Influence of the Physical State of Two Monofloral Honeys on Sensory Properties and Consumer Satisfaction

Abstract

Honey is a worldwide known and appreciated food product. Its appreciation by consumers is due to both its nutritional properties and the extremely reduced processing. The floral origin, color, aroma and taste are key factors in determining the quality of honey. Nevertheless, rheological properties, as crystallization rate, play a fundamental role in the perceived overall quality. Indeed, crystallized honey is often considered of poor quality by consumers, but a fine-grained or creamy texture is becoming interesting from the producers’ side. The purpose of this study was to investigate textural and aromatic properties and consumers’ perception and acceptance of two monofloral honeys that were differently crystallized. Liquid and creamy samples were obtained from crystallized samples. Physico-chemical, descriptive and dynamic sensory analysis, as well as consumer and CATA tests, were conducted on the three honey textures. The physico-chemical analysis well-discriminated the crystallization levels and evidenced that, although the honey variety was different, the textural properties of the creamy samples are very similar. Crystallization was shown to affect the honey sensory perceptions: liquid samples were sweeter, but less aromatic. Consumer tests allowed the validation of panel data and confirmed consumers’ higher appreciation for liquid and creamy honey.

The Antimicrobial Effects of Kyrgyz Honey

“…Honey is a food product known and appreciated throughout the world. Flower origin, colour, aroma and taste are important factors in determining the quality of honey (Piana et al,2023). In addition to being an important animal product, honey has become an important antimicrobial food because it has antibacterial properties and does not cause microbial resistance (Acaroz et al,2024;Asma et al,2022;İplikçioğlu-Çil et al, 2020).…”

Multi-Element Profile Characterization of Monofloral and Polyfloral Honey from Latvia

“…Honey is a natural sweetener, which is well regarded for its taste [1] and for its health-promoting [2] and antibacterial properties [3]. Floral origins play a major role in its organoleptic properties such as taste [4,5], as well as its health benefits [6,7].…”