STRUCTURAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CREAMED HONEY

Honey is a highly viscous sugar solution, often supersaturated, that is susceptible to time dependent crystallization (1). For most commercial honeys, crystallization is a defect that causes quality loss due to phase separation, sedimentation and increase in water activity. On the other hand, controlled crystallization can be used to obtain a desirable product, such as creamed (or set) honey, in which there are a large number of crystals of very small size, that lead to a very smooth texture (2). The aim of this research was to evaluate the physical and structural properties of creamed honey obtained by controlled crystallization compared to honey set in a traditional static manner.