Food Reviews International

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Honey—its characteristics, sensory aspects, and

applications

A.R. Aparna & D. Rajalakshmi

To cite this article: A.R. Aparna & D. Rajalakshmi (1999) Honey—its characteristics,
sensory aspects, and applications, Food Reviews International, 15:4, 455-471, DOI:
10.1080/87559129909541199

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 Food Rev. Int., 15(4), 455-471 (1999)

HONEY—ITS CHARACTERISTICS,
SENSORY ASPECTS, AND APPLICATIONS

A. R. APARNA and D. RAJALAKSHMI

Department of Sensory Science
Central Food Technological Research Institute
Mysore 570 013, Karnataka, India

ABSTRACT
Honey is a natural, sweet, syrupy fluid collected by bees from nectar of
flowers. The pleasant aroma and taste of this viscous liquid ranging in
color from pale yellow to dark amber varies according to geographical
and seasonal conditions. Its use as a sweetener is well known in different
parts of the world. In early history, honey occupied a very important
place on religious occasions. The high content of sugars, small amounts
of amino acids, lipids, along with some vitamins and minerals imparts
its high nutritional value. Honey has good medicinal and antimicrobial
properties and is used in different cuisines. Proper processing is essential
for a product of good sensory qualities. ISI/Agmark specifications for
honey, its adulteration and detection of adulteration are well recorded.
The application potential in bakery, confectionery, snack foods, fruit
and vegetable products and beverages is ever increasing. A bird's-eye
view of these aspects along with possible lines of future research are
discussed.
KEY WORDS: Honey; Production and processing; Properties and
composition; Nutritional-Medicinal-Antimicrobial value; Sensory
aspects; Application potential

Address correspondence to: D. Rajalakshmi, Head, Department of Sensory Science, Central Food Technological
Research Institute, Mysore 570 013, Tel: 515842; Fax: 517233; E-mail: sensory @cscftri.ren.nic.in

455

Copyright © 1999 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. www.dekker.com

456 APARNA AND RAJALAKSHMI

INTRODUCTION

Honey or "madhu" in Sanskrit, also referred to as amritha or nectar is known to

Indians probably since the Vedic age, meaning, "sweet," "congenial," "soft," etc.
There is a special mantra, consisting of three parts used in religious performances
to wish anything in the universe to be madhu or sweet. Honey was highly esteemed
in the ancient period for its healing properties especially by the Indians and Egyp-
tians (1-3).
In the great epic "Ramayana," Valmiki is likened to a cuckoo where the word
madhu is used in the context of referring to the sweet voice or rhymes. In the stotra
sahitya, such as "madhurashtaka," everything that lord Krishna possesses is consid-
ered "madhuram" or sweet.

HONEY—PAST AND PRESENT

Honey is a natural product, but one important factor is that it cannot be procured
directly from the source, plants. Here, the role of bee is very important. It is interest-
ing to note that several articles covering the diversified aspects on honey such as
type of bee, source of nectar, floral type, and geographical variations which influence
the composition and quality of honey have been reported.
The bee has the expertise to collect the honey or nectar from the flowers or plant
sources and to preserve it in the hives, taking about 3-6 weeks for collection. The
eyes of bees differ from that of others to discriminate colors and reported to be
sensitive to colors in short wavelength (violet, blue and blind to red). The types of
bees commonly found are Colletidae, Andrenidae, Halictidae, Megachilidae, and
Apidae (4).
The quality of honey depends on the type of plants in the geographical area and
also climatic conditions. The production, physical properties, chemical composition,
utility, quality, and applications are discussed keeping in mind the sensory aspects
which are very important for the overall quality determination.
In spite of all the scientific development, man is still robbing bees of their
hard-earned food. There is no change in this basic theme. However, there are
many changes in the modus operandi. In the past, the practice of getting honey was
mainly confined to the woods and other places where the bees would set up their
hives. Honey guide birds that chatter noisily are helpful in attracting the attention
of men or animals and lead them to hidden hives of wild bees. Eleven species of
honey guides are known to inhabit Africa and parts of Asia (3,5). After the hive has
been opened by the followers, the birds feed on the bits of honey and bees wax that
remain. Such hives are grabbed after driving away the bees or during their absence.
Later, honey would be squeezed out of the combs. In modern times, the bees are
HONEY 457

reared by providing boxes in a planned manner and the bees use them as their storage
place.

CLASSIFICATION

Honey can be broadly classified on the floral type or the size of the bee. About 7 -
8 different unifloral honey samples are known. The varieties of honey based on the
size of the bees are Makshika, Bhramara, Kshaudra, Pauttika, Chhatra, Argha, Au-
dalaka, and Dala (6-8).
The honey available in India falls under two categories, namely, extracted (apiary
honey) and squeezed honey. The bulk of the extracted honey is obtained from Apis
cerana indica, honey bees. The bulk of the squeezed honey is obtained from Apis
dorsata, the rock bee (9). In some parts of the world, monofloral honeys were col-
lected through a particular type of flower such as jasmine or lily to collect honey
with a particular flavor component. This is a currently a popular trend in India.

Honeydew Honeys

Collected during the drought, honeydew honey possess different characteristics from
nectar honey since it is derived from secretions on leaves, salivary glands, and the
gut of plant-sucking insects and are then carried into the honey (10,11). It is also
collected by other insects like bees and ants. The chemical composition, nitrogenous
and acidic constituents, and flavor vary from those of nectar honey. Honeydew honey
totally differs with very high content of ash and non-reducing sugar.

PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING

Extraction and Processing of Honey

India's total honey production during 1992-93 was found to be 5000-6000 tonnes
and that from Karnataka was reported to be 230 tonnes.
The making of honey is a complex biological process and consists of two different
stages: the first stage relates to the procuring of floral nectar by the bees and the
second stage relates to the transformation by the bees and the storage in the combs
where it ripens into sweet honey. The extraction of honey includes separation of the
honey from the combs by squeezing. It should be noted that this contains impurities
in the form of pollen, wax, osmophyllic yeasts, dextrose hydrate, etc. Although the
honey has good color and flavor, it is unhygienic after mere squeezing. It is very
important to process the honey after extraction (10,12,13).
During collection and processing of honey, people take care by using screen and
458 APARNA AND RAJALAKSHMI

smoke so that the bees do not sting. The processing of honey should have twin
objectives. It should ensure removal of impurities and prevention of deterioration to
promote preservation in a form which has better acceptability. The common methods
of processing currently consist of honey filtered through a double layer cheese cloth
of mesh size 0.5 mm (14,15) or pressure filtration, treatment with water and heating
or pasteurization. The process of pressure filtration physically removes the impurities
and undesirable substances. Care should be taken to maintain a very clean and hy-
gienic apparatus. Next, the process of heating or pasteurization will involve heating
at different temperatures depending on the type of honey that is desired. Honey has
greater sensitivity to heat treatment because of its acidity, fructose content, and high
viscosity. Therefore, care during heat treatment is necessary to accomplish the melt-
ing of dextrose granules and to destroy microorganisms. Heat treatment is also de-
signed so that when the temperature is higher, the period of heating is less and vice-
versa. Further processing is characteristic and classified on the basis of color, flavor,
moisture content, and floral type. Liquefaction is done through a plate type heat
exchanger by heating it to a temperature of 65.5°C for 30 sees and cooled to 49°C
in the heat exchanger before collecting in the tanks.

Bottling and Storage of Honey

Honey is hygroscopic. It will absorb water if it is left exposed to moist air. (10)
Since an increased water content will increase risk of fermentation, any container
used for storing or marketing extracted honey should have an air-tight closure. Cans
or caps used for storing or packing honey should be the standard, round, lever lid
type, coated with lacquer on the inside and outside. Honey is acidic in nature, so a
resistant coating is necessary on the inside to prevent inner corrosion and any subse-
quent spoilage of the contents. Generally, glass jars are preferred with a lacquered
metal screw cap. The cap is provided with a waxed card wad or a plastic ring which
provides an excellent seal when the cap is screwed down tightly. Commonly avail-
able containers for different quantities and types are shown in Figure 1. Plastic jars
with a press-on lid is also used for packing smaller quantities of honey.
During storage, temperature is an important factor since both physical and chemi-
cal changes take place in respect to color, aroma, and flavor. Storage at lower temper-
atures for longer duration or at higher temperature for shorter duration will have
similar effects and the extent of change will probably be comparable. Sucrose and
higher sugars tend to increase while fructose and glucose tend to decrease. Pasteur-
ized honey does not ferment. Similarly, amino acids decrease if honey is stored at
room temperature. Diastase level can be maintained by using cold storage. During
this period, granulation can be prevented by heating the honey. Tupelo honey (16)
HONEY 459

Figure 1. Some commercial samples of honey.

is remarkable in containing about twice as much fructose as glucose and hence has
little tendency to deposit glucose crystals.

PROPERTIES
Physical Properties

Honey is a viscous and syrupy liquid, semi-translucent pale yellow or yellowish

brown to dark brown in color with a sweet aromatic odor and sweet acrid taste.
Microscopic impurities can reveal the type of impurities, the floral type, and the
origin of honey (10). The degree of opaqueness is a quantitative characteristic of
honey. The coloring matter present in honey includes chlorophyll, xanthophyll, an-
thocyanin, tannin, and carotene. The color of honey was determined earlier by com-
parators, but recently was determined by Lovi-Bond tintometer (17). It can be mea-
sured by absorption at 560 nm and the O.D. values may vary from 1-3 (18-20).
The UV spectra is also characteristic of honey with peaks having X maximum around
305-325 nm and thus any change in X maximum can also be used to differentiate
nectar honey from other honey. Apiary honey is either pale yellow, yellow amber,
or dark amber with optical density ranging from 0.32 to 1 and a low pollen count
460 APARNA AND RAJALAKSHMI

contrary to squeezed honey which is light amber with optical density ranging from
0.05 to 0.28 and a higher pollen content. Due to impurities like wax, pollen, and other
small water insoluble particles. Squeezed honey and unprocessed honey is generally
unclean, unhygienic, crystallizes quickly, and becomes easily fermented turning
brown in color (9).
Honey has higher relative density ranging from 1.40-1.44 at 20°C depending on
its water content. Therefore, relative density gives information about moisture con-
tent of honey. It is also reported that if relative humidity is 60%, then honeys con-
taining,less than 18.3% moisture will absorb water and those with higher moisture
content will lose water to the air.
The viscosity of honey depends mostly on its water content and relative density.
The viscosity of honeys determined by "Rheomat 15 T" was found to vary 100-
500 poises (18,19,21). Rheopectic property of honey is due mainly to the presence
of crystallized carbohydrates or suspended solids, whereas thixotropic property of
honey is due to the presence of the proteins in it. Karvi honey, carvia callosa, from
India and Leptospermum scoparium from New Zealand have been reported to possess
thixotropic property.
The thermal conductivity of honey increases with temperature and decreases with
water content. The property of electrical conductivity indicates the source of honey,
whether it is nectar or honeydew (17).

COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Chemical Composition
Moisture
The moisture content of honey is 15-20%. If the moisture content is less than 15%,
which leads to greater viscosity and crystallization, several problems will have to
be faced during subsequent processing (8,10,22,23). Poorly processed and unripe
honey undergoes fermentation if moisture content exceeds 20%. This condition pro-
vides ideal growth of the osmophyllic yeasts like Saccharolyces mellis, Fabian and
quinet, S. rouxiiBoutroex, schizosaccharomyces octosporus Beijer, which decom-
poses the sugars present in honey to carbon dioxide, acetic acid, and water. In ripe
honey, if moisture is less than 22% then it is not liable to ferment, but fermentation
occurs if honey is exposed to atmosphere. The ash content of honey is very low, it
varies from 0.028 to 1%. The ash content depends on botanical origin and technique
used for the determination. If the color of the honey is dark, it means that it contains
more mineral salts and vice versa. Sulphur and chlorine content in honey promotes
degree of pigmentation (10,16,19,24-37).
The proximate composition of honey is shown in Table 1. Honey is rich in carbo-
hydrates with a calorific value of 319 kcal/100 g. The sugar content varies for differ-
HONEY 461

Table 1. Typical Composition of

Honey

Constituents % Composition
Moisture 15-20
Laevulose 38-40
Dextrose 30-32
Sucrose 5-8
Trisaccharides 1-2
Undetermined 3-4

ent types of honey depending on the floral type. It contains mostly grape sugar or
dextrose which becomes crystalline, fructose, or laevulose which remains in a liquid
state. Small amounts of sucrose, wax, volatile pentosans, oil, gums, proteins, muci-
lage, coloring matter, formic acid, ash, and other mineral constituents are also pres-
ent. Pure honey is comprised mainly of fructose and hence it is laevorotatory. It also
contains small amounts of pollen dust, ethereal oil, magnesium, silica, phosphorus,
lime (calcium), iron, and minerals. Erlöse and melezitose are trisaccharides, sucrose
and maltose are disaccharides, and glucose and fructose are monosaccharides present
in it. Diastase value was reported to be 21. Honey is acidic in nature with the pH
ranging from 3.5-4.0.
Honey also contains small amounts of nitrogenous substances, organic and min-
eral acids. The organic acids in honey are: formic acid, acetic acid, malic acid, citric
acid, succinic acid, lactic acid, tartaric acid, oxalic acid, butyric acid, and polyglu-
tamic acid. Hydrochloric and phosphoric acid are the inorganic acids found in honey.
Among the 18 amino acids those generally present in honey are threonine, valine,
leucine, histidine, lysine, arginine, isoleucine, phenyl-alanine, proline, etc. Figure 2
provides fatty acid composition of honey. The addition of fatty acids to honey pre-
vents crystallization.
Fermentation in honey leads to acidity, the nutritive value decreases and turns
sour with a foamy layer at its surface. The fermented honey reacts with metallic
containers which produce undesirable substances. The precautionary measures to
prevent fermentation are only extraction of ripe honey and its proper processing, not
unduly exposing it to atmosphere. Enzymatic activities play a very important role
in honey to determine biological changes during hydrolysis of sugar. The main source
of enzymes are the nectar of flowers and pollen which are present in honey. Enzymes
are generally present in pharyngeal glands of bees.
1. The diastase enzyme which converts starch to glucose, mainly consists of a-
amylase and ß-amylase.
2. The invertase, which converts sucrose into glucose and fructose.
3. Gluco-oxidase which transforms glucose into glyconic acid. The diastase activ-
462 APARNA AND RAJALAKSHMI

70

60

I
z
CO
30

I
O 20
O

10

. , i
_L
OLEIC LINOLEN1C LINOLEIC ARACH1DIC
PALMITIC STEARIC PALMITOLEIC
FATTY ACIDS

Figure 2. Fatty-acid composition of honey.

ity and hydroxy methyl furfural (HMF) content are widely recognized parameters in
evaluating freshness of honey. HMF content increases as the degradation of fructose
increases.

Analysis of Components

The techniques used in the analysis of honey range from conventional refractometry,
microscopy, and polarimetry to modern physico-chemical methods such as GC and
GC-MS reviewed (17,22).

STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR HONEY

The standards for honey, as prescribed by Indian standard and Agmark, are detailed
in Table 2. The Indian standard specifications formulated for extracted honey is by
taking into consideration different grades of honey as prescribed by the agricultural
marketing adviser government of India for Agmark corporation (grading and market-
HONEY 463

Table 2. Standards for Honey

ISI
Agnnark
Special grade A
Characteristics Grade PFA, 1965 standard I II

Specific gravity at 27°C (min) - 1.41 1.39 1.37 1.4 1.4

Moisture (% by max) 2.5 20 22 25 20 23
Total reducing sugar (% by mass min) 60 70 65 65 75 65
Sucrose (% by mass max) 10 5 5 5 5 5
Fructose-glucose ratio (min) _ 1 1 1 1 1
Ash (% by mass min) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Acidity (formic acid % max) - 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
Fiehe's Test - Neg Neg Neg Neg Neg

ing rules) and the restrictions are imposed by the prevention of food adulteration
act (38).
According to standards, honey should be a well-ripened natural product and ex-
tracted with the help of an extractor. It should be clear, visually transparent, and
free from objectionable flavor due to overheating, fermentation, and smoke. When
visually inspected, it should be free from foreign matter such as mold, dirt, scum
pieces of bees wax, the fragments of bees and other insects, and any other extraneous
matter.
If Fiehe's test is negative, then honey should be considered genuine. If it is posi-
tive, then an aniline chloride test should be performed and this should be negative
if honey is not adulterated. If aniline chloride test is positive, then the fructose/
glucose ratio will be greater than 1.

UTILITY
Nutritional Value

Honey is a natural palatable food that has easily digestible carbohydrates (10,13,
23,25,40). It contains about 75-80% fructose that gives substantial energy and is
also sweeter than sucrose or glucose. The vitamin content in honey is very low, but
includes water soluble vitamins—Thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine,
pantothenic acid, biotin, folie acid and nicotinic acid. It also consists of other nutri-
ents as detailed in Figure 3 (for 100 g honey). Honey has also been reported to exert
beneficial influence on the retention of calcium and, hence, covers the requirements
from infants to the elderly. Recorded information on its nutritional aspects are very
meager.
464 APARNA AND RAJALAKSHMI

COMPOSITION (g) CARBOHYDRATES(%)

VITAMINS (0.001563 )
MINERALS (0.0708)
PROTEINS (0.1) ERLOSE&MELEZITOSE (2 ) 1
SUCROSE (7.5 | '

LAEVULOSE (<0|

DEXTROSE ( 3 2 )

CARBOHYDRATES (83.2 )

MINERALS (mg) VITAMINS (mg)

COPPER ( 0 i |
ZINC ¡0.11 FOLIC ACID (0.0O3 ) 1
I R O N |b.r • CALCIUM (S ) PYRIDOXINE (0.02 | !
PANTOTHENIC ACID ¡02 )
PHOSPHORUS (S )

SODIUM ( 5 )

MA8NESIUMI3) NIACIN(OJ)

— VITAMIN C (1 )
RIBOFLAV1N (0.04 )
POTASSIUM ( 5 1 )

Figure 3. Nutritional value of honey.

Medicinal Value

Honey is extensively used in both Ayurvedic and Unani medicines. It is used as

an ingredient while consuming bitter medicines (6,8,41-47,58). It is used also in
convalescence to recoup health and energy. It is considered to be an astringent, laxa-
tive, and helps to promote digestion. It provides energy for muscles which is vital
for heart muscle. It is rich in carbohydrates and therefore, a wholesome food. It is
used in treating ulcers, constipation, kidney problems, indigestion, bronchial infec-
tions, asthma, chronic colds, cough, urinary disorders, and sore throat. It can be
mixed with milk and used as baby food. Nowadays, it is used for curing goiter,
rickets, malnutrition, marasmus, and scurvy. In elderly people, honey is useful in
clearing mucus. It helps in regulating the secretion of internal glands and metabolism.
Appreciable increase in the contents of RBC and hemoglobin is attributed to the
presence of iron, copper, manganese, and other elements in honey. In spite of the
HONEY 465

high sugar content, it can be given to diabetic patients. Honey-dextran medium is

used to preserve the cornea of the eye. The cornea extracted from the body should
be placed in a bath of honey within 6 hours from the time of extraction. It is a natural
moisturizing agent/humectant and hence used in cosmetics, certain lotions, soaps,
creams, balms, etc., in order to soften, nourish, and medicate the skin. It is employed
in some medicinal compounds just to overcome harsh, bitter flavors and to prevent
granulation.
A mixture of honey and onion juice is a good elixir for arteriosclerosis in the
brain. A mixture of bee-bread and old honeycomb is also used as a medicine for
pre-operative cancer. Honey is generally used as an excipient in the treatment of
apthae (mouth thrush) and other infections of mucous membrane. Honey prevents
dental caries. A protein-honey tablet was very effective in reducing weight than
several anorexic drugs without any undesirable effects.

Antimicrobial Value

Honey is externally used for application to burns and wounds because of its anti-
microbial activity (10,48-51). The high sugar content and the presence of organic
acids also contribute to the antimicrobial property of honey. This property of honey,
also called an inhibine, is reported in medical literature and was described by Dold
et al. (52). This inhibine property was reported by White and Subers, (53) and was
mainly due to the presence of hydrogen peroxide in honey by glucose oxidized
enzyme. This enzyme converts glucose to glucono-lactone. Later in 1979, Dutst-
mann (49) found that this property of honey is due to the secretion of glucose oxi-
dase by hypopharyngeal glands of honeybees and again this antimicrobial character-
istic varies for honey from different origins. In 1984, Bogdanov (50) discovered
the presence of antimicrobial flavonone pinocembrin in honey along with hydrogen
peroxide.

QUALITY
Sensory Aspects

The requirement of sensory characteristics may vary from country to country and
in accordance with that the process also gets suitably modified (10,31,54,55). In
general, honey presents itself in a very conducive form as far as sensory aspects are
concerned. In India, honey is used more for its medicinal attributes than for its taste
attributes. Therefore, little stress is given to its sensory value. Honey has a very
pleasing aroma, flavor, and sweet taste. Honey obtained from different botanical
origins will not have the same sensory aspects. It also varies on the basis of the bee
or the insect which collects the raw material. In modern times, honey is being pro-
466 APARNA AND RAJALAKSHMI

cured from a single type of plant and this is known as unifloral honey. Honey col-
lected from different floral sources are called multifloral honey.
Flavor is the most important sensory aspect which also describes the botanical origin
of the species and authenticity of honey, thus covering a wide spectrum. As many as
92 different types of floral honey are collected in America but only blends which possess
pleasing flavor and taste are commercially sold. Off flavors of honey can be evaluated
sensorily since they provide information about the changes during storage or over
heating during pasteurization. It is important to note that the volatile fraction of honey
and the nature of the food with respect to flavor are complex parameters. Volatile
fraction offers different olfactory perceptions in food matrices of different types. The
quality attributes of honey such as color, body, and flavor will vary according to chemi-
cal composition, geographical area, climatic/environmental conditions, and floral type.
Sweetness is perceived by human beings gastronomically; fructose is sweeter than
sucrose and glucose. Flavor is very closely related to the aroma, which depends on
complex constituents in honey derived from various plant sources.
Honey with a delicate flavor are always light and dark honey normally has a
strong flavor. Therefore, color assessment gives information about flavor. Around
60 compounds have been reported to be responsible for the aroma of honey which
includes both aliphatic and aromatic alcohols, aldehydes, acids and their esters. Fig-
ure 4 provides schematic representation of the aroma constituents of honey.

Adulteration

The air bubbles or gaseous phase in honey, i.e., free and dissolved air, Co2 is affected
by various factors such as processing, mixing, and storage. It depends on the size
of the air bubbles and the length of time they are retained in honey. Visual evaluation
revealed that introduction of air bubbles into honey by mixing resulted in changes
in physical properties including increased turbidity and foam formation on the honey
surface. These results may be of use to ascertain adulteration.
Generally, honey is adulterated with cane sugar syrup, corn syrup, and commercial
invert sugar syrup. Cane sugar syrup and corn syrup are dextrorotatory while honey
is laevorotatory, which can easily be detected by Fieche's test. This test also gives
information about HMF content which is actually a decomposition product of fruc-
tose during enzymatic or acid hydrolysis of an invert sugar. Genuine honey shows
negative reaction to HMF unless it is overheated during pasteurization or stored for
a longer period. HMF is responsible for the odor and flavor of honey.

APPLICATIONS
Bakery Foods

The optimum use of honey in bakery foods improves the taste, flavor, and texture
quality of products like breads, cookies, and cakes. The fructose portion of honey
HONEY 467

Figure 4. Aroma constituents of honey.

helps to retain moisture of bakery products for a long time so that texture and palat-
ability improves. At higher levels, honey gives bread poor texture and decreased
volume. A dried form of honey can be used in order to get bread of good texture
and quality (8,10,59,60).
A blend of honey and invert sugar is used in the preparation of bread to eliminate
problems of handling and lack of uniformity. This blend helps fermentability by
producing a higher level of gas production and pH behavior during processing.
Honey is also used in confectionery and in various cereal products like biscuits made
from wheat meal, oatmeal, or maize. Other applications include nougats, halwa, etc.
Honey is used in tea cakes, scones, crumpets, and pancakes. It is also used in
uncooked dishes in Britain and the US like instant lemon refresher, muesli (or Swiss
porridge), honey and cream cheese icing for cakes, honey-butter hard sauce, black-
berry honey ice, honey-citrus dressing, honey mint sauce, etc., which adds the flavor
of honey to different dishes. Honey is also used in meat cookery and fish dishes.
468 APARNA AND RAJALAKSHMI

Fruits and Vegetables

According to FDA standards, honey is permitted to be used for fruit salads, jellies,
jams, and fruit butters. It has been reported that honey is used in the clarification of
apple juice. Recently attempts have been made to prepare honey-based beverages.
It is added to alcoholic drinks after fermentation and is also used in tea and coffee
as a sweetening agent. During the manufacturing of sweetened peanut butter spread,
honey is used to improve the shelf life of the product (8,57-60).

Milk and Its Products

Honey is used in milk spread. It has been reported that honey and fruit preserves
can be used to prepare sundae style yogurts. Ice cream made with honey had better
flavor than those without it. It is also used for increasing the milk yield in dairy
cows, stamina of race horses, and for fattening poultry and fishes (8,10,56,59,60).

Honey Powder

Information on honey powder and its manufacture is available mostly through pat-
ents. The powdered product comprises a blend of 5-45% (preferably 15-30%) by
weight of honey and 55-95% by weight water soluble, non-hygroscopic, sweet, fat,
and protein free carrier (mono or disaccharides, sugar alcohols and their blends).
Flavorings, minerals, and vitamins may be added. The honey is heated to approxi-
mately 40°C and mixed with other ingredients. The temperature should be less than
or equal to 45°C throughout. Dried granulated honey pellets are used in buttermilk
and other dairy products.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that research and development have been improving in the field
of apiculture and the volume of honey production. Systematic investigations on
honey quality, profiling after collection and storage in different types of containers,
and shelf-life studies may give rise to more promising results for possible incorpora-
tion in newer foods and hence lead to a greater global impact.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The first author wishes to thank the Director who provided the opportunity to work
as project assistant in CFTRI which enabled the write-up of this review. Grateful
thanks are extended to Dr. N. S. Susheelamma and Dr. Shanti Narasimhan for their
HONEY 469

help and coordination. Special thanks to Miss Poornima, M. S., for her help. Ac-
knowledgments are also due to other staff members of the department for their help
during the preparation of this manuscript.

REFERENCES

1. K. N. Dave, Bee keeping in ancient India. Indian Bee J., 16(5&6), 92-95 (1954).
2. K. N. Dave, Bee keeping in ancient India (The structure of the bee hive in the Veda). Indian Bee
J., 16(7&8), 149-161 (1954).
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