Nectar honey from Turkey: crystallization and physicochemical profile

Honey is a traditional food used by humans due to many therapeutic properties. Turkey is in a good position for the production of bee products, and honey is the most popular bee product in the country. In this study, the aim was to evaluate the quality parameters of 40 honey samples based on physicochemical parameters and to gain information about speed of crystallization. For this purpose, moisture (%), fructose (%), glucose (%), fructose + glucose (F + G, %), fructose/glucose (F/G), glucose/moisture (G/M), and proline (mg/kg) contents were determined in honey samples and cluster analysis was performed. When the sugar profile of honey samples is examined, F + G was 61.63–78.03%, F/G was 0.99–1.25, moisture content was 14.9–19.1%, and proline content was 384.41–1271.56 mg/kg. These results comply with national standards. Honey samples tend to crystallize quickly when their crystallization properties are evaluated based on F/G and G/M ratios. Consequently, the quality of honey differs according to the region from which it is produced and it is natural for honey to crystallize.