Oligosaccharide

Definition

Nectar honey is dominated by the simple sugars fructose and glucose. Honeydew honey additionally contains melezitose, raffinose and related oligosaccharides, produced by the gut enzymes of the aphids and scale insects the sugar passed through. Those larger molecules interfere with crystal formation, which is why most honeydew honeys stay liquid for years — and melezitose in particular can do the opposite in quantity, setting so hard in the comb that the frames cannot be spun.

Where the word gets used loosely

Honeydew honey's lower fructose and glucose figures are sometimes read as dilution or adulteration. They reflect sugar that is present as oligosaccharides rather than absent.

Honey records that discuss this

• Acacia honeyClean, light and sweet with almost nothing in the way. The honey to reach for when you want sweetness without a flavour opinion.
• Beech honeydew honeyRich and malty with a resinous depth, a low sweetness and a distinctly savoury mineral finish — a serious honey, and quite unlike anything else New Zealand produces.
• Metcalfa honeydew honeyModerately sweet with a distinct fig and dried-fruit character over a malty base — noticeably fruitier than the conifer honeydews and quite unlike them.
• Forest honeydew honeyResinous, malty and mineral, with far less sweetness than its darkness suggests. Closer to treacle and pine forest than to anything floral.
• 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.