Track Order
Lifespan Of Honey Bees
Increased Aggression and Reduced Aversive Learning: Knowing The Causes Behind This Problem
What is Honey? Why Geohoney? 
Honey Worldwide 
Bees Also Dance And Dream: Some Interesting Facts About Them 
Facts About Honey Bee Queen 
Global Honey Statistics 
Significance Of Pollination In Beekeeping 
Hive Management in Beekeeping 
Honey & Beeswax Extraction in Beekeeping 
Honey Bee Queen in Beekeeping 
Difference Between Honeycombs & Bee Nests 
Polyfloral Honey 
Monofloral Honey 
Amazing Facts of Honey Bee 
Types of Honey Bees 
Plants & Flowers Producing True Honey 
Bee Keeping In Honey Business 
Honey Glossary 
Anotomy of Honey Bee 
Colonies of Honey Bee 
Honey Preservation: Best Practices That Keeps It Healthy For A Longer Time 
Undiscovered Secrets of World Best Honey 
Ways Of Attracting Honey Bees 
How To Protect Honey Bees in Beekeeping? 
Pollination by Honey Bees 
Fascinating Honey Bee Dance 
Honey Beekeeping Tips For Beginners 
Ancient Significance of Honey Bees 
Incredible Body Structure of Honey Bees 
Significance Of Honey Bee Garden 
Beekeeping in India 
Honey Bee Health Issues: Potential Reasons Of Bee Colony Collapse 
Details of Honey Bee Trap 
Best Plants For Honey Bees 
Honey Bee Farming 
Honey Bee Swarms 
Knowing The Adverse Impacts Of Climate Change On Flowering Plants And Bees 
Honey Bee Farming As A Hobby: A Great Step To Minimize The Decrease Of Honey Bee Population 
An Overview On Medicinal Benefits Of Raw Honey 
Fruitful Trees For The Lovely Bees That Help Producing The Best Honey 
Bee Honey: History Of This Natural Sweetener As Food, As Medicine & In Culture 
Wonderful Facts About Honey Bees That Are Sure To Fascinate The Kids 
Monofloral Honey: 7 Best Types And Their Never-Ending Benefits 
Increased Aggression and Reduced Aversive Learning: Knowing The Causes Behind This Problem 
Everything About The Numerous Varieties Of Honey Available All Around The World & Their Holistic Benefits 
Becoming A Beekeeper Is A New Career Option To Protect The Little Bees & Ecosystem 
An All-Inclusive Guide To Learn How And Where To Build Up Your Own Honey Bee Colonies 
Apiculture – All You Need To Know About Its Importance In Human Lives 
The Apidae Family: Everything You Need To Know About This Honey Bees Specie 
Veterinary Diagnostic Of Honey Bee Diseases: A Valuable Approach To Save Little Pollinators 
Exploring The Amazing Honey Varieties Produced By Little Honey Bees 
Beekeeping As A Hobby: Myths That Are Must To Avoid 
Knowing How Caffeine Can Boost Bees Focus? 
Knowing Everything About The Fascinating Honey Bee Biology 
Types Of Bees - Diet, Habitat And Their Impact 
Honey Bees Have The Amazing Ability To Learn Odd & Even Numbers - Read More! 
Are Honey Bees Helping The Environment? Let's Know The Truth! 
Video Recordings Are A New Way Of Understanding Rare Honey Bee Behaviors 
Honey & Its Importance In Different World Religions 
Natural Honey - Its Neurological Effect Is Worth Knowing! 
Acacia Honey: Characterization Of This Popular Honey Based On Physicochemical Parameters And Chemometrics 
Prevalence Of Honey Bees In Ancient Art & Human History 
Increasing Sickness Rate Of Wild Bumble Bees – What's The Key Factor? 
Bees Can Search And Remember Flowers Just Like Humans: Know How! 
Swarming Bees: What Is It All About And Are They Dangerous? 
Honey Bees Are In Love With Small Urban Gardens – Know Why? 
Himalayan Salt Lamps – A Detailed Info 
Bee Pollen - Composition, Uses and Benefits Of This Healthy Bee Product 
Buckwheat Honey - Know All About This Unique Flavored Honey 
Honey Bees - Diving Into The World Of Lovely Pollinators 
Royal Jelly - Surprising Health Benefits Of This Wonderful Bee Product 
What Is The Secret Behind The Hexagonal Shape Of Honeycomb Cells? 
Memory Formation In Bees – They Can Remember Exact Odors Soon After A Single Learning Experience 
Importance Of Social Networks In Studying Life Of The Honey Bees 
Uncovering The Hidden Superpowers Of Honey Bees 
What Is More Interesting Than Honey In A Beehive? 
African Beekeepers Teach Great Ways To Build Strong Bee Colonies 
How Bees And Birds Beneficial In Coffee Farming? 
Common Weed Killer – Good For Animals But Bad For The Bees! 
Asymmetrical Development Of Bees Wings Is Due To Climate Stress 
Environmental Threats And Concerns On Bees 
Bumble Bees Play With Toys and Might Even Enjoy It 
Social Distancing is now seen even in Honeybees 
Biodiversity and Habitat Quality affects Bee Health 
Introduction to Bee Venom Therapy: A General Overview of What Bee Venom Therapy is? 
Honey in Folklore and Mythology 
The Role of Carniolan Honey Bees in Agricultural Ecosystems 
How Honey Bees Communicate Through Chemical Signals 
Exploring the World of Himalayan Salt Lamps 
Bumble Bees Warm Up While Carrying Pollen 
Carpenter Bees Unearthing Intriguing Insights 
Mason Bee Detection and Qualities 
Characteristics of Africanized Honey Bees 
Propolis: The Power of Beekeeping 
Climate Change: A Work in Progress 
A Comprehensive Guide to the Tawny Mining Bee 
Bee-Friendly Farming Practices 
The Comprehensive Guide to Honeybee Diseases and Pests 
History of Honeybee Domestication 
Traditional and Modern Use of Raw Honey in Medicine 
Historical Insights and Potential Future of the Global Honey Industry 
The Bees Knees: Exploring Honey in the Digital Age 
Honeycombs Role in Rituals and Research 
Organic Sugar: Beyond Just a Sweetener Complex Chemistry Behind Natures Best Superfood Honey
Reading Time: 3 minutes, 46 seconds Post Views: 2082Who said only humans know the science? Bees know it too, in fact, better. Thus, they produce nature's best product, and we call it HONEY. Therefore, bees are called the greatest scientist and producers. However, it does not get ready in a day or two; there is lots of chemistry and stringent process behind it, which begins with collecting nectar.
In the end, we get a natural viscous supersaturated solution. It seems simple, but it's tough!
We have explained this complex composition of honey easily so that you can understand how hard bees work.
Beginning of Honey Making
The process of honey-making begins with the extraction of nectar found in the nectarines gland of flowers. It is a slightly sweet colorless liquid that mainly consists of sucrose and has high water content. Bees convert this nectar into honey through hydrolysis and evaporation that takes a few days and teamwork. Here is each step explained:
Nectar Collection
Bees suck or fill up nectar in their honey stomach (a separate area in their digestive tract). It takes around an hour to fill nectar weighing around 50 percent of their body weight. Most of the nectar is used for making honey, whereas the rest is used as a source of food and storage.
Sugar Breakdown
Nectar is a mixture of complex sugar composition and water. Around 70-80 percent of nectar is water; therefore, it's less viscous. Sucrose is the major sugar found in nectar, which is a complex sugar known as a disaccharide. However, it is hard to digest; thus, bees breakdown sucrose into monosaccharide (simple sugar).
Bees perform this tough task of breakdown with the help of their digestive enzymes. Following enzymes are used up in the process:
- Invertase is the major enzyme as it breakdown the complex sugar in nectar into glucose and fructose.
- Amylase is added during the process of ripening of nectar. It further breakdown the glucose into smaller molecules.
- Glucose is further converted into
gluconolactone by an enzyme called glucose oxidase. After this step,
hydrogen peroxide and gluconic acid as by-products are obtained.
Glucose oxidase also maintains the pH value of honey acidity, and prevents the growth of bacteria. - Catalase converts the peroxide into
oxygen and water.
- Acid phosphorylase separates the organic and inorganic phosphates from the remaining product.
No single bee can perform
this entire process of hydrolysis; it takes teamwork. The collected nectar is
thus, transferred to forager bees, who add more enzymes to it. It is then
passed to other bees and continues for 20 minutes or until 20 percent of water
is left in the nectar.
Evaporation
The hydrolyzed nectar is
then stored in the honeycomb and evaporated. Bees continuously flutter their
wings and maintain the temperature up to 35 degrees C to reduce the water
content from processed nectar.
The process continues until the water reduces to 18 percent. However, it increases the concentration of sugar in the nectar, making it a supersaturated solution.
Honey remains in the best
condition when stored at a lower temperature. But at high-temperature, honey
chemistry undergo several changes.
How Does Temperature Affect Honey Chemistry?
Temperature can change the
chemistry and physical appearance of honey. Here's how.
Crystallization
The high amount of glucose in honey can form
crystals, thus increasing the chances of fermentation. To prevent this, honey
bees seal the honeycomb's top with beeswax so that moisture and glucose do not
form crystals. Do not shake or preserve honey at high temperatures as it
results in crystallization.
Viscosity
Real honey is thick however, keeping it at a high
temperature affects viscosity. The higher the temperature, less is the
viscosity and vice versa.
Caramelization
Honey has a pH value of 4, which means it is less acidic. This slightly acidic nature of honey can result in browning or caramelization when heated. It happens due to the breakdown and reformation of molecular bonds upon heating. It is called the Maillard reaction.
Besides temperature, moisture content also affects honey chemistry. Therefore, it is always kept covered as moisture in the surrounding can ferment the honey. However, little moisture is needed for preservation, but fermentation begins when the moisture level goes beyond 25 percent.
Bees ensure that neither temperature nor moisture affects the honey stored in the honeycomb. Truly, they are the world's best chemists. Humans can only best preserve this hard work by bees keeping temperature and storage requirements in mind.
Geohoney offers the best monofloral varieties of honey without compromising with it’s taste, texture, and viscosity.
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