Honey is a sweet food made by bees (genus Apis) using nectar from flowers. The composition, color and taste of honey is highly dependent upon the botanical origin. Monofloral honeys are considered the superior quality honeys, and include high-value products such as Manuka, Heather and Thyme. Honey adulteration and misrepresentation are serious economic and regulatory problems. SPME-head space GC/MS analysis coupled to principle component analysis (PCA) demonstrate that the volatile aroma profiles may be key in discriminating honey quality and botanical origin. Dr. Mitchell will discuss the chemistry of honey and how volatile profile analysis may be used to understand honey flavor and improve honey quality.<br/>Amina Harris is co-owner of Z Specialty Foods, a nationally recognized company for excellence, which offers over 30 varietal honeys selected from across North America. As director of the Honey and Pollination Center at UC Davis, Amina brought together a tasting panel consisting of trained tasters, beekeepers and food enthusiasts to develop a lexicon of almost 100 descriptors for the tastes and aromas of honey.  Amina will discuss honey flavor and the use of Honey Aroma Wheel for celebrating the nuances of monofloral honeys.<br/>

Understanding the flavor and quality of honey

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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