Sorry for the dicussion in °C, I think in this all the time....and I'm too
lazy to convert.  ==> °C X 1.8 + 32 = °F


Bob wrote,
> Hello Allen & All,
> Allen wrote:
> Honey should not be heated . Period.

The problem with this statement is that heat (unless we are talking -
273°Kelvin - absolute zero) is relative.  In the middle of the Sahara mid day
sun, 40°C is cool!   A recent consumer type magazine review on the quality of
honeys in a tropical country listed a number of brands, and measured HMF for
them.  The highest recorded levels were found in Organic honeys.  Probable
reason?  High price.... Nailed to the shelf.... Ambient temperature.....
35°C.  Heated?  Certainly NOT!.  HMF levels? 120-180 Mg/Kg.

> 100 degrees F. is the limit of warming after that damage occurs.

Honey is primarilty a mixture of organic substances, which are constantly
changing with time.  Like most organic reactions, the higher the temperature,
the faster the change happens.  Pick any substance in honey, an enzyme, HMF,
whatever, and the rate of change (increase, decrease) will be at a different
rate to that of another chosen substance.

There is no one temperature that honey suddenly becomes damaged at.  To be
accurate we need to talk about the half life of an enzyme.... or the doubling
time of a compound like HMFetc..... *at specific temperatures*.

We also need to be aware that this is different for every different honey!
An extreme example.... we have a honey here that after heating to 80°C and
allowed to cool slowly (2°C loss per hour for the first few hours), has
almost no measurable HMF!!!  (we're talking < 1mg/kg - HPLC method).

The point here is that heat (or more accurately - specific temperatures) have
different effects on different honeys and there is no one temperature at
which "damage" (I prefer the word "change") instantly occurs.......

Unless of course you're selling..... and your honey is below said (pick the
one that suit you!) temperature..... and your opposition's isn't.......  or
maybe you can make your customer think it isn't  :-)

But as a general rule, you should process your honey with the minimum amount
of heat you can.

Cheers.
Peter Bray
_________________________________________________________
Airborne Honey Ltd., Pennington St, PO Box 28, Leeston,
New Zealand Fax 64-3-324-3236,  Phone 64-3-324-3569
http://www.airborne.co.nz  [log in to unmask]