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Bees gather pollen (and sometimes honeydew), partially digest it and regurgitate it to store it in honeycombs. It is their sole source of food. Honey is extraordinarily nutritious.
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Shelf stability ∞
Honey has a long shelf life and will not ferment.
Liquid honey does not spoil. Because of its high sugar concentration, it kills bacteria by plasmolysis. Natural airborne yeasts cannot become active in it because the moisture content is too low. Natural, raw honey varies from 14% to 18% moisture content. As long as the moisture content remains under 18%, virtually no organism can successfully multiply to significant amounts in honey.
-- Wikipedia, from 2005-10-08 or earlier
Notes ∞
Get unpasteurized honey.
Honey is not always healthful. Because it is gathered from flowers in the wild, there are situations in which it may be toxic. (See: Grayanotoxin.) Rhododendrons, Mountain Laurels and azaleas have nectar that is poisonous to humans though harmless to bees. The shape of the Azalea flower, however, makes access to nectar difficult for honeybees. And during the time at which Azaleas bloom, there are usually other flowers available which are more appealing to the honeybee. So lethal honey is rarely encountered.
Harmless to adults because of a mature person's stomach acidity, botulinum spores are widely present in the environment and are among the few bacteria that can survive in honey. Since an infant's digestive juices are non-acidic, ingestion of honey creates an ideal medium for botulinum spores to grow and produce sufficient levels of toxins to cause infant botulism. For this reason, it is advised that neither honey, nor any other sweetener, be given to children under the age of 18 months. Once a child is eating solid food, the digestive juices are acidic enough to prevent the growth of the spores.
-- Wikipedia, from 2005-10-08 or earlier
Royal jelly ∞
People collect royal jelly for a dietary supplement. It contains all of the B-complex vitamins, including a high concentration of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), and is the only natural source of pure acetylcholine. Royal jelly also contains minerals, enzymes, hormones, eighteen amino acids, antibacterial and antibiotic components, and vitamins A, C, D and E.
This product must be combined with honey for preservation, as it spoils easily. It should be kept refrigerated and tightly sealed.
