Many of us are frequently left wondering, even after determining that a particular floral variation of honey would be our favourite kind, “How can I choose the same floral variety of honey amongst all the many brands of Australian Bee Products from all over the world, with a huge range of costs in the market place?”
To make sure that the honey I purchase is worth the money, I keep an eye out for specific details as I make my way through the maze of various types of honey in the shops. Five essential criteria can be used to evaluate good grade honey, or honey of value, including:
Moisture content
In essence, high-quality honey contains less water. If the honey’s water content is higher than 19 percent, it will probably ferment. Wild yeasts are present in all unpasteurized honey, which is the cause. These yeasts won’t be a threat in low moisture honey because of the high concentration of sugar since osmosis will remove enough water from the yeast to put it into dormancy. The yeast may survive and start fermentation in storage in honey with a higher percentage of water.
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Due to its high hygroscopicity, honey readily absorbs moisture from the surrounding environment. Therefore, it might be challenging to produce good quality honey with a suitable low water content in locations with high humidity, which can be measured using a device called a refractometer. Raw honey, which has a moisture percentage as low as 14%, is typically seen to be more precious and therefore more expensive. Mead-making is not advised with honey that contains up to 20% water. Using two identically sized, equally-temperatured, tightly-sealed jars of honey from various sources will allow you to quickly determine how much water is included in each jar of honey. Watch the bubbles rise by turning the two jars on their sides. More water in the honey will cause bubbles to expand more quickly.
HMF(Hydroxymethylfurfural)
One of honey’s primary sugars, fructose, breaks down into HMF both slowly during storage and fast when heating. Therefore, the amount of HMF contained in honey is used as a storage guide to determine how long it should be stored for and how much heating should have occurred. The presence and accumulation of HMF in honey varies with honey type. High HMF concentrations may be a sign of overheating during the extraction process.
Flipped sugars
High quantities of HMF (more than 100 mg/kg) can potentially be a sign that inverted sugars have been added during adulteration. HMF is produced when a food acid and cane sugar (sucrose) are heated together. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) levels in several foods, such as carbonated soft drinks, can reach 1,000 mg/kg.
Conclusion: When compared to fairly mild and pleasant honeys like tulip poplar, some of the most distinctive and powerfully flavoured honey kinds, like basswood, are very light. On the Pfund Scale, honey colour is measured in millimetres. The deeper the colour of the honey, the higher its mineral content, pH readings, and levels of aroma and flavour, though this is not always the case and there are exceptions to the rule. Darker honeys have been shown to contain substantially higher levels of minerals like potassium, chlorine, sulphur, iron, manganese, magnesium, and sodium.
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