![]() We will look at the other components shortly. Typically, the composition of nectar by weight is 1: Water 30-90 %, Sucrose 5-70%, Fructose 5-30%, Glucose 5-30%, other components up to 2%. Hotel Honey Breakfast by Linton Chilcott. However, nectar can also be yellow, orange, red, blue, green, brown or black. There is a wide range of nectar colours across the world but here in the UK we mostly find clearer and paler colours. So, when a bee collects fresh nectar, it will predominantly consist of varying concentrations of sucrose in water, and will include plant enzymes, such as invertase, and some minerals. The plant enzyme which also breaks down sucrose is called invertase and both of these work on converting this primary sugar to glucose and fructose. Sucrase breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose. Sucrose on the other hand is a more complicated disaccharide that cannot be utilised in this form and must be broken down by an enzyme called sucrase which is secreted by the mandibular, labial, thoracic, hypopharyngeal and post-cerebral glands of the honey bee. They can be utilised by honey bees in their present forms. The simple sugars are called monosaccharides, and glucose and fructose are examples of these. ![]() An individual honey bee needs energy to kick- start muscle activity for carrying out chores inside the hive, fuelling flight muscles for foraging trips, generating heat in the brood nest and winter cluster by isometrically contracting flight muscles. They are the energy producing carbohydrates that are needed in both the plant and animal kingdoms. Knowing a bit more about the substances found in nectar helps to make sense of it as nutrition for bees, and how the honey will crystallise, granulate and set. Likewise, there is great variability in other substances found in nectar which accounts for the fact that no two honeys, from different harvests and hives, have exactly the same flavour and properties. Diversity depends upon the plant species and environmental conditions such as soil type and weather. There is great variation among plants regarding the sugar content and amount of nectar produced. While It’s true that nectar is essentially water containing dissolved substances, the bulk of which are sugars, there are an astounding number of other ingredients too. I’ve always focussed on pollen as being the main source of protein and nutrition for honey bees, with nectar and honey providing the energy. I didn’t realise either that there is so much more to it till I studied nectar more closely. You’ll be forgiven for thinking that nectar is just sugary water that turns into honey. I hope that this two-part blog might be helpful and especially for people sitting exams soon. I’m processing and jarring honey this week and pondering the different tastes and aromas of each bucketful.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |