Honey

Honey in the history

Honey was present well on the Ground before the Homme because the bees which manufacture it there appeared there are tens of million years. Present in the Delta of the Nile and with Sumer, honey played the part of the Sucre. In the Antiquity, the honey of the Narbonnese is regarded as one of the meilleurs.
In addition to its consumption like Food or Condiment, it was used for to look after, to embellish the skin and embaumer deaths at the Égyptiens. During the first and the Second world war, one used it to accelerate the Cicatrisation wounds of the Soldat S. It was also used to preserve the Fruit S and the Légume S by associating it with the Vinaigre and the Moutarde, but also to soften the mets. Starting from the the Middle Ages in China, then in Europe, it is used for manufacture of the Gingerbread.

Manufacture

Extraction

Formerly, the men collected honey in tree trunks or small cavities inhabited naturally by the bees. They then arranged these trunks as well as other rudimentary constructions.

At the century passed, to France, the bees were still high in hives in straw. At that time, honey was consumed with wax or extract by pressing.

It is the bee-keeper François Huber of Geneva (enquiring blind man) which developed the first model of mobile framework hive. The corrugated sheet was discovered in 1858 by Mehring and the extractor centrifuges invented in 1865 by Hruschka. These discoveries facilitated the work of the Apiculture.

Honey vintages

The bee-keeping proposes various types of honeies of origin, savor and aspect very varied. Honey is known as monofloral when its origin comes mainly from only one variety of flowers. The bee-keeper placed his rises right at the time of miellée of the required flower and withdrew them at once to make harvest of it afterwards. Other honeies are known as all flowers and can be indicated by their geographic origins.

Crystallization of honey

It happens sometimes that honey crystallizes in its pot. The propensity of a honey to crystallize depends on its origin, but does not have a direct link with its quality. If a honey is heated with more than 40 degrees at the time of the Centrifugation or the setting out of pots, it crystallizes slowly, out of coarse crystals. It is enough to heat a honey crystallized with the Bain-marie (max. 40°C) to liquefy it. To heat a honey with an higher temperature makes him lose in quality.

With the extraction, honey is clear and thick. With storage, it can solidify, because it contains Glucose which is crystallized. The more it contains glucose, the more it solidifies quickly (honey of Trèfle for example). If the Fructose is more abundant (honey of Acacia inter alia), honey remains liquid one to two years.

One observes at honeies containing very little water the formation of one “flower” on the surface. It is a natural phenomenon which does not harm quality.

Famous honeies

the honey of Rosemary also called " Honey of Narbonne " was regarded by the Romains as the best honey of the world. Of white and very rare color in France, it is mainly produced in the Corbières.
the Miel of fir tree of the Vosges is also very famous. Of very dark color, it is resulting from the Miellat settling on the branches of fir trees.

Other types of honey

the honey of Robinier false-acacia says honey of Acacia to soft savor, is liquid, clear and does not crystallize.
the honey of Chestnut to the taste vigorous, bitter, is viscous and more or less dark according to whether it comes from nectar or honeydew.
the honey of Lavender, very scented, of color creams presents a very fine granulation.
the honey of Colza, with a light cabbage savor, is of clear color, it crystallizes quickly because of a strong content of glucose.
honeies of Scrubland and mountain are all flowers, their savor and their aspect depends on their soils.

Nutritional interest and therapeutic use

Its benefits are multiple, and different according to the type of honey.

Honey contains less calories than the Sucre (64 calories compared with 84 per 20 G). It has same the Index glycemic but brings more Antioxydant S.

At the time of the Olympic Games, the athletes drank water miellée to recover their forces quickly.

Source of longevity, honey slows down the physiological processes of the Vieillissement, and decreases the premature weakening of the vital functions.

Hippocrates (the eminent doctor of Antiquity, 460/377 av. JC) said that the use of honey led to most extreme old age, and prescribed it to fight the fever, the wounds, the ulcers and the purulent wounds.

Until the time of Paracelse honey enjoyed a high regard in medicine. It was used in particular as agent disinfectant for the cure of the infections and carefully proves to be effective for the care warts, buttons infections, furoncles.

Recently, on the European researchers decided to study in a more important way honey like healing treatment.

Composition of honey

Of the Glucids (Sugar S) in great quantity: 78 to 80%,

represented primarily by Fructose (or levulose): 38%,
Glucose: 31%,
as well as Maltose, Saccharose (dextrose) and various others Polysaccharide S.

Of the Water: 17%
Of the protid S: less than 1%, but containing a very great number of free amino-acids: Aspartic acid, Glutamic acid, Alanine, Arginine, Asparagine, Cystine, glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysin, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Tryptophan, Tyrosin and Valin.
Of the Rock salt: from 0,3% for honeies of nectar, up to 1% for honeies of honeydew, with more than one about thirty already inventoried elements: Aluminum, money, Arsenic, Barium, Beryllium, Bromine, Calcium, Cesium, Chlorine, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Lithium, Magnesium, Manganese, mercury, Molybdenum, Nickel, Gold, palladium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Rubidium, Scandium, Silicon, Sodium, Sulfur, Strontium, Titanium, Vanadium, Zinc, Zirconium. These biogenic salts are not always all present in a given honey. On the other hand, some are it systematically in all honeies and often then in great quantity, in particular the Potassium, first Cation intracellular essential to the life. It should be also known that dark honeies are overall richer quantitatively in matters Minéral are than clear honeies.
Of the organic acid, free or combined in the form of lactones: 0,3%, the main thing of them being the Gluconic acid .
a great number of Vitamin S, of which the quantities, far from meeting our daily needs, do not constitute of it less one considerable supplement. Honey contains primarily the vitamins B1, B2, B3 (or vitamin PP), B5, B6, C, and incidentally the vitamins has, B8 (or vitamin H), B9, D and K.
Of the Lipid S (greasy substance), in negligible quantity, in several forms:

Triglyceride S,
fatty-acids (Palmitic acid, oleic, and linoleic).

Of many complex organic compounds:

Of the Enzyme S, whose principal ones are the Amylase S alpha and beta, the Gluco-invertase and the Gluco-oxydase; these enzymes (which facilitate the digestion of food and are at the origin of certain virtues of honey) are destroyed by an exaggerated heating of honey that it is necessary thus always to avoid.
Several natural factors Antibiotique S, gathered under the generic name of Inhibine, which are in fact of powerful Bactériostatique S, i.e. they prevent the development of the Bactérie do not kill S but them.
many other various biological substances:

a cholinergic principle near to the Acetylcholine,
an estrogen principle ,
of the Flavonoïde S equipped with multiples and interesting physiological properties,
of the alcohol S and Ester S,
of the aromatic substances which not only give the Arôme (like the Phenylacetic acid) and the specific Goût of a given honey, but which have also virtues Thérapeutique S,
of the matters Pigment surfaces, specific to each honey, which give him its clean Couleur.

And finally of the grains of Pollen which sign the origin Botanique of it.

Elementary chemical composition

From a point of view analyzes elementary, honey is thus primarily composed of Carbone, Hydrogène and Oxygène (component basic of the organic compounds). The contents of others cation mineral elements are in the following ranges, in mg/kg (Ppm): Honey is acid, with a pH estimated between 4,31 and 6,02.

Production

See too

External bonds

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