How honey is made
|
Honey is one of the sweetest substances on earth, and has been used through the ages for a multitude of purposes. Honey begins its' journey as nectar which is a thin liquid that is comprised of water, sugars, plant pigments, and other organic materials. Each plant produces its' own unique type of nectar which directly contributes to the overall color and sweetness of the honey. The nectar is stored in the honey stomach of a bee and is brought back to the hive from a foraging bee and is passed off to a household bee through regurgitation. Once this happens, the household bee then manipulates the nectar through a process of regurgitation, which exposes the nectar to air as well as exposes the nectar to particular enzymes in the honey stomach that change the chemical composition. Additionally other bees fan the hive with their wings and dually the heat from the hive and the air help to reduce the water content. After this process once the nectar has reached a certain sugar content (it is estimated that 80% sugar is the proper ratio for honey) is put into a storage cell, and later sealed off indicating that the honey is ready. In short honey is continuous bee vomit.
|
How honey is collected
Honey is made by bees in order to sustain them throughout the year, specifically through the harsh winter months. However this does not stop us humans from stealing their hard work and efforts towards sustainability. In order to produce honey the hives must be entered and the frames that feature a majority of capped honey removed. Next the frames must be taken to a honey house that follows state regulations (which are varied from state to state). The first step is to uncap the storage cells by slicing off the top layer of wax by using a heated blade in a zig zag pattern and downward direction, while simultaneously trying to not destroy the combs the bees created. If there is not a blade then an uncapping fork can be used. After enough of the frames are uncapped to fill the extractor, the honey can begin to be extracted. Once in the extractor the machine uses gravity and motion to fling the honey outside of the storage cells and onto the extractors walls where it then falls to the bottom on of the large cylindrical machine into its' reservoir. Next the honey must be strained in order to remove the miscellaneous bee bits, wax, and additional debris. There are various different methods of straining however the double strainer is a very popular choice, this strainer consists of both a top coarser strainer and a bottom finer one. Finally after the honey has been filtered it can be put in storage containers.
The different types of honey
Honey can be found in many different forms, however the different forms of honey are not nearly as varied as the different types. The main forms of honey include cut-comb, liquid honey, granulated honey, and creamed honey. Each specific form is usually determined by the individual beekeeper and how they wish to present their products.
The many uses of honey
As one of the oldest "human" products, honey has found many purposes and uses throughout the ages of society.
Beauty: As one of the oldest natural cosmetic treatments, honey is claimed to preserve a youthful appearance as well as be a natural moisturizer. It's use in this manner can be traced back to Cleopatra. Cleopatra would allegedly bathe in honey and milk to rejuvenate and smooth her skin, (the Bee bible author) even suggested that Nero's wife Poppea would use honey to maintain her beauty.
Beverages: There are both alcoholic and non-alcoholic honey beverages. However the main beverage that can be made out of honey is Mead. Mead is essentially honey water with varying additives that are fermented using yeast. The main types of mead include Metheglin, Morat, Melomel, and Sack. It is estimated that mead is the oldest alcoholic beverage in existence, and traces of it can be found throughout the entire world. The French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, as quoted by Bee Wilson, "believed the discovery of mead marked the passage in human existence from 'nature to culture', (Wilson, 156). It was seen
Medicine: Honey is considered to have wide reaching medicinal properties, from hangover cures, to the common cold, easing ulcer pains, to even a disinfectant there is little that honey cannot fix. The Ancient Greeks and also the Mayans used honey it to promote general health.
Culinary additive: Besides beverages, honey is also used in food both desserts and main courses all over the world. In each dish the honey was merely and additive to each specific local cuisine. Examples of which include Baklava from the Middle East, Cranachan a Scottish dessert, to Chinese sweet and sour dishes.
Beauty: As one of the oldest natural cosmetic treatments, honey is claimed to preserve a youthful appearance as well as be a natural moisturizer. It's use in this manner can be traced back to Cleopatra. Cleopatra would allegedly bathe in honey and milk to rejuvenate and smooth her skin, (the Bee bible author) even suggested that Nero's wife Poppea would use honey to maintain her beauty.
Beverages: There are both alcoholic and non-alcoholic honey beverages. However the main beverage that can be made out of honey is Mead. Mead is essentially honey water with varying additives that are fermented using yeast. The main types of mead include Metheglin, Morat, Melomel, and Sack. It is estimated that mead is the oldest alcoholic beverage in existence, and traces of it can be found throughout the entire world. The French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, as quoted by Bee Wilson, "believed the discovery of mead marked the passage in human existence from 'nature to culture', (Wilson, 156). It was seen
Medicine: Honey is considered to have wide reaching medicinal properties, from hangover cures, to the common cold, easing ulcer pains, to even a disinfectant there is little that honey cannot fix. The Ancient Greeks and also the Mayans used honey it to promote general health.
Culinary additive: Besides beverages, honey is also used in food both desserts and main courses all over the world. In each dish the honey was merely and additive to each specific local cuisine. Examples of which include Baklava from the Middle East, Cranachan a Scottish dessert, to Chinese sweet and sour dishes.
Today the annual crop of honey for the U.S. is estimated at $20,000,000 with an additional $2,000,000 more from wax, what began as a life necessity has escalated to an international trade commodity (Hallman, 208).
The History of Honey
Honey is the original sweetener, and it remains to this day an important facet in both American and International business. It has been used as far back as Ancient Egypt for a variety of reasons. It's particular importance in Egypt was perpetuated because honey was a requirement for all classes (Ransome, 20). Early in history honey was used as a dietary supplement, due to its high content of sugar honey was liquid energy. Beyond this use honey grew to be used in beautification, ceremonies, and it worked its way in, naturally, to cuisine. One of its earliest uses as a confection can be traced to Ancient Greece’s early comfit, which were sweets that consisted of aniseeds or fennel that where covered in honey (Mason, 120). Current descendants of this treat include sugared almonds, and other candy coated delights. For about the entire history of Honey, one of it's main uses in cooking though was reserved for preserving. According to Laura Mason in her Prehistory of Sweets, the main purpose of honey in cooking was for preserving various different kinds of fruit. This fruit would not expire due to the properties of honey (Mason, 45). Honey began to lose it’s importance in cooking as sugar became both more popular and available at around the mid to late 1500’s (Mason, 44). It is at this time when sugar began to become readily available.
Once sugar plantations in the Caribbean began to pump sugar into Europe and the America, honey's significance began to wain, as it is not as practical a substance specifically for baking and confections ( due to the levels of fructose and glucose ) (Wilson, 160). In Great Britain the decline of honey was also largely due to the Reformation, as monasteries where destroyed the primary honey suppliers (monks and nuns) lost their stations production was forced into a steep decline (Wilson, 162). Additionally not only did sugar replace honey in cooking, but also in medicine. No longer was honey as widely used in cure all treatments and an apothecary without sugar was at his wits end (Wilson, 164). The final nails in the coffin for honey was coffee, tea, and prices. By the 1800's honey started to become more expensive than sugar, and its use declined as the sugar became the preferential additive (Wilson, 165). Other countries followed similar patterns, however there are some countries where the use of honey persisted, one such of these countries included German which maintained honey consumption levels equal to that of medieval consumption at roughly 2kg per person per year (Wilson, 166 ). Despite these setback honey still remains a widely used sugar additive. |