On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1258

evaporation and the continuing work of bee enzymes One important enzyme converts the sucrose almost entirely to glucose and fructose, because a mixture of single-unit sugars is more soluble in water than the equivalent amount of its parent sucrose, and so can be more highly concentrated without crystallizing Another enzyme oxidizes some glucose to form gluconic acid and peroxides Gluconic acid lowers the honey’s pH to about 3.9 and makes it less hospitable to microbes, and the peroxides also act as an antiseptic In addition to these and other enzyme activities, the various components of ripening honey react with each other and cause gradual changes in color and flavor Hundreds of different substances have been identified in honey, including more than 20 different sugars, savory amino acids, and a variety of antioxidant phenolic compounds and enzymes Honeycomb, and the anatomy of the worker bee Worker bees hold freshly gathered nectar in the honey sac, together with enzymes from various glands, until they return to the hive Sweet Ants Among the more unusual sweeteners are the honey or honeypot ants (species of Melophorus, Camponotus, Myrmecocystus) of Australia, Mexico, and the American southwest Their colonies include a caste of workers whose role it is to store nectar and honeydew in their abdomens, which swell to the size of a pea or grape and become translucent Honey ants are enjoyed by pinching off the abdomens and popping them directly into the mouth, or by folding them into tortillas  ...Honeycomb, and the anatomy of the worker bee Worker bees hold freshly gathered nectar in the honey sac, together with enzymes from various glands, until they return to the hive Sweet Ants Among... the more unusual sweeteners are the honey or honeypot ants (species of Melophorus, Camponotus, Myrmecocystus) of Australia, Mexico, and the American southwest Their colonies include a caste of. .. nectar and honeydew in their abdomens, which swell to the size of a pea or grape and become translucent Honey ants are enjoyed by pinching off the abdomens and popping them directly into the mouth,