Honey

Honey

Yummy… and sticky.

Honey is a food made by bees, or other insects, and the main ingredient is nectar, which is processed by the insect.
Honey bees are the most well known honey makers and produce the most common honey, and there is evidence that this type of honey has been eaten by humans for thousands of years.
Honey can absorb moisture from the air, so it is best kept in a sealed container so that it does not become fermented due to the honey’s yeast content and the increased moisture.
Honey contains a combination of almost 70% fructose and glucose, and has about the same sweetness as cane sugar.
Crystallised honey melts at 40°C to 50°C (104°F to 122°F), and if honey is heated above 70°C (158 °F), it kills the yeast content of the honey, and this is called pasteurised honey.

There are a few different types of honey, including creamed honey – a crystallised whipped honey mixture; raw honey – which usually contains small amounts of pollen and wax; and filtered honey – normally found in supermarkets.
Honey has significant nutritional and health benefits, with antiseptic, antibacterial and antioxidant properties, and has been used medicinally for at least 2,000 years.
Honey is often used to sweeten things such as drinks, used as a spread, or commonly used in cooking, and is the main ingredient in mead, a type of wine.
China, Turkey and the Ukraine produced the most honey in the world in 2012.
It is advised not to feed young children under the age of one, honey, as their young digestive system does not destroy the bacteria present in the honey, and this can cause botulism, a rare but fatal disease.