References
DONER, L. W. 1977. THE SUGARS OF HONEY-A REVIEW. Journal of Science and Agriculture.
TOWNSEND, G. F. 1961. PREPARATION OF HONEY FOR MARKET. 24 p. Ontario Department of Agriculture Publication 544.
WHITE, J. W. JR. 1975. HONEY. In Grout, R. A., ed., The hive and the honey bee, p. 491-530. Dadant & Sons, Inc., Hamilton, Ill.
1975. COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF HONEY. In E. Crane, ed., Honey Review, p. 157-239. Heinemann, London.
M. L. RIETHOP, M. H. SUBERS, and I. KUSHNIR. 1962. COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN HONEYS. 124 p. U.S. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 1261.
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TABLES
TABLE 1.-Average composition of floral and honeydew honey and range of values(1) |
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Characteristic or constituent |
Floral honey |
Honeydew honey |
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Average values |
Range of values |
Average values |
Range of values |
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|
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Color(2) |
Dark half of white. |
Light half of water white to dark. |
Light half of amber. |
Dark half of extra light amber to dark. |
|
Granulating tendency(3) |
Few clumps of crystals 1/8- to 1/4-inch layer. |
Liquid to completehard granulation. |
1/16- to 1/8-inch layer of crystals. |
Liquid to complete soft granulation. |
|
Moisture |
percent |
17.2 |
13.4-22.9 |
16.3 |
12.2-18.2 |
Levulose |
do |
38.19 |
27.25-44.26 |
31.80 |
2.91-38.12 |
Dextrose |
do |
31.28 |
22.03-40.75 |
26.08 |
19.23-31.86 |
Sucrose |
do |
1.31 |
.25-7.57 |
.80 |
.44-1.14 |
Maltose |
do |
7.31 |
2.74-15.98 |
8.80 |
5.11-12.48 |
Higher sugars |
do |
1.50 |
.13-8.49 |
4.70 |
1.28-11.50 |
Undetermined |
do |
3.1 |
0-13.2 |
10.1 |
2.7-22.4 |
pH |
|
3.91 |
3.42-6.10 |
4.45 |
3.90-4.88 |
Free acidity |
|
22.03 |
6.75-47.19 |
49.07 |
30.29-66.02 |
Lactone |
|
7.11 |
0-18.76 |
5.80 |
.36-14.09 |
Total acidity(4) |
|
29.12 |
8.68-59.49 |
54.88 |
34.62-76.49 |
Lactone ÷ free acid |
|
.335 |
0-.950 |
.127 |
.007-.385 |
Ash |
percent |
.169 |
.020-1.028 |
.736 |
.212-1.185 |
Nitrogen |
do |
.041 |
0-.133 |
.100 |
.047-.223 |
Diastase(5) |
|
20.8 |
2.1-61.2 |
31.9 |
6.7-48.4 |
|
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(1) Based on 490 samples of floral honey and 14 samples of honeydew honey. (2) Expressed in terms of U.S. Department of Agriculture color classes. (3) Extent of granulation for heated sample after 6 months’ undisturbed storage. (4) Milliequivalents per kilogram. (5) 270 samples for floral honey. |
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BEEKEEPING IN THE UNITED STATES AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NUMBER 335 |
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TABLE 2.-Carbohydrate composition of honey types |
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Number of samples |
Floral type |
Dextrose |
Levulose |
Sucrose |
Maltose |
Highersugars |
|
||||||
|
|
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
23 |
Alfalfa |
33.40 |
39.11 |
2.64 |
6.01 |
.89 |
25 |
Alfalfa-sweetclover |
33.57 |
39.29 |
2.00 |
6.30 |
.91 |
5 |
Aster |
31.33 |
37.55 |
.81 |
8.45 |
1.04 |
3 |
Basswood |
31.59 |
37.88 |
1.20 |
6.86 |
1.44 |
3 |
Blackberry |
25.94 |
37.64 |
1.27 |
11.33 |
2.50 |
5 |
Buckwheat |
29.46 |
35.30 |
.78 |
7.63 |
2.27 |
4 |
Buckwheat, wild |
30.50 |
39.72 |
.79 |
7.21 |
.83 |
26 |
“Clover“ |
32.22 |
37.84 |
1.44 |
6.60 |
1.39 |
3 |
Clover, alsike |
30.72 |
39.18 |
1.40 |
7.46 |
1.55 |
3 |
Clover, crimson |
30.87 |
38.21 |
.91 |
8.59 |
1.63 |
3 |
Clover, Hubam |
33.42 |
38.69 |
.86 |
6.23 |
.74 |
10 |
Cotton |
36.74 |
39.28 |
1.14 |
4.87 |
.50 |
3 |
Fireweed |
30.72 |
39.81 |
1.28 |
7.12 |
2.06 |
6 |
Gallberry |
30.15 |
39.85 |
.72 |
7.71 |
1.22 |
3 |
Goldenrod |
33.15 |
39.57 |
.51 |
6.57 |
.59 |
2 |
Heartsease |
32.98 |
37.23 |
1.95 |
5.71 |
.53 |
2 |
Holly |
25.65 |
38.98 |
1.00 |
10.07 |
2.16 |
3 |
Honeydew, cedar |
25.92 |
25.16 |
.68 |
6.20 |
9.61 |
5 |
Honeydew, oak |
27.43 |
34.84 |
.84 |
10.45 |
2.16 |
2 |
Horsemint |
33.63 |
37.37 |
1.01 |
5.53 |
.73 |
3 |
Locust, black |
28.00 |
40.66 |
1.01 |
8.42 |
1.90 |
3 |
Loosestrife, purple |
29.90 |
37.75 |
.62 |
8.13 |
2.35 |
3 |
Mesquite |
36.90 |
40.41 |
.95 |
5.42 |
.35 |
4 |
Orange, California |
32.01 |
39.08 |
2.68 |
6.26 |
1.23 |
13 |
Orange, Florida |
31.96 |
38.91 |
2.60 |
7.29 |
1.40 |
4 |
Raspberry |
28.54 |
34.46 |
.51 |
8.68 |
3.58 |
3 |
Sage |
28.19 |
40.39 |
1.13 |
7.40 |
2.38 |
3 |
Sourwood |
24.61 |
39.79 |
.92 |
11.79 |
2.44 |
4 |
Star-thistle |
31.14 |
36.91 |
2.27 |
6.92 |
2.74 |
8 |
Sweetclover |
30.97 |
37.95 |
1.41 |
7.75 |
1.40 |
3 |
Sweetelover, yellow |
32.81 |
39.22 |
2.94 |
6.63 |
.97 |
4 |
Tulip tree |
25.85 |
34.65 |
.69 |
11.57 |
2.96 |
5 |
Tupelo |
25.95 |
43.27 |
1.21 |
7.97 |
1.11 |
7 |
Vetch |
31.67 |
38.33 |
1.34 |
7.23 |
1.83 |
9 |
Vetch, hairy |
30.64 |
38.20 |
2.03 |
7.81 |
2.08 |
12 |
White clover |
30.71 |
38.36 |
1.03 |
7.32 |
1.56 |
|
|
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
Percent |
|
|
Dextrose |
Levulose |
Sucrose |
Maltose |
Higher sugars |
BEEKEEPING IN THE UNITED STATES AGRICULTURE HANDBOOK NUMBER 335 |
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TABLE 3.- Minerals |
||
Mineral |
Light honey (p.p.m.) |
Dark honey (p.p.m.) |
Potassium |
205 |
1.676 |
Chlorine |
52 |
113 |
Sulfur |
58 |
100 |
Calcium |
49 |
51 |
Sodium |
18 |
76 |
Phosphorus |
35 |
47 |
Magnesium |
19 |
35 |
Silica |
22 |
36 |
Iron |
2.4 |
9.4 |
Manganese |
0.30 |
4.09 |
Copper |
0.29 |
0.56 |
TABLE 4.- Minimal treatments to pasteurize honey |
|
Temperature (°F): |
Heating time (minutes) |
128 |
470 |
130 |
170 |
135 |
60 |
140 |
42 |
145 |
7.5 |
150 |
2.8 |
155 |
1.0 |
160 |
0.4 |