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Honey and its volatile compounds

Honeys from different plant sources each contain over 100 volatile organic compounds, and these play a primary role in determining their flavors and aromas. Unifloral honeys differ from each other in volatile composition, which strongly influences the sensory character of each honey type. More than 600 compounds have been identified as honey volatiles, in different chemical families. The typical families include hydrocarbons, aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, esters, acids, benzenes, furans, pyrans, norisoprenoids and terpenes. Unifloral honey comes from nectar gathered wholly or mainly from a single plant species, so it carries a specific set of volatiles that can serve as a fingerprint of its floral origin.

Odorants of the honey note

Phenylacetic acid is one of the main compounds responsible for the flavor of honey. It is a white solid with a strong honey-like odor. Methyl phenylacetate is the methyl ester of phenylacetic acid and has a strong odor similar to honey. The compound also occurs in honey. The aroma of phenylacetaldehyde is described as honey-like, sweet, rose, green and grassy. Phenylacetic acid has the formula C₈H₈O₂ and a molar mass of 136.15 g/mol. It acts as a weak plant hormone of the auxin type, found mainly in fruits, and ants make it in the metapleural gland as an antimicrobial. Methyl phenylacetate is a colorless liquid, only slightly soluble in water but soluble in most organic solvents. Besides honey, it occurs in brandy, capsicum, coffee, pepper and some wine. Phenylacetaldehyde occurs extensively in nature because the amino acid phenylalanine gives rise to it; natural sources include chocolate, buckwheat and flowers. It is readily oxidized to phenylacetic acid.

Beeswax

Beeswax is a fragrant solid at room temperature. Its main constituents are palmitate, palmitoleate and oleate esters of long-chain aliphatic alcohols. The long-chain alcohols carry 30 to 32 carbons. Triacontanyl palmitate, a wax ester, is a major component, and an approximate chemical formula for beeswax is C₁₅H₃₁COOC₃₀H₆₁. Beeswax has a relatively low melting point range of 62 to 64 °C. The wax softens further at human body temperature, 37 °C, and heating it above 85 °C discolors it. Worker bees use the beeswax to build honeycomb cells. The color of beeswax varies from nearly white to brownish, and is most often a shade of yellow. Its wax scales are about three millimetres across and 0.1 mm thick, and about 1100 are needed to make a gram of wax. Sugars from honey are metabolized into beeswax in fat cells associated with the wax glands.

World production

In 2023, world production of honey was 1.9 million tonnes, led by China with 24% of the total. China produced 463,500 tonnes, followed by Turkey with 114,886 tonnes, Ethiopia with 84,591 tonnes and Iran with 80,389 tonnes. The long shelf life of honey is attributed to an enzyme from the stomach of bees: glucose oxidase mixed with nectar yields gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide, which partly account for honey's acidity and for the suppression of bacterial growth.