Honey Facts & Information

By Jeff Erb and the National Honey Board

Honey & Honeybee Facts

Did You Know?

• There are more than 300 unique kinds of honey in the United States, originating from such diverse floral sources as Clover, Eucalyptus and Orange Blossom.
• Bees may travel as far as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey.
• Honeybees pollinate flowers. Without pollination, you wouldn't get many fruits and vegetables.
• Honeybees’ wings stroke 11,400 times per minute, thus making their distinctive buzz.
• Honey has more nutritious elements than refined sugar. It's a concentrated source of energy - quickly digested and readily absorbed - and contains no fat. Honey is pure because no other ingredients are added.
• Honey is primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains other sugars as well as trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids.
• Honey is one of our safest foods. Many harmful germs cannot live in honey for any length of time.

The Colony

Honeybees are social insects, with a marked division of labor between the various types of bees in the colony. A colony of honeybees includes one queen, workers and drones.

THE QUEEN - The queen is the largest bee in the colony. She is the only bee to lay eggs. A productive queen can lay 3,000 eggs in a single day.

THE DRONES - Drones are stout male bees, which have no stingers. Drones do not collect food or pollen from flowers. Their sole purpose is to mate with the queen. If the colony is short on food, drones are often sent out of the hive.

THE WORKERS – Workers are the smallest bees in the colony. A colony can have 50,000 to 60,000 workers. Workers feed the queen and larvae, collect nectar, produce wax combs, guard the hive entrance and help to keep the hive cool by fanning their wings. Their life expectancy is approximately 28 to 35 days, more during the winter. Worker bees spend half of their life working within the hive and the other half in the fields gathering nectar and pollen.

The Honeybees' Second Shift

Honeybees not only produce honey, they also pollinate flowers. Pollination is the fertilization of a flowering plant. It occurs when pollen is transferred from the male parts of a flower to the female parts of the same or another flower. Without pollination, you wouldn't get many fruits and vegetables.

DID YOU KNOW? About one-third of the human diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and honeybees are responsible for 80 percent of this pollination.

*Excerpts courtesy of the National Honey Board. www.honey.com*

Honey’s Nutrition & Health Benefits

Honey has more nutritious elements than refined sugar. Honey is a source of simple carbohydrates primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains other sugars as well as small amounts of a wide array of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants. Honey contains no fat. Honey is pure because no other ingredients are added.

A Quick Concentrated Source of Energy - As a rich source of simple carbohydrates, honey provides a quick and concentrated source of energy quickly digested and readily absorbed. Recent studies suggest that honey’s unique mixture of sugars help in preventing fatigue and enhancing athletic performance.

Vitamins, Minerals and Amino Acids in Every Bite - The vitamins found in honey may include (depending on floral variety) niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid; minerals present include calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and zinc. Just as the color and flavor of honey varies by floral source, so does the vitamin, mineral, antioxidant and amino acid content.

Antioxidants in Honey - Honey has a phytochemical profile which includes polyphenols that can act as antioxidants. Antioxidants perform the role of eliminating free radicals, which are reactive compounds in the body. Free radicals are created through the normal process of metabolism and contribute to many serious diseases.

Honey’s Antimicrobial Properties and Benefits to Wound Healing - Honey’s unique composition makes it an effective antimicrobial agent, useful for treating minor burns and scrapes, and for aiding the treatment of sore throats and other bacterial infections. The anti-inflammatory action of honey may reduce pain and may improve circulation, which hastens the healing process.

Color & Flavor of Honey

Honeys differ in color and flavor depending on what blossoms the honeybees visit in search of nectar. Honey color ranges from almost colorless to dark amber brown and its flavor varies from delectably mild to richly bold. As a general rule, light-colored honey is milder in taste and dark-colored honey is stronger.

HONEY FLORAL VARIETALS

• ALFALFA - Alfalfa is a legume with blue flowers. It blooms throughout the summer and is ranked as the most important honey plant in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon and most of the western states. Alfalfa honey is white or extra light amber in color with a fine flavor. The honey also has good body, which makes it a perfect table honey.
• AVOCADO - Avocado honey is gathered from California avocado blossoms. Avocado honey is dark in color, with a rich, buttery taste.
• BUCKWHEAT - Buckwheat plants grow best in cool, moist climates. The buckwheat plant prefers light and well-drained soils, although it can thrive in highly acid, low fertility soils as well. Buckwheat is usually planted in the spring. It blooms quite early and it yields a dark brown honey of strong, distinct flavor.
• CLOVER - Clovers are the most popular honey plants in the United States. White clover, alsike clover, and the white and yellow sweet clover plants are the most important for honey production. Depending on location and source, clover honey varies in color from waterwhite to extra light amber and has a mild, delicate flavor.
• EUCALYPTUS - Eucalyptus is one of the larger plant genera with over 500 distinct species and many hybrids. Eucalyptus honey varies greatly in color and flavor, but in general, it tends to be a bold-flavored honey with a slightly medicinal aftertaste.
• ORANGE BLOSSOM - Orange blossom honey is often a combination of citrus floral sources. Orange is a leading honey source in southern Florida, Texas, Arizona and California. Orange trees bloom in March and April and produce a white to extra light amber honey with a distinctive flavor and the aroma of orange blossoms.
• SAGE - Sage honey can come from different species of the plant. Sage shrubs usually grow along the California coast and in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Sage honey has a mild, delicate flavor. It is generally white or water-white in color.
• WILDFLOWER - Wildflower honey is often used to describe honey from miscellaneous and undefined flower sources.

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