|
|
| |
|
Honey
|
|
The numerous varieties of available honey (of Acacia, of Chestnut tree, of Heather, of Honeyed, of Beach,...) all have the important characteristic of being a food and a natural remedy, with a lot of way to use it, indeed valid and without negative consequences.
Honey, in fact, is a natural food that can be assumed by whoever, both from the thin people and from those fatter; since it is rich of fructose, it's good (used with moderation) even for diabetic person.
|
|
Brief history of honey
Honey is one of the products bearing the largest mythological tradition in all histories in the world.
In Greece where for the first time the art of apiculture took place in early prehistoric times, we can find a plethora of myths related to it. The most characteristic mythical trust that reflects honey's special value for Greeks is its consideration as the food of the Gods of Olympus known as "ambrosia".
The importance of honey for the humans is also praised in several classical texts of ancient Greece, such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Deipnosophists of Athenaeus, and in philosophical texts of Plato, Aristoteles, Democritus, and others.
The fact that Hippocrates, the father of medicine, emphasizes for the nutritional and pharmaceutical value of honey is not accidental. It is real that in ancient Greece, honey was used not only for its nutritional value but even for medical purposes inter alia.
On the other hand, honey played an extremely important role in cookery in ancient Greece as one of the basic ingredients in cooking and confectionery. Its use in ancient Greek food recipes, and it's a priority as the basic material for the preparation of sweets and delicacies, made honey use very popular in ancient Greece.
Centuries later, the art of apiculture passed to Romans and then, to the rest of the world where immediately was incorporated to several people mythology and history.
Due to its extended development in various climatic habitats, honey it is produced in the majority of the countries, consisting one important nutritional source for the mankind.
|
|
Honey Formation
Honey is laid down by bees as a food source. In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy.
By contriving for the bee swarm to make its home in a hive, people have been able to semi-domesticate the insects. In the hive there are three types of bee: the single queen bee, a seasonally variable number of drone bees to fertilize new queens, and some 20,000 to 40,000 worker bees. The worker bees raise larvae and collect the nectar that will become honey in the hive. They go out, collect the sugar-rich flower nectar and return to the hive. As they leave the flower, bees release Nasonov pheromones. These enable other bees to find their way to the site by smell.
Honeybees also release Nasonov pheromones at the entrance to the hive, which enables returning bees to return to the proper hive. In the hive the bees use their "honey stomachs" to ingest and regurgitate the nectar a number of times until it is partially digested.
It is then stored in the honeycomb. Nectar is high in both water content and natural yeasts which, unchecked, would cause the sugars in the nectar to ferment.
After the final regurgitation, the honeycomb is left unsealed. Bees inside the hive fan their wings, creating a strong draft across the honeycomb which enhances evaporation of much of the water from the nectar.
The reduction in water content, which raises the sugar concentration, prevents fermentation. Ripe honey, as removed from the hive by the beekeeper, has a long shelf life and will not ferment.
|
 |
 |
|
|
Your shopping cart
