Is crystallisation changing the qualities of honey

Crystallisation of honey

Honey can present in a semi-solid state known as crystallised honey. This can occur naturally when glucose spontaneously precipitates out of a super-saturated honey solution. This supersaturated state occurs because of the high concentration of sugars (greater than 70%) relative to the water content (often less than 20%). Glucose tends to precipitate out of the solution, and the solution then reverts to the more stable saturated state.

Deliberate, controlled crystallisation of honey can produce creamed honey. Creamed honey is made by a technique called "seeding", in which a small quantity of already crystallised honey is added to a liquid honey blend. The addition of the crystallised honey to the liquid honey accelerates the natural tendency of the liquid honey to crystallise. The seeded honey is then packed into jars, and held in controlled storage conditions to allow the honey to fully crystallise before being quality checked and released for sale.

Crystallisation of honey can be a serious problem for processing since it limits the flow of unprocessed honey out of storage containers. In industry settings crystallised honey is heated, but during heating hydroxylmethylfurfural (HMF) is formed. HMF is a major honey quality factor and is an indicator of honey freshness and exposure to heating. In fresh honeys there is a minimal amount of HMF but levels increase upon storage, depending on the pH of honey and on the storage temperature. Honey is sometimes also heat treated to prevent unwanted fermentation by osmophilic yeasts. A common method of treatment is heating to 71oC for four minutes, followed by rapid cooling through a heat exchange unit. The colour, flavour and aroma of honey may be altered by heat treatments.

Moisture of honey

Australian honeys contain 15–19% moisture, so that their water activity (Aw) is low (0.5–0.6), and there is very little moisture to support the growth of bacteria and yeast. The moisture level of honey is a critical factor, since it affects the capacity for storage. Honeys with greater than 19% moisture may support growth of micro-organisms, which can ferment and spoil the honey. The moisture level of honey is measured as the soluble solids, and is determined by measuring the refractive index with a refractometer.

Viscosity

Freshly extracted honey is a viscous fluid. Its viscosity depends on a large variety of factors, and varies with its composition and water content. Viscosity is an important technical parameter for honey processing, because viscosity affects honey flow during extraction, pumping, settling, filtration, mixing and bottling. Raising the temperature of honey lowers the viscosity. This phenomenon is exploited during industrial honey processing.

1. What health benefits do prebiotics have
Health benefits of prebiotics Worldwide, there has been a growing awareness of the relationship between diet and health that has led to an increasing demand for...

2. How to understand honey as a prebiotic
Honey is of interest as a prebiotic material because it contains many oligosaccharides and low molecular weight polysaccharides likely to resist degradation by host enzym...

3. What are the most common characteristics of honey
Description of honey Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by honeybees from the nectar of blossoms or from the excretions of plant-sucking insects livi...

4. What types of carbohydrates and enzymes are there in honey
Carbohydrates Honey is a supersaturated sugar solution with approximately 17% water. Fructose is the predominant sugar, with concentrations ranging from 36-50%,...

5. What are the main qualities of honey
Preservative and antioxidant effects Honey can act as a natural food preservative. Honey has been shown to be able to reduce enzymatic browning in fruits and ve...