On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1254

Honey

Honeywasthemostimportantsweetenerin
Europeuntilthe16thcentury,whencane
sugaranditsmoreneutralsweetnessbecame
morewidelyavailable.Germanyandthe
Slaviccountrieswereleadingproducersinthe
meantime,andhoneywineormead(fromthe
Sanskritwordfor“honey”)wasagreat
favoriteinbothcentralEuropeand
Scandinavia.Honeyisnowvaluedasan
alternativetosugar,apremadesyrupwith
manydistinctiveflavorstooffer.
The Honeybee While the New World
certainly knew and enjoyed honey before the
arrivalofEuropeanexplorers,NorthAmerica
did not. The bees native to the New World,
species of the generaMelipona andTrigona,
areexclusivelytropical.Theyalsodifferfrom
theEuropeanhoneybeesinbeingstinglessand
incollectingfluidsnotjustfromflowers,but


also from fruits, resins, and even carrion and
excrement — sources that make for
unhealthfulhoneysaswellasrichandstrange
flavors. European colonization brought a
fundamental change to North America by
introducing, around 1625, the bee that
producespracticallyallthehoneyintheworld
today,Apismellifera.

Beesaresocialinsectsthathaveevolved
alongwithnectar-producingfloweringplants.
Thetwoorganismshelpeachotherout:plants
providetheinsectswithfood,andinsects
carrycross-fertilizingpollenfromoneflower
toanother.Honeyistheforminwhichflower
nectarisstoredinthehive.Itappearsfrom
thefossilrecordthatbeeshavebeenaround
forsome50millionyears,theirsocial
organizationforhalfthattime.Apis,the
principalhoney-producinggenus,originated
inIndia.Apismellifera,thehoneybeeproper,
evolvedinsubtropicalAfricaandnow
inhabitsthewholeoftheNorthern