New Issue: Orbital Catastrophe Ahead? Read Now

Artificial Honey

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!


On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.


Prof. Herzfeld, of Germany, recently brought out some interesting points regarding the manufacture of artificial honey in Europe. It is noticed that when we bring about the inversion of refined sugar in an almost complete manner and under welldetermined conditions, this sugar solidifies in the same way as natural honey after standing for a long time, and it ran be easily redissolved by heating. Owing to the increased production of artificial honey, the bee cultivators have been agitating the question so as to protect themselves, and it is proposed to secure legisla tion to this effect, one point being to oblige the manu facturers to add some kind of product wnich will indio cate the artificial product. On the other hand, it is found that the addition of inverted sugar to natural honey tends to improve its quality and especially to render it more easiIY digested. Seeing that sugar is about the only alimentary matter which is produced in an abso lutely pure state, its addi tion to honey cannot be strictly considerEd as an adulteration. Bees often take products from flowers which have a bad taste; and the chemist Ke11er found that honey coming from the chestnut tree sometimes has a disagree able flavor. From wheat flowers we find a honey which has a taste resem bling bitter almonds, and honey from asparagus flowers is most unpalata ble. Honey taken from the colza plant is of an oily nature, an.d that taken from onions has the taste of the latter. In such cases, the honey is much improved by the addition of inverted sugar. Prof. Herzfeld gives a practical method for preparing this form of sugar. We take 1 kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of high-quality refined sugar in a clean enamel ware vessel, and add 300 cubic centimeters (10 fluid ounces) of water and 1.1 grammes (17 grains) tar taric acid. This is heated at 110 deg. C. over an open fire, stirring all the while, and is kept at this heat until the liquid takes on a fine golden yellow color, such operation lasting for about threequarters of an hour. By this very sim pIe process we can easily produce artificial honey. Numerous extracts are now on the market for giVing the aroma of honey, but none of them will replace the natural honey. However, if we take the artificial product made as above and add to it a natural honey having a strong aroma, Ruch as that which is produced from heath, we can obtain an excellent semi-honey.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 97 Issue 18This article was published with the title “Artificial Honey” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 97 No. 18 (), p. 303
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican11021907-303a

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe