honey and How it is made

The bees collect sugar — mainly the sugar-rich nectar of flowers — from their environment.

Once inside the beehive, they repeatedly consume, digest, and regurgitate the nectar. The nectar gets deposited into the honey comb cells. The bees fan their wings on top of the honey cell to reduce the water content of the nectar.

Once the water content in the nectar is 17%, the cells are capped with wax by the worker bees and the honey is mature and ready for harvesting. Honey mainly serves as stored food for bees. The smell, colour and taste depend on the types of flowers visited.

Nutritionally, 1 tablespoon of honey (21 grams) contains 64 calories and 17 grams of sugar, including fructose, glucose, maltose, and sucrose.

It contains virtually no fibre, fat or protein.

Where honey shines are in its content of bioactive plant compounds and antioxidants. Darker types tend to be even higher in these compounds than lighter types.

High-quality honey contains many important antioxidants. These include organic acids and phenolic compounds like flavonoids. Antioxidants have been linked to reduced risk of heart attacks, strokes, and some types of cancer. They may also promote eye health.

Honey seems to have a positive effect on cholesterol levels. It leads to modest reductions in total and “bad” LDL cholesterol while raising “good” HDL cholesterol.

When applied to the skin, honey can be part of an effective treatment plan for burns, wounds and many other skin conditions. It is particularly effective for diabetic foot ulcers.For children over one year of age, honey can act as a natural and safe cough suppressant. Some studies show that it is even more effective than cough medicine.

WHY DO HONEY CRYSTALIZE

Honey is made from th various plants each has its own characteristics and own colour. The light colour honies (citrus, aloe, acacia) also crystalizes quicker than the darker honies (bluegum, avocado). Temperature also plays a role in the crystalizing process. Cold weather will cause honey to crystalize quicker, therefore it is important to store honey at room temperature. 

Honey contains two main types of natural sugars, fructose and glucose. While fructose tends to remain dissolved, glucose has a much lower solubility and so can crystalizes much more easily. Tiny crystals starts forming in the honey at the bottom of the jar when the glucose separates from the water. Honey does not have an expiry date and does not have an end of shelf life characteristic. To decrysalize honey, put the jar in a small container and fill the container with boiled water. The heat will decrystalize the honey after a short time. NEVER heat honey in a pot on the stove or in the microwave, the process will destroy all health benefits the honey holds. 

PROPOLIS AND ITS BENEFITS

Bees also produce a compound called propolis from the sap on needle-leaved trees or evergreens. When they combine the sap with their own discharges and beeswax, they create a sticky, greenish-brown product used as a coating to seal any cracks or holes inside their hives to prevent any bacteria forming inside the hive. This is called propolis. 

Propolis is thought to have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers aren’t exactly sure why, but the bee product appears to provide protection from some bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Thousands of years ago, ancient civilizations used propolis for its medicinal properties. Greeks used it to treat abscesses. Assyrians put it on wounds and tumors to fight infection and help the healing process. Egyptians used it to embalm mummies.

Today propolis is used in various ways as a healing component: healing balms, a few drops of tincture in the throat to sooth and heel a sore throat, drops places in the mouth to cure mouth ulcers, used to treat bed sores, use a few drops in an early morning drink to boost immune system.

The taste and aroma of propolis is strong and unique and is an acquire taste but the healing effects of the tincture is amazing as a medical treatment in may ways. Propolis does not have an expiry date and does not have an end of shelf life characteristic. 

BEES AND THEIR BEESWAX

When honey bees are between 12 and 20 days old, they develop a special wax-producing gland in the abdomen of their bodies. This special gland converts sugar from the honey into a waxy substance and deposits flakes of the substance on the abdomen.

These small flakes of wax are collected by the other bees and chewed in their mouths. The bees then add these pieces of wax to a wax foundation provided by the beekeeper as a starter to assist in the comb construction. In the wild, the bees start from scratch.

Bees keep the inside of the hive at a constant temperature which makes the wax easy to manipulate and the right consistency to allow the bees to build. If the hive gets too hot the wax drips and if it gets too cold it becomes brittle.

It has been estimated that it takes 2.72kg (6lb) of honey to make 0.45kg (1lb) of wax.