Melezitose

Definition

Melezitose is produced by the gut enzymes of aphids and scale insects acting on plant sap, so it appears in honeydew honey and essentially not in nectar honey. It is far less soluble than the simple sugars and crystallises very fast, and a heavy melezitose flow can leave honey set hard in the frames before a beekeeper can extract it — the origin of the trade name cement honey. Paradoxically, moderate levels of oligosaccharides including melezitose and raffinose also interfere with ordinary glucose crystallisation, which is why many honeydew honeys stay liquid for years.

Where the word gets used loosely

Melezitose-set honey is sometimes assumed to have been adulterated or badly handled. It is a natural consequence of the forage available, and the honey itself is perfectly good — it simply has to be pressed or soaked out rather than spun.

Honey records that discuss this

• Forest honeydew honeyResinous, malty and mineral, with far less sweetness than its darkness suggests. Closer to treacle and pine forest than to anything floral.
• Pine honeydew honeyResinous, malty and markedly less sweet than floral honey, with a woody, slightly salty depth and no floral character at all.
• Silver fir honeyMalty, resinous and barely sweet, with a balsamic depth and a long woody finish. One of the least sugary honeys there is.
• Spruce honeydew honeyMalty and caramelised with a woody depth and restrained sweetness — warmer and less balsamic than fir honeydew.

Guide records that discuss this

• The sugars in honeyFour fifths of honey is sugar, and almost everything honey does — how sweet it tastes, whether it sets, how it behaves in a pan — follows from which sugars and in what proportion.