KNOW YOUR HONEY

What is Honey?

Honey is ‘food’ (Nectar) collected by bees for themselves and their young ones. Bees collect nectar from flowers and convert it to honey with the help of enzymes. This honey stored in a Honeycomb cell and sealed with beeswax so that it can be used later on by the bees. Honey from this honeycomb is then collected by humans for its taste and other health benefits.

Traditionally, Honey was collected from bee-hives built by Bees in forest or next to a garden; it was then collected by Bee collectors and sold in loose for human consumption with minimal filtration, this had some impurities like micro-wax, from comb foreign particles etc. That is why Honey collected from the comb may look very different than Honey in the bottle available in your kitchen.

With demand for honey soaring, bee-keepers rear bees in bee-boxes, they provide bees a place to stay, breed and collect honey. Honey collected is sent for processing for human consumption. Honey collected from various regions is mixed, blended, processed and packed as final Zandu Pure Honey.

Physically - Honey may vary in its colour and appearance due to nature of flowers from which nectar is taken and also due to amount of filtration & processing conducted on raw honey. Natural honey colour may vary from brown to dark brown to Amber. Its consistency and thickness also varies.

Chemically - Honey is a super saturated solution mostly made up of ‘simple carbohydrates’ like Fructose & Glucose with a very limited quantity of Sucrose, Maltose etc. Nectar collected by bees is mostly Sucrose which due to enzymatic activity in bee’s stomach gets broken down into Fructose & Glucose. Being a super saturated solution Honey has a natural tendency to crystallize.

Myths & Facts

Crystallized honey is Impure & contains Sugar

This is a Myth. Honey tends to crystallize at low temperatures or with time, leading to this myth that Honey is not pure and contains sugar. But the fact is that Honey naturally contains Fructose & Glucose. Higher percentage of Glucose present in the honey crystallizes with time and at low temperature. Crystallized honey can be liquefied by simply placing it in sun or hot water.

Honey can be consumed by Diabetic patients

This is a myth. Fact remains that Honey contains simple carbohydrates like Fructose & Glucose thus it is not advisable for Diabetic patients to consume Honey. However, our ancient knowledge from Vedas & Scriptures, suggests consumption of honey in small quantity is good because of many do-good factors. Best is to consult one’s physician before to follow any dietary recommendation.

Honey contains no cholesterol

Yes, it is a fact – Honey does not contain any Cholesterol at all.

Honey is sweeter than Table Sugar

This is definitely a fact - honey is sweeter compared to table sugar because of presence of fructose. Fructose is sweeter thus it is a good sweetener and works well even with a small quantity. Because of this, most people use less of it, especially for their coffee or tea.
Also, modern science suggests that Fructose is a better option than Glucose. Honey with high F: G ratio is beneficial as compared to table sugar.

Honey does not spoil and can be stored in an open container

This certainly is a myth because honey will absorb moisture from the air if it is left uncovered and this will cause fermentation to occur. So be sure to store your honey properly so you can enjoy its full goodness.

You should never use a metal spoon to scoop honey

This is a myth. Even though honey is acidic, it only takes a few seconds to scoop out honey with a metal spoon so the spoon will not get corroded at all. It is always advisable to use clean and dry spoon, having no trace of water.

Honey contains a very small amount of fat

This is another common myth people have about honey. The fact is honey is totally fat free.

It's best to mix honey in hot water

No, this is another myth, too. Addition of super-hot water to honey will reduce its taste and aroma. It can also destroy some of the natural enzymes in honey that are healthy for you.