Honey Composition, Properties, and Safety

1 . What is honey?

Nectar dehydrated to prevent spoilage. Glucose and fructose predominate to give honey its sweetness.

2 . What is the moisture range of honey?

12.2% to 22.9%

3 . What is the chief concern with harvesting honey?

To avoid fermentation (yeast growth and spoilage).

4 . What is the moisture content below which honey is safe from fermentation?

18.6% or lower

5 . How does the beekeeper avoid fermentation?

Don’t harvest honey until it is “ripe”. “Ripe” means the bees have removed enough water from the nectar to avoid fermentation. Usually capped honey will not ferment.

6 . Is it reliable to assume that when the honey is capped, it is at or below 17.1-18.6%?

That is generally true but in humid areas the honey may be more than 18.6% after it is capped.

7 . What is the normal pH of honey?

It is acidic- pH about 3.91. The sweetness of honey hides its acidity.

8 . What does it mean that honey is hydrophilic?

Honey absorbs moisture. If capped or uncapped honey is left in a humid environment it will absorb water and possibly be above 18.6%. You should extract and seal/or bottle honey once you get to the appropriate water content.

9 . How do you ascertain the % of water in honey with or without the use of an instrument?

With an instrument you can use a refractometer. Without an instrument you can gently shake the comb to see if honey rains out. This indicates there is still too much water and do not harvest

10 . When is the appropriate time to remove moisture from honey?

After supers are harvested, but before the honey is extracted.