Honey is a sweet substance made by bees from nectar of flowers. Composed of more than 80% carbohydrates, it is an energy-rich and relatively pure food. In fact, there are two main sugars in honey: fructose and glucose, two simple sugars that do not need to be digested before being absorbed and are easily and directly assimilated by the body.

Characteristics of honey

• High in calories ;
• High in carbohydrates ;
• Source of potassium ;
• Prebiotic effect ;
• Rich in antioxidants.

Nutritional and caloric values of honey 

Per 100g of honey :

Honey is a caloric food with 304 Cal/100 g due to its high carbohydrate content.

The benefits of honey : why eat it ?

Indeed, honey is a sweet product but let us not stop there...

Prebiotic activity

Prebiotics are carbohydrates that cannot be assimilated by our body and play a role in the balance of the intestinal microflora. Honey may have a prebiotic effect on the human body by improving the growth, activity, and viability of bifidobacterial and lactobacilli in the gut microflora, bacteria that are important for good health.

Source of antioxidants

Honey is a dietary source of antioxidants. Most of these antioxidants are flavonoids. These interact to neutralise free radicals in the body, thus helping to prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases. The amount and type of flavonoids found in honey varies according to the floral source.

Antibacterial power

Certain characteristics of honey such as its low PH. Its high viscosity which limits the dissolution of oxygen and its low protein concentration, give it an important antibacterial effect.

Moreover, the possibility of preventing and treating certain minor gastrointestinal affections such as inflammation or gastric ulcers by oral administration of honey is not excluded.

Indeed, honey would reduce the adhesion of bacterial cells to the epithelial cells of the intestine, which would prevent the bacteria from attaching themselves and proliferating, in addition of making use of its anti-inflammatory properties.

High sweetening power

Honey contains about the same amount of sugar in calories as other sweeteners (white sugar, brown sugar, mayple syrup), but because it is consumed in smaller quantities. Also, since it has a lower glycaemic index, it is a better choice for people with diabetics.

A word from the nutritionist

In a 15g serving of honey, no nutrient meets the criteria to be considered a source, a good source or an excellent source. However, it is worth using it for its antibacterial and antiseptic properties.

Choosing your honey

When harvested, honey is a sweet liquid that will remain liquid or crystallised depending on its fructose and glucose content. The higher the fructose content the more liquid the honey will remain.

Honey identity card

• Type : Sweet substance ;
• Origin : South Africa ;
• Season : Spring and summer ;
• Colour : Yellow, golden ;
• Taste : Sweet 

The different varieties

There are dozens of varieties of honey available today. While the best known are based on acacia, clover, alfalfa, wild flowers, blueberry, goldenrod, apple tree or buckwheat, speciality products are multiplying: lime, sabal berry, thyme, lavender, rosemary, Vosges for aster, avocado, sage, bramble, raspberry, canola, cranberry, cotton, dandelion, eucalyptus, mint, pumkin, safflower, soya, vinegar, sunflower, orange, chesnut, etc.

Buying honey

In many countries, the name "honey" is regulated: it is an entirely natural food, to which nothing must be added, no additives, no prevervatives, no syrup, etc. In Canada, the label must bear the name of the country of production, the quality, and the floral origin (clover, wild flowers, buckwheat, etc.)

Note: Crystallization of honey is not an indication of spoilage. Many factors can cause this phenomenon. To restore its fluidity simply heat it over a low flame, which will melt the crystals.

Store well

At room temperature 18°C to 24°C, for a year or two. Honey can be kept at higher temperatures for short periods, but in case of prolonged heat, it is better to put in the refregirator. Especially avoid storing it near a heat source and make sure the container is always closed.

In the fridge, unpasteurised honey should be kept at about 10°C or even in the fridge, as it is more likely to ferment.

Preparing honey

Honey can replace sugar in all cooking. Indeed, one cup of white sugar can be replaced by ¾ of a honey cup

How to cook it? How to match it?

Here are some suggestions:

• In bread, cake, muffins, pankake, and waffle mixes, etc

• In shakes, infusions, coffee, tea, etc;

• In morning cereals, or in a yogurt topped with fresh fruits
• In salads and fruits compotes
• In sorbets, ice cream, frozen yogurt;
• Add a spoonful of honey to dipping sauces or marinades;
• Add to dressings, for example, serve a sauce of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and mustard on a salad of watercress, thin slices of sweet onion and orange segments;

• Oriental salad: mix baby spinach with julienned white radish and carrots, and bean sprouts. Drizzle with a dressing of oil, rice vinegar and honey, topped with dry roasted sesame seeds, grated ginger, and garlic, and if desired, hot pepper;

• Mix walnuts, hazelnuts or other oilseeds with honey, a little butter, cinnamon and orange peel, and roast in the oven;
• Glaze small onions, carrot rings, pepper strips, etc..., by first frying them in butter or oil until soft, and then adding honey and a little bit of vinegar. Finish cooking over high heat stirring well.
• Or vegetables (Chinese cabbage, carrot, green onion, snow peas, shiitake mushroom) in sesame oil; when cooked but still firm, add soy sauce with honey.
• Toast sweet corn and top with a mixture of softened butter (125 g) and honey (75 g), season with chili powder. Serve with lime wedges;

• Cut the flesh of a cooked squash in cubes and place in a baking dish. Mix honey (60g) and chopped nuts (60g) with a few spoonsful of butter and sultanas, pour over the squash and bake for 10-15minutes in a 240°C oven;

• Cook the parsnips in water, drain, cut into sticks and place in a casserole dish. Cover with a mixture of equal parts of water and honey and bake for about 10minutes in an oven set at 175°C (350°F);

• Grill or barbecue vegetables (potatoes, red and green peppers, courgette, aubergine, and onions) with honey and a little white wine, seasoned with minced garlic and thyme;
• Add a spoonful or two of honey to borscht, gazpacho, squash or carrot soup, or cold fruit soup;
• Honey, garlic and cumin hummus: Blend (cooked chickpeas with lemon juice, honey, garlic, cumin powder, cayenne pepper and chopped coriander or parsley. Serve with pita bread
• Cranberry Orange Salsa: Process cranberries with orange, orange zest, hot pepper, ginger, cilantro and parsley in a food processor. Add orange juice concentrate and honey and blend. Serve with poultry of your choice.
• Tomato chutney: Squeeze the tomatoes to remove as much juice as possible. Reserve the juice for another use. Dice the tomatoes and cook them for about an hour over low heat with honey, basil, and cloves. Cool before serving
• Mix about 175mg of sugar-free peanut butter with 125g of honey and one tsp of cinnamon. Serve as a spread on bread;
• Grilled fish with honey sauce: mix equal parts water, lemon juice and white wine and place on the heat; add a little corn-starch, chopped garlic, lemon zest and herbs of choice (tarragon, thyme, parsley, basil) and cook until the sauce thickens. Keep warm. Grill the fish fillets and serve with the sauce.
• Fry the chicken breasts in oil and keep warm. Fry the garlic and onion, add a tin of crushed tomatoes, white wine (about 12.5 cl), honey (about 90 g), thyme and tarragon, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the chicken and pitted black olives to the sauce, cook for a few minutes and serve;
• Poultry or fish tagine: brown the pieces of poultry or fish, put them in a tagine dish (or other earthenware dish), drizzle with honey (about 60 g) and the juice of one lemon, add chopped onion and garlic, a cinnamon stick and turmeric. Cover with dried apricots soaked in water, cover and bake for two hours in an oven set at 175°C. Serve over rice;

• Honey is also the basic ingredient of mead, a drink made by the alcoholic fermentation of honey with water added.

Contraindications and allergies to honey

The consumption of honey may have a disadvantage for infants that should not be overlooked.

Risk of infant botulism

Honey is the only food known in Canada to cause infant botulism. Infant botulism is a rare disease caused by ingestion of spores from the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Because the intestinal microbial flora of a child under one year of age is immature, it does not allow it to digest these spores quickly enough to prevent germination. This germination in the gut allows the production of a neurotoxin that causes a variety of symptoms, including death. The spores of Clostridium botulinum are probably carried by bees that would come into contact with them in the air, dust and soil. Unfortunately, the pasteurization treatment applied to honey does not destroy them and therefore does not prevent cases of infant botulism. Consequently, Health Canada recommends that honey should not be given to infants under one year of age.

Honey and alcohol go well together

The simultaneous consumption of honey and alcohol reduces the effects of the alcohol. A study conducted in 2005 among young healthy men revealed that the concomitant consumption of alcohol and honey would increase the speed of ethanol elimination in the blood by nearly 30%. This faster elimination of ethanol would reduce the time taken for the human body to become intoxicated, i.e. the time required to reach zero alcohol in the blood, but above all it would reduce the intensity of the symptoms caused by this intoxication by about 5%. But moderation tastes much better!

Story of the honey

The term "miel", which appeared in the language in the 10th century, comes from the Latin mel.

Honey is one of those foods that one cannot imagine has always existed. Long before humans mastered the manufacture of tools or the construction of beehives, they collected honey in the wild, usually from hollow trunks, but also from under mossy rocks or even from small pits dug in the ground. This food has accompanied the most ancient civilisations in their evolution and, from time immemorial, it has been associated with a rich symbolism, including that of being the substance of the gods. The Sumerians and Babylonians used it in their religious rituals, while the Egyptians embalmed their dead with it. For the Hebrews, the promised land was the land of milk and honey.

Dear, jujube honey

Honeys are like perfumes. Their price can vary considerably depending on where they are produced, the properties attributed to them, the type of bee producing them, the plant foraged and the abundance of the harvest. In France, for example, Vosges fir honey is considered the best. But the most expensive honey in the world would be that of the wild jujube tree, produced in Yemen. The popularity of this honey is due to its aphrodisiac properties and its rarity.

Depending on the culture, honey is an elixir of long life, food of foods, drink of drinks, medicine of medicines, and has been credited with many medicinal properties. It was also used to preserve food. In the fifth century, the historian Herodotus wrote that the Greeks went hunting for pheasants in what is now Georgia, immersing them in amphorae filled with honey for the return journey.

The bee, which appeared on Earth 80 million years ago, was just as revered as the honey it produces: "messenger of the gods", "acolyte of the Great Goddess", "insect that rubs shoulders with God", "sunlight", no qualifier was too strong to describe this insect, which belongs to the Apidae family and whose most widespread species in beekeeping is Apis mellifera, for which four main races and numerous local ecotypes are known.

However, the honeybee is not the only bee that produces honey. In America, before its introduction by European settlers in the 17th century, the South American Indians kept the small melipona (Melipona spp.) for this purpose, which is characterised by its lack of a stinger and the particular flavour of its honey.

To go further

Ecology and environment

Einstein is credited with saying, "If the bee were to disappear from the face of the earth, humanity would have only a few years to live."

Apart from the honey they produce, bees play an important role in agriculture as they are essential for the pollination of many plants with which they have evolved over the millennia. Lemons, oranges, almonds, apples, courgettes, cucumbers, melons and watermelons would not exist without them. As an indication, their contribution to the US GDP is estimated at 15 billion dollars, with honey accounting for only a tiny part of this amount. But these essential insects, which used to be found everywhere - in pastures, forests, gardens - are becoming increasingly rare. As a result, farmers are now having to pay for the services of a beekeeper, sometimes from far away, to pollinate their crops.

This is the case in California, which produces two-thirds of the world's almonds, and where bees are dying in large numbers, victims among other things of varroa, a mite that feeds on their blood. This parasite is said to be the main cause of death for Apis mellifera in the world. Originally from South-East Asia, it only appeared in the United States in 1987, and until recently, its proliferation was limited by the use of pesticides. Unfortunately, it has developed a resistance to the two main pesticides allowed on the market. During the almond blossom season, California has to import hives from Florida at high cost.

In Europe, the varroa mite, which arrived in 1982, seems to be under control. French specialists who are following the evolution of the American epidemic wonder whether the difficulties in this country are not due, above all, to the lack of genetic diversity in their herd. By subjecting bee imports to very strict conditions," writes an INRA researcher, "by pushing selection very far, they are depriving themselves of a biodiversity that would nevertheless favour resistance to parasites, because increasing diversity means increasing the probability of finding a genetic mix capable of allowing the bee to adapt.

In many countries around the world, beekeepers are rediscovering their local bees, whose ecotypes are highly diversified. They are often more resistant to disease than imported bees, and are also better adapted to the climatic conditions of the region, whether it be drought, cold, humidity, etc. Their only drawback is that they are generally less productive, so their honey is more expensive. Their only drawback is that they are generally less productive, so their honey commands a higher price.