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Honey is one of the mysterious foods that have tickled the imagination of tech savvy people in this age. It is difficult for them to fathom how hordes of nondescript insects can produce such an amazing product. This wonder food is fascinating for more reasons than one, and scientists are trying to find out more uses of honey than those known so far. Ancient civilizations also recognized honey as a truly marvelous food with many excellent qualities. At one point in time during the Roman Empire the Romans paid honey as taxes. This reflects the importance of this wonder food in their lives, even if it was not for the entire thousand years of their rule. The history of humans and honey predates even the mighty Roman Empire. Paintings have been found in caves dating back over 9,000 years that have honey depicted in them. This is not really surprising since honey was probably the only means of sweetening food up until the time of refined sugar and molasses. There are roughly 300 different types of honey available to consumers today. Honey is available in a wide assortment of colors and flavors. The color and taste of honey is determined by the flowers that the bees collected the nectar from used in making the honey. In terms of chemical analysis, honey is essentially a form of naturally refined sugar. It is basically 38 percent fructose, 31 percent glucose, 1 percent sucrose, and 9 percent other sugars, though there can be some variations in the ratios. The remaining 21 percent of honey is made up of vitamins, minerals, water, and various amino acids. Scientists have shown a keen interest in these vitamins, minerals, and amino acids because of their potential medical benefits. You would be surprised to know that the honey found beside the mummies had not spoilt and was absolutely safe to eat. The reason this honey did not spoil is because honey is known to have a bioactive agent in it that inhibits the action of germs and bacteria on it. This also makes honey a very good topical treatment in case of burns and other wounds. It can prevent the wound or burn from becoming infected. However a thing to be remembered here is that the bioactive agent of honey breaks down in heat and light. So honey should always be preserved in a cool, dark place if you wish to retain its ability to repel bacteria. The most common form of honey is liquid honey though honey is available in different varieties as well. The process of collecting honey involves removing it from the comb using a centrifuge, straining, or just simple gravity. You may want to filter it to remove all the impurities and air bubbles. If you strain it, chances are that the smaller particles and air bubbles will remain. Honey remains the only naturally refined sugar available and it has been part of human history since before recorded time. Able to repel bacteria and still be edible after centuries of being buried with mummies, honey truly is a remarkable food. The benefits and secrets of honey are still being revealed by scientists today and there may still be some medical miracles waiting to be discovered in honey that could really benefit all of humanity. Even if not, honey is still one of the sweetest substances on earth that is just a treat to eat.
Article Source: http://www.goodcookrecipes.com
Gillian Stell is the owner of F honey, the web's premier resource for information about honey, For questions or comments about this article visit: www.flahoney.com/articles Click here to get your own unique version of this article: Uber Articles directory.
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