Honey Viscosity

What is honey viscosity? viscosity is a measure of the degree of liquid viscose, so honey viscosity can't a measure of the pure honey, it is just to measure the viscose level of that liquid. Some of journal and book are discuse this units but don't make you confused even this method can't detect the pure of honey. Here si the example of honey viscosity abstract from their experience.

This study compared the viscosity (thickness) of five different liquids thickened to nectar- or honey-like consistencies with a variety of thickening products. Samples were prepared using manufacturer guidelines and viscosity was measured at the recommended time to thicken (standard) and also after 10 and 30 min. Centipoise (cP) measurements of the samples were compared across products and within product lines for each level of thickness at all three time periods. Statistical analysis showed that the viscosity of a nectar- or honey-like liquid was highly dependent on the type of thickening product and the time it was allowed to thicken. Variability in viscosity measurements also was noted within a product line for thickening various liquids. Results are discussed in relation to the National Dysphagia Diet guidelines for nectar- and honey-like consistencies.

Honey Quality Standard

Water content on the honey can affect to reducing sugars, sucrose, acidity, ash, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and diastase activity are the seven honey standards chosen here to contrast differences between genuine A. mellifera honey and honey from the Meliponinae genera Melipona, Scaptotrigona and Trigona.

• Water content for Meliponinae honey should increase the maximum limit of 20 g/100 g allowed for A. mellifera up to 30 g/100 g. 
• The standard for reducing sugar should decrease the maximum limit of 65 g/100 g for A. mellifera down to 50 g/100 g.
• For sucrose the A. mellifera honey standard has a maximum limit of 5 g/100 g. There is a difference between the three Melipona and Trigona a higher maximum limit of 6 g/100 g is suggested, whereas for Scaptotrigona a lower maximum limit of 2 g/100 g is proposed.
• The acidity of stingless bee honey is very high compared with A. mellifera, which is also detected in the flavor. 
• The Ash content and HMF can be kept the same as for A. mellifera, with a maximum of 0.5 g ash/100 g honey for all genera.

Standard for stingless bee honeys, compared with official codex Allimentarius Commision standards for Apis mellifera honey.

Honey Composition	Apis Mellifera	Melipona	Scaptotrigona	Trigona
Sucrose (g/100 g)	min 65.0	min 50.0	min 50.0	min 50.0
Acidity (meq/100 g)	max 5.0	max 6.0	max 2.0	max 6.0
Ash (g/100 g)	max 40.0	max 70.0	max 85.0	max 75.0
HMF (mg/kg)max 5.0	max 0.5	max 5.0	max 0.5	max 0.5
Distase activity (DN)	min 8.0	min 3.0	min 3.0	min 7.0

Honey Honey Honey

What is a good quality honey? As generally many customer in this world don’t understand what like of good quality honey. Like me also don’t really what like of good quality honey, just believe to honey producer that they will give us a pure honey. Myself often buy a honey directly to honey farmer, because so many producer have mix this honey with many kind of additive.

Pure natural honey are only small quantity can get from the bee nest so many farmer also feel make a financial loss if just sell just a small quantity, so then they mix with some other additive substance, like water, sugar and many others.

Basically good honey quality have an essentially low water content, and will fermented is keep on the container for long time. But by mixing with original honey this mixture really difficult to differ because they are very similar with the original one, may be just chemicals laboratory people can differ that by some of chemical analyzes.

Row honey moisture contain no more than 14 % of water, and usually deemed as more valuable and hence is relatively more costly. Honey containing of up to 20% of water is not recommended for mead making. The honey mixing will no longer have a benefit for our health, we just like drink of sugar concentrates on water.

Good Quality Honey

For general people usually very difficult for choosing a good quality honey, even have compared with the genuine honey. Many disingenuous merchant sell mixed honey, but they said that their honey is pure. Good quality honey can function as medicine, but this is depend on the honey source.
When you navigating through the maze of all the different honey in the shops, you look out for certain specific information to ensure that the honey I buy is value for money. Good quality honey, that is, honey of value can be judged by five key factors, namely:

1. Water content
2. HMF(Hydroxymethylfurfural)
3. Inverted sugars
4. Impurities
5. Colour

Good quality honey essentially has low water content. Honey is likely to ferment if the water content of honey is greater than 19%. The reason is that all unpasteurized honey contains wild yeasts. Due to the high sugar concentration, these yeasts will pose little risk in low moisture honey because osmosis will draw sufficient water from the yeast to force them into dormancy. In honey that has a higher proportion of water, the yeast may survive and cause fermentation to begin in storage.

HMF is a break-down product of fructose (one of the main sugars in honey) formed slowly during storage and very quickly when honey is heated. The amount of HMF present in honey is therefore used as a guide to storage guide to storage length and the amount of heating which has taken place.

High levels of HMF (greater than 100 mg/kg) can also be an indicator of adulteration with inverted sugars. Cane sugar (sucrose) is "inverted" by heating with a food acid, and this process creates HMF. Many food items sweetened with high fructose corn syrups, e.g. carbonated soft drinks, can have levels of HMF up to 1,000 mg/kg.

For most consumers, good quality honey is expected to be visually free of defect -- clean and clear. Honey which has very high pollen content appears cloudy.

Honey defined by color graded into light, amber, and dark categories which do not really have any bearing on quality. Some of the most distinctively and strongly flavored honey varieties, such as basswood, are very light, while very mild and pleasant honeys such as tulip poplar can be quite dark.