Sweeteners . . . 22 National Show . . . 33 Organic Honey . . . 42 Bee CultureSEP 2003

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September 2003 BEE CULTURE 1 The Not So Sweet Story Of SWEETENERSSWEETENERS Start A Counter-Revolution. Know The Enemy.

James Fischer

The Honey Counter-Revolution not like to be misled, especially those cup holders in newer vehicles A counter-revolution? Don’t about food. You need not make ex- should be clear – will the minivan worry; no one needs to worry about travagant claims about honey, you replace the dining room? No one is buying camouflage fatigues or tar- only need to debunk the mislead- saying, but the 2000 Ford Excursion get practice at the rifle range. It’s a ing propaganda about the alterna- SUV came with seating for nine and kitchen-counter revolution. The tives. 10 cup holders. The current Volvo goal is to liberate the slaves to Honey was the original sweet- V70 seats five, but has nine cup and artificial sweeteners, by replac- ener. Every other sweetener was holders. You do the math. ing sugar bowls with honey jars. created in an attempt to replace While we can all understand Ambitious? Yes. Difficult? Yes. But honey with something cheaper. that life can get hectic for people without a strategy that promotes Most people will agree that life is who have not discovered “life in the your honey as a healthy and natu- too short to tolerate cheap peanut slow lane” as a beekeeper, it seems ral alternative to the sugar bowl it- butter, so honey should be an “easy clear that cooking (with or without self, national trends appear to in- sell” to anyone who cares at all honey) is slowly becoming as ob- dicate that honey sales will shrink. about what they eat. (To quote my scure and arcane a skill as beekeep- father, “Sure, you could use the ing. Let me explain cheaper stuff, but people will notice To make matters seem even My father was a salesman until and remember.”) worse, the same surveys found that he retired and started keeping bees. 77 cents of every dollar spent on He sold lighting fixtures, and devel- The Decline Of Cooking “dining out” in 2002 was spent at a oped an encyclopedic knowledge of The NPD Group, a market re- fast-food chain restaurant. not just the products he sold, but search firm, found that in 1993, 99% more importantly, the competition’s of U.S. households had a skillet. In What Happens After What products. He was able to discuss 2002, the number dropped to 93%. Comes Next the advantages of one light versus That’s a net decrease of over one The combined impact of these another in great detail, so his way million skillets per year. (If one trends means that we can’t expect of “selling” was more “applications does not even own a skillet, one can to increase our honey sales to con- consulting” to builders and archi- be assumed to have abandoned sumers or expect demand to keep tects than a “sales pitch.” It cooking for mere “reheating” of pack- the prices up unless we can get worked. aged food.) In 1993, 21% of U.S. din- them to think about replacing the What does this have to do with ners eaten at home had ready-to- sugar bowls on their kitchen tables honey? Well, if you want to sell eat main entrees, in 2002, it was with honey pots, and consider aban- honey, it helps to know “the com- up to 36%. Over the same time pe- doning artificial sweeteners for petition.” Consumption data indi- riod, meals served with homemade honey. Taking on the competition cate that honey is one of the more desserts decreased from 7% to 3.5%. head-on means that you need to rarely-used sweeteners available, Your grocery store may have al- know more about the competition so even a small change in consumer ready expanded their “deli” and than the customer does. habits for a tiny percentage of con- “bakery” into a “ready-to-eat meals” Price alone can’t be the prob- sumers would have a significant department, complete with a salad lem, given what people will pay for impact on the demand for honey. bar. These “meal solution centers” Ghirardelli chocolates. The The good news for us is that the are cropping up everywhere. Conve- Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts cof- competition makes claims that are nience stores, gas stations, air- fee shop chains have clearly shown most charitably described as “bla- ports, and shopping malls all offer that marketing alone will convince tantly misleading.” Consumers do “take out.” Now the reason for all people to pay them more than triple 2 BEE CULTURE September 2003 the going price for a cup of coffee. Honey has a fine “premium product” reputation, proven by the large num- ber of packaged food products that feature the word “Honey” in large letters on the label. Honey even has a very valuable cachet of “natu- ral” that sugar and artificial sweet- eners can never gain. “Natural” sells, if for no other reason than it makes Mom feel less guilty about owning a stainless-steel Sub-Zero fridge filled with heat-and-serve packaged foods and using the mi- crowave more often than her $4,500 Aga range. The only hurdle appears to be that beekeepers are unwilling to ask food product is to increase the opposed to naturally occurring sug- people what else they currently keep amount of sweeteners they add. ars in fruit and other foods, are a on the kitchen table, and discuss little more than 15 percent of Ameri- the merits of that sweetener as com- Fat-Free and Fact-Free cans’ daily caloric intake. pared to honey. So read on, and For at least a decade, “reduced While doctors, health experts think about how easy it would be to fat” and “fat-free” food has been pro- and regulatory officials now realize convince people to try using honey moted as “more healthy.” Makers of that their emphasis on “fat free” instead of sugar or chemical sweet- packaged foods have responded to has resulted in a problem worse eners. demand, and in some cases, helped than the one they hoped to solve, to create concern about fat. This their attempts to educate consum- A Brief History Of Sweeteners meant more demand for “fat-free” ers about “added ” have been It is likely that humans sought food. The problem was that in re- frustrated by sophisticated market- out honey even before they were moving fat, the packaged food prod- ing of high-profit products like soft recognizable as human. Food was ucts were left bland and tasteless. drinks and packaged foods. likely in sporadic supply for early The “answer” was to add sweeten- man, energy requirements were ers, most often corn . But Big Profits Versus World high, and honey would have been a when you add sweeteners, the calo- Health rare treat. Man was predisposed by ries go up. As a result, many people This Spring, the World Health instinct to favor sweet things, since buying “low-fat” foods are actually Organization published a report most everything that tasted sweet consuming more calories than be- suggesting that all forms of “added was not poisonous. fore due to added sweeteners. “Low- sugars” (over and above the natural Most present-day humans have fat food” did not result in people sugars found in foods) should make easy access to abundant food, and becoming less fat. It made many of up no more than 10% of the daily are not required to physically exert them even fatter. diet. While 10% is a very high num- themselves very much, but we are ber, the sugar lobby in the United still influenced by the same drives Added Sweeteners And Health States reacted by demanding that as our primitive ancestors. We still The expanding waistlines of the Congress cut off the World Health crave sweet stuff. population of the industrialized Organization’s funding. Since the Despite the near total lack of world has resulted in a new and U.S. funds roughly a quarter of the situations where modern humans unique health problem. The rich and WHO’s operations, this would could might need a high middle classes are thin and healthy, put the WHO out of business. to help them escape from large while the poorer among us suffer The was not at toothy predators, sugar or sweeten- from obesity. Traditionally in human all happy with anyone suggesting ers are added to nearly every pack- history, the poor have been thin, that added sugars should be re- aged food product sold. These hid- while the rich have been fat. Ongo- stricted to a mere 10% of our total den added sweeteners are the ing obesity in most cases leads di- diet. They want us all to buy more dreaded “empty calories” that your rectly to diabetes, and not surpris- of the packaged food products that mother warned you about, devoid of ingly, medications to help diabetes contain added sugars. The sugar any food value other than the sug- patients are suddenly one of the industry is a significant special-in- ars themselves. Sweeteners are largest growth markets for drug terest group in U.S. lobbying and added for two reasons. First, they makers. politics, handing out over $3 million are cheap. The USDA says that Americans’ in donations in last year’s federal Second, there is a direct con- consumption of sweeteners has elections, according to the Center nection between and risen significantly over the last 40 for Responsive Politics. It repre- sales. Food conglomerates are well years. Somehow, we went from 113 sents both sugar cane and corn aware that all they need do to in- pounds per person in 1966 to 147 farmers who grow corn for corn crease flagging sales of a packaged pounds in 2001. Added sugars, as syrup. Continued on Next Page September 2003 BEE CULTURE 3 is made of six carbon atoms crystallize more easily than others. (carbo...) and hydrogen and oxygen The crystals of act as equal to six water molecules (...hy- “seeds” to encourage crystallization drate), so is the simplest in the honey. form of a carbohydrate. , also called “levulose” Starches Are Sugar Too! or “fruit sugar,” is found in many When you link more than two fruits. Honey contains about 40% simple sugars together, the result fructose. is called a “polysaccharide,” or, in exists almost exclu- plain English, a “starch.” There are sively in the bodies of mammals. two major types of starch – Amylose Mammals can change glucose to and Amylopectin. galactose, and female mammal An amylose is a linear, un- mammary glands convert galactose branched chain of several hundred to , which is “milk sugar.” glucose molecules. Amylopectin Although these three simple does not have a “linear” structure, sugars share the same molecular but is “branched” like a tree.

formula (C6H12O6), Plants convert excess glucose the arrangement of their atoms are into starch for storage in the form different. Chemicals with identical of roots (tubers) and seeds. Pota- molecular formulas but different toes, rice, wheat, and corn are ma- All Sweeteners Are Not Created structural arrangements are called jor sources of starch in the modern Equal® “structural isomers” by chemists. human diet. While artificial sweeteners like Glucose can be converted into Before starches can be used by Equal® are clearly artificial manu- the other two simple sugars (and animals, they must be digested. This factured products, most all so-called other sugar molecules) via minor is accomplished by chemicals called “natural” sweeteners also come chemical changes like reorienting “amylases.” With the aid of an amy- from factories. Most natural sweet- the location of hydroxyl groups, lase (such as pancreatic amylase eners are no sweeter in their natu- such as when it is converted into from your pancreas), water mol- ral state than . They must be galactose, or by oxidizing one car- ecules break the bonds between refined to concentrate them, and bon and reducing another by shift- glucose molecules and eventually make them taste sweet. In the pro- ing the locations of the hydrogen produce a mixture of glucose and cess of refining, any part that is not atoms, such as when it is converted . Your body can’t tell the a sugar is removed, including any into fructose. difference between glucose from nutrients. All more complex sugars are starches, from sugar, or from honey. Honey also comes from a “fac- made by bonding these three simple Glucose is glucose, no matter how tory refinery” of a sort – a beehive. sugars together in various ways. your body gets it. Nectar is evaporated, and in the process, becomes more concen- I’m Dying For Some Cellulose – How Plants trated. Unlike other sweeteners, all Store Sugars that is removed in the process is Disaccharides are nothing more Cellulose is likely the single water, so honey has a small amount than pairs of simple sugars. Their most abundant organic molecule on of protein and some nutrients. If not names are sucrose, lactose, and the planet. It is the major structural heated or filtered to extreme, honey maltose. Sucrose is common table material in plants. Wood is mostly has the clear advantage of being sugar. It is made from glucose and cellulose, while cotton and paper are “exactly as nature intended.” fructose, which form a crystal when almost pure cellulose. Like starch, But what exactly did nature in- combined. Lactose is the major cellulose is a polysaccharide made tend? Nature uses multiple forms sugar in milk. It is made of glucose from glucose. of sugar in nearly every creature and and galactose. Maltose is a product However, cellulose is very dif- plant, so we have to get into some of starch digestion, such as when ferent from starch. Because of the basic biochemistry before we talk beer is brewed. It is made of pairs orientation of the bonds between about specific products. of glucose molecules. the glucose molecules, the end re- There are three simple sugars, sult is a long, rigid molecule. These or “.” These are Is Honey a ? linear molecules can lie close to- Glucose, Fructose, and Galactose. Honey contains glucose and gether, and form hydrogen bonds Glucose, also called “dextrose,” fructose, but it is not a disaccha- between adjacent molecules. The is found in vegetables, fruit, and ride. The bulk of the glucose and result is a series of stiff, long fi- honey. When it is in the human fructose exist as separate simple bers that make up the cell walls of body, it is called “blood sugar.” In sugars. A tiny amount of the glu- plants. plants, glucose is synthesized from cose and fructose in honey is bound water and carbon dioxide by photo- together to form sucrose, but this Glycogen – How Animals synthesis. In animals, glucose can varies with different nectar sources, Store Sugars be synthesized from fats, carboxy- explaining why some types of honey, Animals store excess glucose by lic acids, and amino acids. Glucose such as orange blossom honey, polymerizing it to form glycogen. The

4 BEE CULTURE September 2003 structure of glycogen is similar to our history books was based on that of the starch amylopectin, al- sugar. American-made rum was sold though the branches in glycogen are for African slaves, who then were shorter and more frequent. (A sold in the Caribbean for “bush” as compared to the “tree” of and sugar that were, in turn sold to amylopectin.) rum distillers in the U.S., with large Glycogen is broken back down profits made at every step. (Wow, into glucose when energy is sugar was responsible for slavery!) needed, in a process called glyco- Whatever harvested cane does genolysis. In glycogenolysis, phos- not fall off the trucks to punch holes phate groups – not water – break the through unsuspecting drivers’ oil linkages so that glucose can leave pans and radiators (yes, this really or enter a cell. Your liver and skel- happens) goes through a mill. etal muscles are major storage de- The milling process starts by pots of glycogen. shredding and crushing the canes between rollers to extract the juice. Sugars In Food The juice is clarified with lime, and Now that you have digested the allowed to settle. Then it is boiled chemistry refresher course, we can in vacuum chambers, until it thick- look at specific sweeteners, com- ens into a brownish syrup. As the pare them, and consider how they water evaporates, the sugars be- compete with honey for a place on come concentrated enough to form the kitchen counter. crystals. The wet crystals are then legitimate , most all spun in perforated drums to spin off other brands are nothing but fully- Raising Cane the liquid, leaving the semi-refined refined table sugar “spray-painted” Cane sugar comes in many dif- sugar. This is the actual “raw with some molasses. ferent forms, but it is all nothing sugar.” but sucrose. It is all processed in It contains all sorts of molds, Raw Sugar – A Raw Deal factories that produce significant air yeasts, dirt, plant fiber, bacteria, The brownish packets of “Sugar and water pollution, but are slowly and a not insignificant quantity of In The Raw®” one can find in many being forced by environmental laws insect parts and their debris. The coffee shops are not “raw sugar.” to clean up. The sugar that one can FDA won’t allow this sugar to be They are nothing but “Turbinado buy is not “natural” in the least, but sold as food – true raw sugar is “un- Sugar,” which will be described later. the sugar makers use the word fit for human consumption” under The folks that make “Sugar In The “natural” so often, one might get the U.S. law. Raw” claim that their sugar is from impression that their products were The liquid that was thrown off the “initial pressing of the cane, al- some sort of health food. by the spinning drums is what be- lowing the natural molasses to remain All forms of cane sugar start comes molasses. It also needs quite in the crystals,” a phrase that is ap- with a sugar cane field in a subtropi- a bit of “cleaning up” before it can parently intended to conjure up im- cal location. The canes have leaves, be sold for human consumption. ages of winemaking, where “initial and the universal practice is to burn The cleaning up is done at a pressing” implies “best quality.” the field to eliminate the leaves and refinery. The refinery washes, then With sugar, the reverse is true. any undergrowth from the roughly dissolves the crystals, boils it again, Sugar from the actual “initial press- 10-foot tall canes to be harvested. then recrystallizes and spins it at ing” is an inedible substance that The smoke from the fall burning is least twice more, removing more could not be sold as food for hu- enough of a hazard that the state molasses and “solids” at each step. mans. Even more amazing is the police in both Florida and Hawaii are Molasses is where the non-sucrose total disdain shown in the assump- forced to close roads when the wind components of sugar cane go, in- tion that their customers are un- shifts in an attempt to reduce traf- cluding any vitamins and minerals. educated enough to think that mo- fic accidents caused by the smoke. lasses (a collection of various im- (That’s right, sugar is “white death” Brown Sugar purities) can somehow be “in” crys- even before it is even white. Ask Sugar pulled out before one of tals of sucrose. The impurities are anyone who lives in Palm Beach the final washing and recrystalliza- “on” the crystals, not “in” them. This County or Hendry County, Florida tion cycles is “brown sugar.” It has much more expensive sugar needs about the “fall smoke.”) been refined enough to remove all to be exposed as “100% plain old The harvesting of sugar is slowly but a tiny fraction of the molasses, sugar with lots of added hype.” being mechanized, but about half of which gives it a brown appearance U.S. production is still harvested by and stronger flavor. Brown Versus White hand with machetes. This is a la- But most brown sugar is noth- There are a large number of bor-intensive process, so much so ing more than fully-refined white people who think that brown (or that sugar in the Car- sugar that has been sprayed with brownish) sugar is more “healthy” ibbean were among the first cus- some molasses after the complete than . This mistaken tomers of the slave trade. The infa- refining process. Domino and C&H belief is openly encouraged by the mous “slave triangle” described in are among the few brands that sell promotional efforts of sugar compa- Continued on Next Page September 2003 BEE CULTURE 5 A Summary Of “The Competition” ing to it. “Very extensive quality Brown Stuff Name What It Is control testing.”) With all the different types of White Sugar Sucrose white sugar, you did not think that Evaporated Cane Juice Sucrose Size Does Matter the sugar-marketing geniuses would Sucrose A bewildering array of different pass up the opportunity to sell mul- Beet Sugar Sucrose types of granulated white cane sugar tiple types of sugar/molasses mixes Brown Sugar Sucrose & Molasses are available, and all are sold for at ever-higher prices, would you? Turbinado Sugar Sucrose & Molasses much higher prices than the usual “Turbinado SugarSugar” is sugar (Real) Boiled Tree Sap 5-lb bag of “table sugar.” The only with a slightly larger crystal size Dried Dates difference between them is crystal than table sugar, and has not been Stevia Dried Leaves size. washed to remove all the molasses, ARTIFICIAL TABLE SWEETENERS “Bakers Special SugarSugar,” or making it appear brownish. As with Sweet ‘N Low® Saccharin “Castor SugarSugar” in the UK, is the brown sugar, most all products Equal® Aspartame smallest crystal size. This is the called “Turbinado Sugar” are pro- NutraSweet® Aspartame sugar you most often find on dough- duced by simply spraying crystallized Sunett® Acesulfame nuts. fully-refined white sugar with mo- Potassium “SuperfineSuperfine,” “UltrafineUltrafine,” or lasses. ® Sweet & Safe Acesulfame “Bar SugarSugar” has only slightly larger “MuscovadoMuscovado” or “Barbados Potassium crystals than Baker’s Sugar. It is SugarSugar” is a British product. It is very Sweet One® Acesulfame used in meringues, as well as for dark brown and has a very strong Potassium Splenda® Sucralose sweetening fruits and iced drinks molasses flavor that can only be an since the smaller crystals dissolve “acquired taste.” The crystals are SWEETENERS FOUND MOSTLY IN more easily than larger crystals. coarser and stickier than “normal” HEALTH-FOOD STORES (There are some bartenders that will brown sugar. Invert Sugar call this “Fruit Sugar” but actual “Free-Flowing Brown SugarSugar” “Fruit Sugar” is fructose which is a technical innovation that avoids Barley comes, not surprisingly, from fruit.) the “clumping” of brown sugar into Fruit Sugar “ConfectionersConfectioners,” or “Powdered hard lumps. A “cocrystallization” Sugar” is granulated sugar that has process is used to make brown sugar INDUSTRIAL SWEETENERS HIDING been ground to a smooth powder and that is more of a powder than a IN PACKAGED FOODS High Frutose then sifted. It contains about 3% crystal, and is less moist than D-tagatose cornstarch to prevent caking. brown sugar. Since it is less moist Sugar Alcohols Confectioner’s sugar comes in three to begin with, it does not clump and Polydextrose grades ground to different degrees is free-flowing like granulated white Saccharin/Sweet ‘N Low(R) of fineness. sugar. (Save your money, and put a Aspartame/Equal(R)/NutraSweet(R) “Table SugarSugar” is the common small chunk of terra-cotta tile that Neotame sugar that one most often sees. you have soaked in water into your Sucralose/Splenda(R) Note the subtle use of the term canister of brown sugar. This will Acesulfame Potassium “table,” implying that it belongs on “humidify” the canister, and keep the dinner table, rather than locked the brown sugar from clumping.) nies about the “vitamins and min- up with the guns, cigarettes, booze, “Demerara SugarSugar” is another erals” in brown sugar that white explosives, and other dangerous British product, essentially a very sugar lacks. While it is true that items. Does anyone label their sticky large-crystal brown sugar. It white sugar contains nothing but honey “table honey”? I thought not. is put in tea, coffee and on hot ce- sucrose crystals, the amount of “vi- No wonder the sugar bowl never reals. tamins and minerals” in brown leaves the kitchen table, while the “Evaporated Cane JuiceJuice” sugar are best described as “trace honey is hidden in a cabinet, be- and/or “SucanatSucanat” is one of the levels.” You’d have to eat a massive hind several other bottles. You have most cynical of the sugar industry’s and unhealthy amount of brown to admire sophisticated marketing. marketing forays, which like sugar to get any actual benefit from You can learn something from it. Turbinado Sugar, chatters on about any of those vitamins and miner- “Coarse Sugar”Sugar has larger being “a ‘first crystallization’, mini- als. In comparison, the National crystals than “Table Sugar.” Coarse mally-processed sweetener made from Honey Board says that you’d have sugar is made from the most highly- fresh evaporated cane juice... har- to eat only about 100 tablespoons refined sugar. This makes it more vested, extracted, clarified, evaporated of honey to get your Recommended resistant to color changes or break- and crystallized all within twenty-four Daily Allowance of a number of im- down to fructose and glucose at high hours...” in hopes of making people portant minerals from that source. temperatures. This matters in cook- think that it is something, anything While some might consider this ex- ing when making fondants, confec- other than pure sucrose with trace cessive consumption of honey, it is tions, and liquors. amounts of junk of an unspecified not only possible, but a certainty “Sanding SugarSugar” is another nature. Note that the word “sugar” when we extract honey here at large crystal sugar, used to sprinkle will never appear on a package of Farmageddon. (We have strict, on top of baked goods. The larger “evaporated cane juice,” since this ummm, “quality control standards.” crystals reflect light and look pretty. form of sugar is sold to people who Yep, that’s my story, and I’m stick- associate “sugar” with “bad nutri-

6 BEE CULTURE September 2003 tion.” You have to admit that the health and nutrition standpoint or hidden completely if the product know how to package with no fear of being even slightly is cheaper than cane sugar. and market a product. wrong, but you should also stop and “Beet SugarSugar” is what you get marvel and the sophisticated mar- if you buy a bag of sugar at the store A Brief Word From The Salt keting used to make even experi- than does not say “Pure Cane Sugar” Mines enced cooks think that they must on the label. I’ll bet your local store Sugar promotional efforts have buy more than sugar and molasses brand and generic brand sugar bags apparently taught the people who for their pantry. There has to be don’t say “Pure Cane Sugar.” In sell salt something about market- something that we can all learn 1744, a German chemist realized ing. You may have noticed the sud- from this about application-specific that the sucrose he could extract den appearance of “Sea Salt” on gro- packaging and pricing for honey. from sugar beets was the same su- cery shelves, with crystals larger crose as sugar from sugar cane. (He than usual. This one really makes broke the starches down into sug- me laugh, since it is strictly true ars with nothing more than hot wa- that the package contains “sea salt.” ter.) Napoleon supported the sugar ALL salt came from seas, but all beet growers when war with En- except a tiny fraction of what is sold gland resulted in blockades, halt- happen to come from seas that dried ing sugar shipments from the Car- up millions of years ago, and have ibbean. been covered up by layers of rock While crystals of sucrose from since then. Real “sea salt” is sugar beets should be no different evaporated from seawater, is very than crystals of sugar from cane, ex- expensive, and is a snobbish affec- perienced cooks avoid beet sugar tation for social-climbing cooks who when making frostings, jellies, and never took any chemistry, and want many cakes. I’ve yet to hear anyone to impress people with the fact that explain the exact difference, but they use salt from places where scanning electron micrographs re- most people would like to vacation. veal that cane sugar crystals are As usual, vague hints that anything “cleaner-looking” than beet sugar “more natural” or “less processed” Even skilled bakers, who should crystals. Since pure sucrose would is somehow different, better, and know better, buy brown sugar rather form similar “clean” crystal shapes more healthy surround these “sea than simply add molasses and white regardless of source, it seems clear salt” products. The lesson should sugar to a recipe that calls for that refined beet contains a larger be clear to someone with a product “brown sugar.” percentage of impurities than re- that truly is natural. fined cane sugar. The Cane Mutiny “Invert SugarSugar” starts as re- Light Brown Versus Dark Brown There are nearly as many non- fined sugar. Acid and heat break By now, you likely have figured cane sugars as there are types of down sucrose molecules to a mix- out that “Light Brown Sugar” con- cane sugar. While these products ture of glucose and fructose. tains less molasses than “Dark are nothing more than one or more manufacturers use invert sugar to Brown Sugar,” and likewise, of the same three simple sugars control “graining.” This is not a “Blackstrap Molasses” is simply described at the start of this article, “consumer sweetener,” but is used darker than regular molasses. these products exist simply be- by advanced home confectioners. You can dismiss all forms of cause they are not made from sugar “Brown Rice SyrupSyrup” is ex- sugar as “exactly the same” from cane, a point that is either stressed tracted from rice with enzymes that not only a chemical, but also a in an attempt to seem more healthy, partly break down the starches into Continued on Next Page September 2003 BEE CULTURE 7 their component sugars, and is then lines suggest. “Dark Corn Syrup” is it does set up. It is easier to liquefy strained and cooked. The final prod- nothing more than Light Corn Syrup than honey.” uct is 50% “soluble complex carbo- to which coloring and flavoring have hydrates,” which means molecules been added. HFCS is most often diluted by of starch that were not completely beekeepers with an additional 10% broken down into sugars, 45% mal- High Fructose Corn Syrup In water by volume to form a final HFCS tose, and 3% glucose. You won’t find Both Food And Beekeeping concentration of between 60% and this much outside of health-food To make HFCS, processors first 70%. stores. extract dextrose from corn. En- While adding water slows the “Barley MaltMalt,” like brown rice zymes are then used to convert the crystallization process, untreated syrup, comes from grain, specifically dextrose to fructose. The result is water can contain bacteria that can barley. It consists of about 40% 42% fructose corn syrup, or “42- cause the syrup to ferment or be- “complex carbohydrates,” 42% mal- HFCS,” which consists of: 42% fruc- come rancid. The good news is that tose, 6% glucose, and about 1% tose, 52% dextrose, 6% disaccha- chlorine or chloramine in munici- fructose. This is another health- rides – often supplied in a “70% sol- pal water will kill the bacteria, but food store product. ids” mixture, which means 30% the bad news is that fluoride in “Fruit SugarSugar” is pure fructose. water. municipal water is said to be toxic Fruit sugar is claimed to have a By filtering this mixture, most to bees over time. Water filters can more uniform crystal size than of the molecules larger than fruc- block most of the fluoride and the Bartender’s Sugar from cane, but I tose can be removed, yielding 90% chlorine or chloramine. (Yes, even keep forgetting to bring a microscope fructose corn syrup. This can then water requires considerable thought when I go to a bar, so I have not be mixed with 42-HFCS to make “55- in beekeeping.) verified this. True fruit sugar will be HFCS,” which contains: 55% fruc- HFCS is available to the hobby- clearly labeled as being made from tose, 41% dextrose, 4% disaccha- ist beekeeper in five-gallon pails and fruit. If it does not say so, it should rides – often supplied in a “77% sol- 55-gallon drums from B&B Honey, be assumed to have been made from ids” mixture. Mid-Con, and Betterbee. Some lo- corn syrup. These are considered cal beekeeping associations also get “Corn SyrupSyrup” and “High Fruc- equal to cane sugar as bee feed, together and split a large order. tose Corn Syrup”Syrup should be fa- and, when purchased in quantity, miliar to beekeepers as a food are considerably cheaper than sugar Higher Than “High” source for colonies in danger of purchased in bulk. If “High Fructose” is not enough early Spring starvation. This stuff Bill Bernacchi of B&B Honey for your sweet tooth, you can buy is cheap to make, so it is ubiqui- Farm, near La Crosse, WI supplies 100% fructose made from corn syrup. tous in processed foods and bever- significant quantities of HFCS to A company named Estee in Garden ages, even food found in “natural commercial beekeepers, and says City, NY sells crystallized fructose food stores.” Despite the name, the that while both 42-HFCS and 55- that they admit is “made from corn.” fructose is not from fruit but comes HFCS are adequate bee feeds, Their marketing is much more primi- from breaking down cornstarch with “Type 42 tends to crystallize eas- tive than their chemistry, as their enzymes, acids, and heat. Corn ily, and when it does it is very hard product is named “Fructose Natu- syrup is the primary source of the and difficult to liquefy. It is used by ral Sweetener,” and their “pitch” is “added sugars” in the diets of most very few commercial beekeepers. limited to “sweeter than sugar,” “a of the industrialized world at Those that use it are feeding when the sodium free food” and “no bitter af- present, so people who even go so weather is warm both day and night. tertaste” in big letters on the side far as to stop using sugar still get Type 55 is the choice of commer- of the box. Perhaps they are simply more sugars from corn syrup alone cial beekeepers. It crystallizes very being honest about their product. in their diet than nutrition guide- slowly, and can be liquefied readily if

8 BEE CULTURE September 2003 Much Less “Manufactured” Much Less “Manufactured” What’s Really In Honey Sweeteners (Lifted from http://www.nhb.org/download/factsht/techbroch.pdf) There are a small number of The National Honey Board says that overall, honey contains the following sweeteners that cannot be dis- items, in the following amounts: missed as products of smoke belch- ing factories owned by massive cor- Average Average porations. In a fair evaluation, Fructose/Glucose Ratio 1.23 Moisture, % 17.2 these should be given nearly equal Fructose,% 38.38 Reducing Sugars, % 76.75 respect with honey. Glucose,% 30.31 Sucrose, % 1.31 Total Acidity, meq/kg. 29.12 Pure Maple Syrup and Maple Minerals (Ash),% 00.169 True Protein, mg/100g. 168.6 Sugar come from the sap of hard maple, rock maple, and black maple The Major Enzymes Present In Honey trees. Anything that does not say Enzyme Function “Pure Maple Syrup” likely has no Invertase Converts sucrose to glucose and fructose actual maple syrup in it at all. I’m Amylase Hydrolyzes starch to dextrins and/or sugars (diastase) going to go easy on maple syrup, Glucose Oxidase Converts glucose to gluconolactone, which in turn yields gluconic acid and since there are a number of maple hydrogen peroxide syrup producers who also keep bees, Catalase Converts peroxide to water and oxygen maple syrup is not a general-pur- Acid Phosphatase Removes inorganic phosphate from organic phosphates pose sweetener that “competes” with honey, and I like maple syrup. Nutrient Values (I’m still working on my long-term Nutrient Average amount Average per 1 Tbsp. serving amount (21g) per 100g research project to officially settle Water 3.6g Total Carbohydrates 17.3g the long-standing dispute over Information For Nutritional Labeling* Fructose 8.1g whether New Hampshire maple Total Calories 64 (kilocalories) Glucose 6.5g syrup is better than Vermont maple Total Calories from Fat 0 (kilocalories) Maltose 1.5g Total Fat 0 syrup or visa-versa, so producers Sucrose 0.3g Saturated Fat 0 from each state are encouraged to Cholesterol 0 send samples for, ummm, “exten- VITAMINS Sodium 0.6 mg sive testing” to me in care of this Thiamin < 0.002 mg Total Carbohydrates 17g magazine. Please use plain, un- Riboflavin < 0.06 mg Sugars 16 g 76 g marked boxes, or the editor will grab Niacin < 0.06 mg Dietary Fiber 0 0 it all.) Biotin Not available Protein 0.15 mg 0.7 mg In late Winter, trees are tapped Pantothenic Acid < 0.05 mg by boring a small hole to obtain the Vitamin B-6 < 0.005 mg MINERALS dilute juice or sap. This sap is Folate < 0.002 mg Calcium 1.0 mg strained and excess water is evapo- Vitamin B-12 Not available Iron 0.05 mg rated off, resulting in syrup. This Vitamin C 0.1 mg Zinc 0.03 mg used to be done in open kettles over Vitamin A 0 Potassium 11.0 mg a fire. Modern operations use mul- Vitamin D 0 Phosphorous 1.0 mg tiple evaporators, and syrup produc- Vitamin E 0 Magnesium 0.4 mg ers love stainless steel as much as Selenium 0.002 mg beekeepers. It takes approximately Copper 0.01 mg 34 gallons of sap to make one gal- *Contains less than 2% of the Daily Value for Manganese 0.03 mg vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and calcium lon of syrup. If this maple syrup is Ash 0.04 g heated to about 230°F and cooled quickly without stirring, it will crys- done that prove that it is safe, it Semi-Artificial Sweeteners tallize and form . could become the first bonda-fide There are three sweeteners that “Date SugarSugar” is another natural “diet sweetener.” The leaves can be made from “natural” sources, sweetener that deserves respect. It contain several chemicals called gly- but require quite a bit of fancy chem- is made from dehydrated dates that cosides, which taste sweet, but istry to create. None of these are are ground into a powder. It has have no calories. Stevia has taken consumer products; all are special- roughly the same nutrient value as over 40% of the Japanese sweetener purpose chemicals for highly-pro- dried dates, which makes it the only market, so it may become a major cessed food. sweetener that can be truthfully sweetener worldwide. “D-tagatoseD-tagatose” is about 92% as said to contain significant food “Sorghum MolassesMolasses” is still sweet as sucrose, but it is poorly value beyond the sugars. available, and it was the first form metabolized, has a net impact of An obscure product, “SteviaStevia,” of molasses made in the U.S. Sor- only 1.5 calories per gram instead is nothing but the leaves of a South ghum stalks are ground up or of the four calories per gram one American shrub. Though it is sweet, pressed, and the juices drained. The gets from all forms of carbohydrates. the FDA has not yet approved it as exact final product depends upon Structurally, it is close to fructose. a food additive, so it is sold as an the degree of evaporation. Tagatose can be made from whey, a “herb” or “dietary supplement” with byproduct of cheese making. a wink and a nod. If studies are “Sugar AlcoholsAlcohols,” such as Continued on Next Page September 2003 BEE CULTURE 9 Saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low®) is showed that side effects included a synthetic compound derived from shrunken thymus glands, enlarged coal tar. (Yum! Pass the COAL TAR!) livers, and enlarged kidneys, but the It is claimed to be 300 times sweeter maker argued that this was only at than sugar. Saccharin is forced to very high doses, convincing the FDA carry a warning label, since U.S. to approve it. studies in 1972 and 1973 of rats fed Splenda has been the subject saccharin resulted in bladder can- of a recent and massive advertising cer, and a 1977 Canadian study con- blitz claiming that “Splenda is made firmed the U.S. studies. The FDA from sugar, so it is as safe as proposed to ban saccharin for all sugar.” But is it? There have not uses except as an over-the-counter been any long-term studies on the drug, but since it was the only sugar effect of this chemical on humans, substitute available at the time, it not even a 12-month or 24-month was not banned. More recently, the study, and in the tiny number of FDA considered removing it from the studies done on this chemical, the list of known carcinogens. Expect lab rats did not fare well at all. another name-change for this The “chlorinating” process used Sorbitol, Xylitol, Lactitol, Mannitol, chemical, since it has nearly as bad prompts concern on the part of and Maltitol are used mainly to a reputation as Cyclamate. some health experts. The process sweeten sugar-free , cook- Aspartame is sold under the chemically changes the structure of ies, and chewing gums. These forms brand names Equal® and the sugar molecules by substitut- of sugar are so poorly metabolized NutraSweet®. The beverage indus- ing three chlorine atoms for three by the human body that the term try, the biggest user of artificial hydroxyl groups. But are the result- “sugar free” is fairly accurate for sweeteners, likes aspartame be- ing chlorine atoms “safe” like in salt, products that include these chemi- cause it has no aftertaste and re- or a potential health problem, like cals. quires no warning label. Indepen- in “Chlorinated Pesticides” such as “PolydextrosePolydextrose” is synthesized dent studies have suggested that it DDT? Only time will tell, but the from glucose, plus roughly 10 per- contributes to the “formation of actual chemical name for what cent sorbitol and 1 percent citric formaldehyde adducts,” and the ap- comes out of the “chlorinating” pro- acid. It is used as a replacement for proval of this chemical was the sub- cess is “1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy- sugar, starch, and fat in low-priced, ject of a great deal of controversy BETA-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro-4- low-quality commercial cakes, can- even within the FDA. In essence, deoxy-alpha-D-galact opyranoside,” dies, dessert mixes, gelatins, fro- formaldehyde is a scary thing as it so it should be clear that this stuff zen desserts, puddings, and salad damages to the neurological system bears no resemblance to sugar at dressings. even at very low levels. The only all, and is a much more complicated warning label on products contain- structure than the simple bonding Sweeteners Not Found In ing Aspartame says “Phenylketonu- of sodium and chlorine to form salt. Nature ric” or “Contains phenylalanine.” The manufacturer claims that All artificial sweeteners face a Phenylketonuria is a rare genetic sucralose passes through the body serious and basic problem. No one disease in which the body cannot rather than being metabolized, but knows one from another, and most use the chemical phenylalanine. the FDA disagreed, finding that 11% of them have caused cancer and Neotame is a new chemical to 27% of sucralose is absorbed in other severe health problems in approved by the FDA in 2002. It is humans. The bottom line here is white lab mice. Never mind that very similar to Aspartame and is that we have a very complex chlori- mice are a lousy stand-in for hu- claimed to be 30 times more power- nated molecule, one metabolized by mans in many ways, and don’t even ful a sweetener than aspartame. the human body, and one where no bother to mention that most “white There is also a great deal of contro- one has even bothered to looked at lab mice” are actually rats of a breed versy surrounding this chemical, as health effects on humans for a called “Norwegian Gray.” Bottom it is hard for anyone to ignore repu- single year. line, artificial sweeteners scare table scientists doing independent Another problem with sucralose people. They have every right to be studies and using terms like “neu- is purity. The FDA says that scared. rotoxin” in their reports. Since the sucralose “is produced at an ap- Cyclamate was marketed in same company makes both aspar- proximate purity of 98%.” The other the 60s as a “miracle product,” but tame and neotame, expect to see 2% varies, but includes contami- FDA banned it in 1970 after evidence neotame in packaged food products, nants like heavy metals (such as emerged linking it to bladder can- but not as a sweetener packaged for Lead), Arsenic, Triphenilphosphine cer. Subsequent studies have failed sale to consumers. Oxide, Methanol, Chlorinated Dis- to verify that link, so the FDA is Sucralose is sold under the accharides, and Chlorinated considering a petition to re-approve brand name Splenda®. It is a chlo- Monosaccharides. cyclamate. This product will likely rinated form of sucrose, so it is de- In contrast, if such contami- undergo a significant name change rived from sugar, but is non-caloric, nants were found in honey at even if the FDA re-approves it, as the and contains less than one gram of parts-per-billion levels, entire ship- story of cyclamate is too well known. carbohydrates. Pre-approval testing ments of honey would be seized,

10 BEE CULTURE September 2003 product recalls would be issued, ses, use exactly the same amount. plex sucrose. Since honey contains and a great deal of negative public- The resulting flavor and color will more fructose than sucrose, there ity would result. Somehow, chemi- be “lighter.” are very similar odds that your taste cal sweeteners can be sold even To substitute honey for corn buds will encounter the sweeter though they are contaminated at syrup, use exactly the same fructose, and consistently experi- rates as high as 2%. amount, but consider reducing ence a “sweeter” sensation with Acesulfame Potassium is sold other sweet ingredients, as a honey honey as opposed to sugar. under the names Sunett®, Sweet & is sweeter than consumer-packaged Safe®, and Sweet One®. It is FDA- corn syrup. Sweetener Sweetness Relative approved for baked goods, frozen To Sucrose desserts, candies, and beverages. Dealing With The “Honey Is Sucrose 1.0 The Center for Science In The Pub- Messy” Objection Glucose 0.6 lic Interest urged the FDA to ban Clearly, people who cook and Fructose 1.73 this chemical based upon both in- care about what they eat are the Lactose 0.16 adequate testing, and cancer in test prime targets for the suggestion Mannitol 0.6 animals resulting from what little that honey can replace other sweet- Sorbitol 0.5 testing was done. eners, but cooks must measure Xylitol 1.0 In summary, artificial sweeten- their ingredients, and honey can be Maltose 1.0 ers are easy to sell against, by sim- a problem, as more seems to stick ply learning what they really are, to the measuring cup than go into Gee, that’s neat Mr. Science, and cutting through the marketing the mixing bowl. The answer is a but what about people over 10? hype to expose the chemistry set of “Wonder Cup,” a measuring cup in Easy – offer a taste test. If you substances found in every package. the form of a cylinder with a bottom are like most beekeepers who sell that can be pushed up to the top to the public, you lay out dispos- But What Goes On The Table? edge, so that not a drop of honey is able spoons or straws and a “taster” Don’t make the mistake of wasted. These sell at retail for about jar front and center. Keep a hand- thinking that plastic squeeze bears $5.00, and they really do work as ful of packets of each of the are the only packaging required to claimed. Other techniques work as competition’s products in your get honey a place on the dining room well including using a measuring pocket, and do the obvious. Even table. Take a look at sugar bowls – cup for the oil component first. honey of marginal quality will “win,” they match the china. While every since all the other stuff tastes like beekeeper meeting silent auction Is Honey Sweeter Than Sugar? “nothing.” includes decorative honey pots and Beekeepers get asked this ques- dippers, using dippers can be a tion all the time, and it makes a Invasion of the Space Sugars! messy experience for those unfa- great “science experiment” that re- Scientists found extraterres- miliar with them. quires no special equipment. School trial sugar compounds in the A better alternative is a “syrup teacher’s lounges are sure to have “Murchison” and “Murray” meteor- dispenser” of the type found at din- a microwave and/or a water cooler ites. This discovery gives solid sup- ers. These have a sliding metal tab with a (red) hot water spigot, so you port to the view that meteorites that opens when a trigger is pulled can even add this to a school bee- could have delivered compounds or a lever is pushed, and closes keeper presentation. that contributed to the development when released. This metal tab cuts Fill two cups with the same of life on Earth. off the flow of honey cleanly with- amount of boiling or hot water. In The meteorites have a higher out drips, and does a good job of one cup, immediately add two table- concentration of simple sugars than keeping the honey sealed away from spoons of sugar, measured with of the large, complex sugars that are air, dust, and moisture. care. Once both cups have cooled, abundant on Earth. Also, the ratio Restaurant supply houses sell add two tablespoons of sugar to the of carbon-13 to carbon-12 in the these for as little as $2 each. Fancy unsweetened cup. meteorites’ sugar compounds versions exist, but you need to have Once the sugar has dissolved, matches that expected from extra- these available for sale, or at least taste each. The cup you sweetened terrestrial sources. to show the customer a dispenser while it was hot will be noticeably Some of these compounds might that works without looking tacky. sweeter. even predate the solar system, The initial conclusion might be originating in the interstellar cloud How Do You Use Honey Where that more sugar dissolves in hot of gas and dust that gave birth to A Recipe Calls For Something water than in cold water. But you the sun. Last year, scientists re- Else? added the same exact amount of ported that they had found a simple This is another common ques- sugar to each cup, and you can see sugar in a star-forming cloud 26,000 tion, and is easy to answer. Honey that all the sugar is completely dis- light-years from Earth using spec- can easily replace sugar in most any solved in both cups. troscopy. BC recipe. 3/4 cup of honey replaces Then why is one sweeter than one cup of sugar. Reduce liquids by the other? The hot water inverts the James Fischer keeps bees and one-half cup for each cup of honey sugar (sucrose) to become glucose spends his Winters working on the Un- solved Problems of Science, such as why you add to the recipe. and fructose, and fructose is a pint of “Heavy Cream” actually weighs To substitute honey for molas- sweeter tasting than the more com- less than a pint of “Light Cream.” September 2003 BEE CULTURE 11 12 BEE CULTURE September 2003