When the modern archaeologists excavated the Egyptian tombs, they found honey as the eternal testament that can be preserved for years to come. Among the tomb’s artefacts, the food remains unmistakable with a long shelf life.
Honey has a global history and almost all species of bees store honey. They have been used to sweeten dishes, treat skin ailments, and wounds. Even the court ladies in ancient China made their masks to keep their skin plump. But there are different kinds of honey more than you know than a typical store bright one.
In this article, you learn the types of honey and their medicinal properties that bridged the gap between honey bees and humans.
What is Honey? Why is Supermarket honey not the best choice?
When it comes to looks-wise, honey is thick in consistency and golden liquid in color. It is produced by beads using the nectar from flowering plants. The process involves bees storing the nectar inside the beehive for feeding in time of need.
Nectar is a sugary sweet liquid taken from the flowers by the bee’s tube-shaped tongue. In turn, the nectar mixes with the enzymes that will eventually transform the chemical composition, which makes it ideal for storage.
Honey bees aren’t the only ones to enjoy this sweet liquid; humans, badgers, bears, and other animals also love this great sweetener. Till sugar became known as a widely available sweetener, honey was the primary ingredient.
It is well known for its taste and aroma and differs from flower to flower. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the composition of honey below.
What is the composition of honey? Details of Honey Composition
76% of honey is composed of sugar, 18% of water, and other ingredients giving it heavenly sweetness characteristics. The sugar in honey is not just one kind, but it has three types of sugar: fructose, glucose, and sucrose.
Not only this, but the other ingredients included in the sugar are-
- Minerals: It is a part of honey that makes it fit for human consumption. The minerals in honey include potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, phosphorus, calcium, and silicon.
- Proteins are another ingredient that comes from pollen and nectar.Â
- Vitamins are available in honey at a moderate level.
- Essentials oils are responsible for the aroma of honey.
- Acids are another component that is believed to be inserted by bees as bee venom to make it conserved.
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9 Types of Honey You Must Know With Health Benefits
Here are the types of honey that you must be aware off:-
1. Litchi Honey
Litchi honey is one of the top types of honey that has enormous health benefits. The version of the honey is gluten-free and is sourced from litchi orchards organically. Their composition is very light and aides in many digestion related issues.
2. Buckwheat Honey
Buckwheat honey is nutritious in many ways. This honey is made by the bees who buzz around and collect nectar from, you guessed it, buckwheat flowers. The flowers are very tiny. Hence the bees work very hard to collect the nectars.Â
Compared to traditional honey, buckwheat is a type of honey that is not as sweet but higher in antioxidants. The Honey color may vary from dark purple to black, and it is rich in vitamins.
3. Manuka Honey
Manuka Honey is widely made in New Zealand, and Australia as the native bees take the nectar from Manuka bush. It is majorly known for its antibacterial qualities.
It boosts the production of cells that helps in repairing the tissues damaged through infections. Moreover, it is rich in vitamins like B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and minerals like copper, potassium, zinc, and sodium.Â
4. Sage Honey
Sage Honey is another one of the honey types prominently known as Salvia in its botanical name. It has a unique taste, color, and smell. The nectar is derived from a popular plant called sage, which is a well-used herb.
The color of the honey is close to black and was widely cultivated on California coasts. It has several healing features; fresh sage leaves used in cooking and dressing in pasta. If you are breastfeeding, avoid using sage as it reduces breast milk production.
5. Acacia Honey
A honey connoisseur will know the beauty and taste of acacia honey. It is considered one of the lightest and most transparent kinds of honey among different types of honey.Â
Not only that, Acacia honey is purest in taste, and people who don’t like the taste of honey can taste it and become.Â
6. Tupelo Honey
Tupelo is another one of the honey types in which the praise goes as far as a 1971 song and album to its decision. Honey is very rare to find due to its impossibility to harvest in time.Â
When it comes to Tupelo honey’s health benefits, it is suitable for glucose and blood sugar levels as it is high in fructose content.
7. Sourwood Honey
Sourwood honey is classified as pure and raw, which hails from the Appalachian Mountains. The richness and taste of this make it one of a kind due to its buttery sweetness. Not only that, it leaves an aftertaste at the end, making it more delicious.
The bees collect nectar from sourwood tree flowers, which only blooms during peak seasons. Typically, the type of honey is well known for its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.Â
8. Clover Honey
Clover honey has a lot to offer when health is concerned. It is quite famous because of its mid floral and sweet taste. The syrupy texture and thickness make it hard to resist for all honey enthusiasts.Â
Compared to table sugar, clover honey has more flavor, and people commonly use it to sweeten tea and desserts. When it comes to medicinal properties, it is high in antibacterial qualities and provides a calming effect on people with sore throats.
9. Lavender Honey
Lavender honey is one of the premium types of honey that is extraordinary in taste. The dark presence of honeydews lingers in the mouth with a tinge of salty notes too.Â
It is derived from the nectar of Lavandula angustifolia flowers, which are quite aromatic. This is why the honey leaves a subtle scent of lavender. From ancient times, honey is used to remedy various conditions such as colds and throat infections.Â
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Some of the Cool Facts of Honey You Must Know
We know honey is a yummy substance produced by honeybees. Let us make some things clear about honey which you probably did not know
- Honey is only 20% water and 80% SUGAR.
- A single honey bee can produce one and a half teaspoon of honey in their lifetime.
- Two million flower visits are required to make one pound of honey.Â
- One a single trip out of the hive, a honey bee will have to visit 50 yo 100 flowers.
- Honey is the food item that has all the necessary ingredients to sustain life
- If you seal honey in an airtight container, it does not spoil and has an eternal shelf life.
- Since the substance is inhabitable to bacteria, honey is incredibly medicinal.
- There are more than 20000 species of bees, but only a fraction can make honey.
- Mexican honey wasp also produces honey on a large scale.
- Bees have been preparing honey for millions of years.
What do you think is the sweetest honey?
The sweetness of the honey is decided by the existence of a high level of fructose. That’s why the sweetest of all honey must have the most fructose. When comparing the sweetness, it is essential to measure fructose, sucrose, melezitose, glucose, and maltose.
According to research, it is found that Locust honey is the sweetest while honeydew topped the rank of least sweet.
Although sweetness is not the important part when experiencing the taste of honey, it is safe to say that it never hurts to know which is sweet. Locust honey sored a sweetness score of 120.64 with Tupelo at 119.99.
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Which is the Rarest Kind of Honey?
Among various types of honey, some rarest forms are considered rare and pure of them all. It is none other than Pitcairn honey, which is perfect in all conditions. This honey is made on the island of Pitcairn as there is no pollution on the island.
The location is a tiny volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which has only 48 inhabitants. It is considered the rarest and purest of all kinds of honey because the bees on the island have not been exposed to any diseases or chemicals that could injure their species.Â
On the other hand, Mangrove honey is harvested in hives, which is made from the nectar of mangrove flowers. During the devastation of cyclone Dean in 2007, this honey almost disappeared off the earth’s face; that’s why mangrove honey is considered another rarest of honey in the world.
What are the Pros and Cons of Honey
Honey is usually advertised as the best alternative for sugar. But all may not seem on the bright side. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of eating honey.
Pros of Eating Honey |
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What do people think about using honey| According to internet research, interviews, and opinions?
Let’s take a look at the screenshots to know what people think about different kinds of honey.
Conclusion
Everybody knows that honey tastes good, and they are also a good source of quick energy and health benefits. But too much honey intake can be quite bad as they are high in sugar and calorie content.
Overall, from the above collection of honey, make sure to buy little quantities, taste it, and pick a favorite. Each honey type is a specialty so that you can choose the right one depending on your usage.
FAQs
1. How many types of honey are there?
There are three hundred different types of honey in the United States alone. It is differentiated by its unique color, texture, and syrupy taste.
2. Which is the darkest honey?
Buckwheat honey is considered the darkest of all honey as thor flavor is quite strong.
3. Does honey expire?
Honey, which is taken care of properly and stored in containers, can be stable for centuries. But if the honey undergoes physical or chemical change during the storage phase, it may lose its aroma and flavor.
