Honey
<p ><b>Honey</b> (<img src="/670ccebb-5f22-535f-8183-3c629c2c2119.png"/> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >ˈhʌni</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a>) is a sweet food made by bees using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectar_(plant)" title="Nectar (plant)" class="mw-redirect" >nectar</a> from flowers. The variety produced by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee" title="Honey bee" >honey bees</a> (the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus" title="Genus" >genus</a> <i>Apis</i>) is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeper" title="Beekeeper" >beekeepers</a> and consumed by humans. Honey produced by other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee" title="Bee" >bees</a> and insects has distinctly different properties.
Honey bees transform nectar into honey by a process of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regurgitation(digestion)" title="Regurgitation (digestion)" >regurgitation</a>, and store it as a primary food source in wax <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeycomb" title="Honeycomb" >honeycombs</a>inside the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive" title="Beehive" >beehive</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beekeeping" title="Beekeeping" >Beekeeping</a> practices encourage overproduction of honey so the excess can be taken from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony(biology)" title="Colony (biology)" >colony</a>.</p>
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Honey gets its sweetness from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosaccharides" title="Monosaccharides" class="mw-redirect" >monosaccharides</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose" title="Fructose" >fructose</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose" title="Glucose" >glucose</a>, and has approximately the same relative <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweetness" title="Sweetness" >sweetness</a>as that of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucrose" title="Sucrose" >granulated sugar</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-NHB_carbs_0-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-NHB_carbs-0" >[1]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Oregon_State_University_1-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-Oregon_State_University-1" >[2]</a></sup> It has attractive chemical properties for baking, and a distinctive flavor that leads some people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners.<sup id="cite_ref-NHB_carbs_0-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-NHB_carbs-0" >[1]</a></sup> </p>
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Most <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microorganism" title="Microorganism" >microorganisms</a> do not grow in honey because of its low <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_activity" title="Water activity" >water activity</a> of 0.6.<sup id="cite_ref-Prescott_1999_2-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-Prescott_1999-2" >[3]</a></sup>However, honey sometimes contains dormant <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endospore" title="Endospore" >endospores</a> of the bacterium <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_botulinum" title="Clostridium botulinum" >Clostridium botulinum</a></i>, which can be dangerous to infants, as the endospores can transform into toxin-producing bacteria in the infant's immature intestinal tract, leading to illness and even death<sup id="cite_ref-botulism_3-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-botulism-3" >[4]</a></sup> (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Health_hazards" >Health hazards</a> below).</p>
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Honey has a long history of human consumption, and is used in various foods and beverages as a sweetener
and flavoring. It also has a role in religion and symbolism. Flavors of honey vary based on the nectar source, and various types and grades of honey are available. It is also used in various medicinal traditions to treat ailments. The study of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollen" title="Pollen" >pollens</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spore" title="Spore" >spores</a> in raw honey (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissopalynology" title="Melissopalynology" >melissopalynology</a>) can determine floral sources of honey.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-4" >[5]</a></sup> Because bees carry an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic_charge" title="Electrostatic charge" class="mw-redirect" >electrostatic charge</a>, and can attract other particles, the same techniques of melissopalynology can be used in area environmental studies of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_decay" title="Radioactive decay" >radioactive</a> particles, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust" title="Dust" >dust</a> or particulate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution" title="Pollution" >pollution</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-5" >[6]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#cite_note-6" >[7]</a></sup></p>