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About

Honey

Since the earliest days honey has been a source of food and energy. From the first food-gatherers to the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans Honey sold in shops comes from honeybees. The honeybee was introduced to Australia in 1822. Honeybees were needed to fertilize (pollinate) the European crops, which were established in Australia. Bees collect nectar, pollen and water each day to take back to the hive so that future generations can live. The raw nectar comes from flowers. They mix this with secretions from their glands, thereby transforming it and after it is deposited in the comb, it ripens into honey. Honey is primarily of vegetable origin. Its sugars are formed by a mixture of the sun, water and carbon dioxide in the air.

Why honey ?
Honey is a quick, safe and natural energy giver because its simple sugars are quickly absorbed into the

blood stream. Honey contains many vitamins and minerals. Honey is made up of:

natural sugars 80% (mainly levulose, dextrose and glucose) moisture 17% mineral traces 3%.

there are probably more than 100 different ways honey can add flavour to a food.

The Gathering
Honeybees need nectar, pollen and water to feed the hive and make their honey. Beekeepers help the bees by moving the hives from time to time into areas where there is a good source of nectar and pollen.

Making the Honey


Bees need two different kinds of food. One is honey made from nectar, the sugary juice that collects in the heart of the flowers. The other comes from the anthers of flowers which contain small grains called pollen, which differ from flower to flower

The nectar is sucked from the flower and stored in a special honey stomach. When the bee is full she returns to the hive and passes the nectar by mouth to the honey making bees.

This mixture is then transferred to a honey cell in the hive. The mixture then slowly converts into honey as its moisture content drops from about 70% in the nectar to less than 18% in the honey.

Harvest Time
Once the honeycomb (or cell) in the hive is capped with beeswax it can be collected by the beekeeper (Apiarist). The honeycomb is removed from the hive by the beekeeper who uses a knife (or cutter) to take the wax capping off without damaging the rest of the honeycomb.

Honey Facts
Facts and figures, myths and folklore! Honey has always been regarded as a food which provides health advantages and as a product which has healing qualities. Medical evidence of honeys importance as a health food has not existed until recent times although its value as part of folklore medicine has always been recognized. Today, reputable research organizations around the world now take seriously both the health benefits and healing properties of honey. As a natural, unprocessed and easily digested food, honey can be regarded as an important part of our diet.

Try these suggestions for uses of honey.

Use honey instead of other sweeteners. The flavour of cakes and biscuits, particularly those which use fruit, is enhanced with honey and their keeping qualities are improved. Substitute honey for sugar in a cake. Use the same weight measure of the sweetener but reduce the liquid in the recipe by one quarter Add honey to plain cuts of meat to make exotic dishes. When basted with honey, vegetables will always be exciting if tossed in honey and butter. Add honey to creamed cheese as a spread, use it on grapefruit or as a topping for ice cream for extra goodness and flavour. Use it in your tea or coffee, cordial or cocktails. Take honey by the spoonful to give yourself extra energy in training. Honey in water makes an excellent healthy sports drink with the honey replacing glycogen levels.

Honey and Honey Bees in India


Honey and honey bees have a long history in India. Honey bees evolved in this region millions of years ago and produced honey from nectars of flowering plants that abounded in rich forests extant all over the country. Honey was the first sweet food tasted by the ancient Indian roaming in these forests. He hunted bee hives for this gift of god.

Honey Industry - a Three-way Association

Honey industry involves honey bee, flowering plants that provide food to the bees and beekeepers who manipulate bees according to the climate and vegetation for their own benefit.

Nectar and Pollen - Food of Honey Bees


Honey is the sweet liquid produced by honey bees from nectars and other sweet substances on plants by addition of their digestive enzymes and plants, mainly the nectar producing flowering plant groups. Bees get nectar, the carbohydrate food from flowers and use it for their energy requirement. Bees also collect pollen grains, the male reproductive units of flowering plants, that consist of life-supporting proteins and amino acids. Pollen provides the bees all their requirement of proteins for egg production, larval growth and general strength of the bee hive. Bees depend upon plants for their existence and growth. Honey industry involves honey bees, flowering plants and man. There are two sources of honey in India: (i) honey collected from wild bee colonies and (ii) honey produced by rearing hive bees in bee boxes kept in apiaries. It is believed that a major share in the market for honey is of the honey from the former source.

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