical to the quality of honey. Excess water, for example from poor storage, can trigger yeast fermentation, causing the honey to spoil. The bees nail this balance instinctually, but we can upset the delicate ration by improper harvesting and storing of honey.

More than 20 other sugars can be found in honey, depending upon the original nectar source. There are also proteins in the form of enzymes, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, and waxes. The most important enzyme is invertase, which is an enzyme added by the worker bees. This is responsible for converting the nectar sugar sucrose into the main sugars found in honey: fructose and glucose. It is also instrumental in the ripening of the nectar into honey.

With an average pH of 3.9, honey is relatively acidic, but its sweetness hides the acidity.

The antibacterial qualities associated with honey come from hydrogen peroxide, which is a by-product of another enzyme (glucose oxidase) introduced by the bees.

The plants themselves and the soil they grow in contribute to the minerals and trace elements found in honey. See Figure 2-3 for a typical breakdown of honey content.

Illustration by Howland Blackiston

FIGURE 2-3: This chart illustrates the typical content of honey (based on data from the USDA).