Phenolic compounds

Definition

Phenolics arrive in the nectar and vary enormously by plant. They are why buckwheat, chestnut, strawberry tree and the honeydews are dark and bitter, and why those honeys dominate antioxidant research. Colour correlates strongly with phenolic content, which is the mechanism behind the observation that dark honeys measure higher.

Where the word gets used loosely

A high antioxidant measurement is a fact about the substance in an assay, not a demonstrated benefit to a person. The quantities are small relative to ordinary dietary sources, absorption is poor, no clinical trial has compared dark and pale honey on any outcome, and honey remains about 80% sugar whatever its colour.

Honey records that discuss this

• Buckwheat honeyMalt, molasses and wet straw, with a savoury, almost animal depth. The most polarising honey in general production.

Guide records that discuss this

• Why honey comes in different coloursHoney runs from nearly colourless to almost black, and the colour is set mainly by the plant. It correlates loosely with intensity, more strongly with mineral content, and not at all with quality.
• What makes a honey strongStrong honeys are dark, mineral-rich and usually lower in sweetness than pale ones. Understanding which axis a honey is strong on tells you what to do with it.
• What makes a honey mildMild honeys are pale, low in minerals and dominated by sweetness. They are the right answer far more often than the honey world tends to admit.
• How plants decide honey flavourNearly everything that distinguishes one honey from another arrives in the nectar. The bee contributes enzymes and evaporation; the plant contributes everything you taste.
• Dark honeysDark honeys are higher in minerals and phenolic compounds than pale ones, which makes them stronger, more savoury and — in laboratory terms though not in clinical ones — more antioxidant-rich.
• Antioxidants and phenolic compounds in honeyThe trace fraction that gives honey its colour, much of its flavour and nearly all of its marketing. What these compounds are is well understood; what they do in a person who eats a spoonful is a much shorter story than the labels suggest.

Question records that discuss this

• Is darker honey healthier?Dark honeys genuinely do measure higher in phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity, and no clinical study has shown that this produces any benefit to a person eating them. All honey is about 80% sugar, the quantities involved are small, and the difference is a laboratory measurement rather than a health outcome.
• Why is honey different colours?Mainly the plant — nectar carries pigments, phenolic compounds and minerals in wildly varying amounts. Honeydew honeys are dark because the sugar picked up a heavy mineral load passing through an insect. Age and heat darken any honey over time, and crystallisation makes it look lighter without changing it at all.
• Is bitter honey off?Almost never. Several honeys are genuinely, deliberately bitter — chestnut, strawberry tree, buckwheat and some eucalypts — and are prized for exactly that in the countries that produce them. Bitterness comes from phenolic compounds in the nectar and is a property of the honey type rather than a sign of spoilage. Honey that has actually gone wrong smells of alcohol and looks frothy.