The Wide World of Honey

by Gillian Stell

Honey is one of the mysterious foods that have tickled the imagination of tech savvy people in this age.

It is difficult for them to fathom how hordes of nondescript insects can produce such an amazing product.

This wonder food is fascinating for more reasons than one, and scientists are trying to find out more uses of honey than those known so far.

We are certainly not the first civilization to recognize honey as a truly marvelous food with many redeeming qualities.  The Romans actually used honey to pay their taxes instead of gold.  While this did not happen during the entire 1,000 year reign of the Roman Empire, it nonetheless remains true that honey was used to pay taxes.

Honey was a part of the human culture even before the Roman Empire existed. Not surprisingly, it was the only sweetening agent used in cooking until the usage of the refined sugar and molasses began. Even 9,000 years old cave paintings have been found to depict honey in them.

The flowers, which the bees select to get the nectar from, are decisive in determining the taste and color of honey. Thus, you can easily get honey in different varieties having different taste and color. It is amazing to know that there are over 300 different types of honey available in the market.

The chemical composition of honey is nothing but that of a naturally refined sugar. But there is a slight difference. It has 38 percent fructose, 31 percent glucose, 1 percent sucrose, and 9 percent other sugars. It also has essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, water and small amounts of amino acids. These nutrients namely, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids make honey particularly interesting for the scientists trying to find its medicinal benefits.

What’s absolutely fascinating about honey is that it does not rot. People have found honey with mummies, which was still perfectly safe to eat. Honey does not spoil because it has bioactive agents that keep germs and bacteria away. No wonder, honey has been used as a topical treatment for burns and other wounds. It prevents the injury from becoming infected. However, honey should be stored in a cool dark place to retain its bacteria-repelling properties because if it is exposed to light and heat the bioactive agents will begin to disintegrate.

Honey is available in different varieties but the kind that we are most familiar with is liquid honey.  This is the type we use on pancakes and in tea and it is removed from the comb using a centrifuge, straining, or just simple gravity.  A person may get it "filtered" so that all of the impurities and air bubbles have been removed or they may have it "strained" where most of the impurities have been removed but some of the smaller particles and air bubbles remain.

Honey remains the only naturally refined sugar available and it has been part of human history since before recorded time.  Able to repel bacteria and still be edible after centuries of being buried with mummies, honey truly is a remarkable food.  The benefits and secrets of honey are still being revealed by scientists today and there may still be some medical miracles waiting to be discovered in honey that could really benefit all of humanity.  Even if not, honey is still one of the sweetest substances on earth that is just a treat to eat.